40th anniversary next month

PCC’s 40th anniversary is coming up. We’ve come a long way since we became an official co-op, incorporating on August 29, 1961.

Our members have made it possible for PCC to make a difference in more ways than just providing what may be some of the best food anywhere. Here are some of the things we’ve done as a co-op over the years.

Direct grants and donations

• Yearly donations to community groups through member grants committee
• Many small donations to schools and other community groups

Organic farming and land use

• Helped fund and organize first organic growers association (Farmers Wholesale Co-op) in Washington state
• Gave letter of credit for Washington dairies to transition to organic standards, starting organic milk supply in this state
• Supported Goldie Caughlan on Washington State Organic Advisory Board, Organic Trade Association, Food Safety Enhancement Advisory Council (WA) and National Organic Standards Board (NOSB)
• Through former PCC Board member Ken Jacobsen, supported and helped create state organic certification legislation in 1980s
• Helped start and administer the P-Patch program in Seattle
• Made many loans to organic growers: Back Ten Co-op potatoes, Rent’s Due Ranch, Rose Valley Egg Farm, Tilth
• Helped found Cooperating Community, our primary wholesaler of organic foods, which eventually became NutraSource
• Established the Farmland Fund in 1999
• Supported the campaign to influence USDA on Organic Rules, 1998. Of 300,000 letters written nationally, 7,000 were from PCC members.

Recycling efforts/energy concerns

• Instituted recycling in store operations and office in 1992
• Instituted waste reduction program in produce department
• Supported Tim Bernthal on Seattle Solid Waste Advisory Committee
• Installed energy efficient lighting in stores

Building Community

• Many major sponsorships and affiliations: Folklife Festival, ZooTunes, Bumbershoot, Health Expo, and Tilth Fair
• Support neighborhood projects such as Adopt-a-Street at Seward Park
• Won U.S. Mayors’ End Hunger Award in 1995 for Cash for the Hungry program. One hundred percent of PCC member donations go to partner food banks, providing $30-40,000 of food per year

Cooperation with cooperatives

• Hosted Cooperative Store Development Forums with co-ops around the country, 1998 and 1999
• Helped found NW Cooperative Grocers Association in 1998
• Sponsored Puget Sound Cooperative Federation for many years
• Made loans to co-ops: Central Co-op, Capitol Hill Co-op, Phinney Ridge Co-op, Cascadian Loan Fund

Education Efforts

• Pioneered FoodWorks program, with more vegetarian cooking classes than any other school in Puget Sound
• Provided funding and support for Consumers United for Food Safety (irradiation watchdog group)
• Gave money to publish Binda Colebrook’s book, Winter Gardening in the Pacific Northwest, now a classic
• Provide Master Gardener and Composter trainings with King County Extension
• Acknowledged by local media as lead information source on many food safety and quality issues, such as genetic engineering and rBGH in dairy products
• Supported letter writing campaign to FDA in 1996 on Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act.