River Valley Co-op — Local services in Northampton

Four stars because there are so many things that I expected to be different about the co-op that I've bought into several years ago. I am member number 236, and I've been around since the co-op was gathering in the basement of the Unitarian universalist Church in Northampton, and even before that. Four stars because there's always room for improvement, and I expect a user friendliness that I am not seeing these days, and that I haven't seen in several years. Well I will keep my membership because I believe in the discounts and the collective bit of being part of a cooperative and the reliance on individuals, what river valley co-op lacks is a drop in prices, more local farms and businesses and instead of such commercial enterprises and commercially available things. If you want commercial go next door to big y, River Valley market doesn't need to have all that stuff. It's crowded enough and tight enough as it is, though it seems to work fairly well. The other aspect that I've come up against during covid is it there are some people that are just not tolerating certain aspects and behaviors, and I wish that would change or that the governing bodies would see to it that staff are more people friendly. And I'd also like to see some changes in the way the co-op operates, namely the functionaly of the collective co-operative aspect. Can people do work projects as equity yet, vs paying cash? I'd also like to see a co-op in Amherst. Funny we have another one down in East Hampton almost in East Hampton, an expansion, yet what the area really needs is another one on the other side of the river....

Call me silly but me thinks "Bill Bixby" was searching for anything bad about RVM so he could type the words, "River Valley MARKEY." I'm also not sure some understand that non-GMO foods or grass fed cows aren't just for "liberals." Sigh. Anyway, River Valley is a great place for local veg and meats. They also have an amazing selection of pour your own grains, flours, spices - you name it! Sure, the prices on some items will be more expensive - they are not a chain that can purchase foods in bulk! My only complaint is that some of the service is pretty bad. In my opinion, you can always tell what management is like by how their employees treat customers and by the turnover rate of their employees. (At River Valley, the turnover rate seems to be pretty high - even for a college town). I've been to RVM quite a few times where some of the employees were aloof or just sour and I think to myself, "some really nice, attentive person would probably LOVE to have your job... or even A job!" If I were a local farmer or business person selling my items here, I'd have to think twice about how it's being represented. RVM's concept is a breath of fresh air in an over processed, mega-corp world. I just wish they would hire more stable management...

This is a very mixed review. The store is specifically designed to be accessible to chemically sensitive people, the selection is great, the food is high quality, and the staff are friendly if a bit stoned most of the time. The prices are high, but this is not unusual for coops, and does reflect the actual market value of food purchased by a smaller business. However, the recently instituted gun and weapons policy on the premises, while within their rights, I find to be inflammatory and offencive. Who the hell brings a gun to a grocery store anyway? But to put up a sign that bans guns or weapons of any kind seems to be saying they don't want a certain kind of person in the store, and I find discrimination of any kind to be inappropriate. Perhaps this attitude says more about me than it does about the store itself, but this is a grocery store- where do you think food comes from and how do you think it is harvested? This is not only telling the right-wing gun nut to leave their gun in the car this is also saying: "hey you farmer, you have to remember to take that utility tool off your belt before entering our premises". All in all, shopping at River Valley Co-op now leaves me with a sour taste...