Olympia Food Co-op — Local services in Olympia

Imagine walking into a store with a great selection of organic produce and bulk items. Bins of nutritional yeast, beans, lentils, seaweeds, flours, dried fruits, grains- how many kinds of rice? Great apple selection, local fruits and vegetables, and sometimes some pretty cool exotics- cherimoyas, anyone? And if they don't have what you need, you can suggest they start carrying it, and they often will trial it. They also have some cool items that I wouldn't have expected: tamarid paste, springs to mind, as does the frozen pizza dough from Old School and Vics.

If you're vegan, they also have a wide range of products for us: bulk tofu, bulk miso pastes, two brands of vegan worcestershire sauce, vegan fish sauce, vegan cheeses, milks, ice creams, etc.

You can find great deals on produce and bulk items, which is what a co-op is centered around anyway. If you want really good deals, do a bulk order on something that's already on sale- usually it's an additional 10% off, unless the sale is good enough that they'd take a loss.

When you go in, know that it's a co-op. That means when you're buying produce and bulk goods, you're going to have to write down the plu (and take the tare, if you're using your own container). Also, almost everyone who works there is a volunteer, and the only compensation is a discount card for 25% off of $100 after I think 20 hours of work. If you are friendly and treat them like a human instead of a servant machine, you'll find all the help you need, and other customers tend to be helpful as well if you're struggling to find something. A co-op is a community, and we're all humans. Be kind.

The co-op also puts on classes on topics like gardening and making your own sauerkraut. There is also a store of reusable containers that is free to use and contribute to: yogurt containers, vinegar and oil bottles, quart jars, etc. Keep in mind it's stocked by customers, so give the containers a sniff before you use them! And please wash your containers before contributing them...

I shop at the Oly food co-ops because they're the only option for what I want to buy. It's so unfortunate that we don't have a PCC equivalent, or even a Whole Foods. The Pacific one has a soup and salad bar, but a proper deli would be awesome! No such thing here in Oly, unfortunately (I will not buy food at Hagen or Safeway, so they're not an option.) And it would be so nice to be able to buy a bottle of wine or some nice beer - but no license. If anyone has ever been to the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op, or the Port Townsend co-op - THOSE are classy places which are run properly and have much more to offer, and it's just too bad that Oly can't figure out how to pull this off! At the Rogers St. location, I've seen the floors being vigorously swept, which makes whatever's on the floor go airborne and land all over what's on the shelves... I don't know why they can't figure out how to sweep without causing this. It's generally dirty - I have to actually wipe things down before storing them. The milk is often warm, and I've purchased spoiled milk and veganaise countless times.... After like the 10th time, I started taking it back. They do allow exchanges, but how 'bout not allowing the problem in the first place? And if you ask for a "manager," well, I've been told "We're a co-op - there's no actual Manager..." as well as "We're all managers!" Give me a break - enough with the alternative bs already. The Pacific location is quite a bit better, it's definitely cleaner, and I've yet to find warm milk, but it's still got the same co-op "attitude." Oh well, better than not existing, so I'll continue to shop at both co-ops when I have to. For the most part, I've switched to "Farm Fresh Market." It's a tiny store, across from Ken Lake. If you want to shop in a cleaner store on west side without the attitude, try it. I wish they had the space to carry more, that they carried wine and beer, and that they were open later (they close at 8,) but it's a MUCH better...

I'm grateful for the co op! The working member program and the ability to order in bulk/cases makes eating well even a little easier for two young humans working their way in the world. I order a gallon of Aunt Pattys Organic Coconut Oil for around 30 bucks every few months! Bulk is the way to go! The co op prices fresh, local veg and the dry and "gooey" (nut butters, honey, sauces, oils, vinegars, etc) bulk low to make organic, local staples affordable. Save your containers, or drop them off clean in Aisle 2, for others to use. Tare them on Aisle 3.

And there's discount veg! And sales every week! And even if they don't carry something, they can order it for you from UNFI and their other suppliers.

And the garden center rocks! My plant starts last year did really well! I grew cherry tomatoes for the first time and the volunteers were really helpful. Soil, amendments, layer feed, seeds from Territorial and a few others, fermenting gear, canning gear.

And the FREE STORE! In brief: a volunteer managed side building that organizes donated goods of all kinds that ye can comb through. Notorious for unique, awesome finds. I have a one-eyed hand crotched Totoro from the free store. Olympia School District dropped off an entire case of old 45s one day. A friend of mine found a handmade deer hide vest. There is no way to predict what will be there, so it's always...