Pullman Good Food Co-Op announces potential site

PULLMAN — In the Port of Whitman County regular meeting on Thursday, Oct. 5, the Pullman Good Food Co-Op gave a presentation on finding a potential site for their Co-Op store at 11 a.m.

Co-Op Vice Chair Jeff Guyout spoke to the Port Commissioners about the potential site at 1095 Southeast Bishop Boulevard, which recently housed Unify Family Dental and is currently up for sale.

Guyout said that the Co-Op will launch a capital fundraiser campaign and is pursuing financing for potentially purchasing the property.

Further discussion included asking the Port commissioners to enter a partnership. “We have a way that we can build something good together,” Guyout said, adding that they can discuss that.

Guyout also mentioned the Co-Op plans to make locally grown food available to the surrounding area. “Supporting local producers and sustainable agriculture is first on our list,” he said, adding that providing food help is second on their list. “The whole food system is being able to provide food to everyone,” Guyout said.

Guyout spoke about the differences between a Co-Op, a non-profit, and a for-profit business, noting that the only difference is what is done with the profit. “What you’d do with the dollars that are surplus to your activities, and of course, in my world and the non-profit world, we do best in things like growing our programs to be more sustainable in our community,” he said, adding that this includes reaching more people in the community and building the workforce.

Guyout said these things go back into what the workers are doing and that with the Co-Op, they will use both putting the profit back into the store to create more lines and expand if needed.

Guyout said the Co-Op plans to maximize its effect in certain lines of the products and to also build up the community by providing a workforce with living wage jobs.

“We want to do that sustainably, so the whole idea is to make it profitable to make it run,” Guyout said, adding that it will also have the socially connected means to build community and the local economy.

Pullman Good Food Co-Op was founded in 2018 and has 750 members.