Louisville Community Grocery

Category: Buyers Club

  • Let’s Generate Food & Income for LCG

    Let’s Generate Food & Income for LCG

    The top level of our Co-op, our board of directors, is run by volunteers. It is our foundational belief that cooperative economics can lift communities out of poverty. As we advance our goals to build a community owned grocery, we are faced with the question, “How do we value the work?” 

    We are finding that there are both legal and practical limitations to free work for our Co-op. Legally, being a for-profit Limited Cooperative Association in Kentucky limits the number and kinds of volunteer hours allowed. Practically, many of us have had to tighten purses and pick up more hours just to survive daily, making additional volunteer hours daunting. While our methodologies for generating food and income for the community are currently in their infancy, our resources to generate food and income are tangible. 

    Building from nothing is a way of life for many of us in this Co-op and our Co-op is a step past nothing. Our Co-op has access to retail space, business licensure, professional accounting, produce distributors, and political support. We have the resources to tap into generating income with the co-op. The Next Step is joining the conversation on Louisville Community Grocery’s food buying club and begin with a feasibility study on how we can take action that will begin our generative food Co-op. Fill in the Google form today.

    By Arte Chambers

    Edited by Michelle Lori

    Buying Club Preferences Survey
    Read “Let’s Start Selling”

  • Recap of July 18 Owners Meeting

    Recap of July 18 Owners Meeting

    Sixteen owners attended the July 18, 2026 Owners Gathering and Meeting. We began by enjoying delicious food from Caked Up Ent Catering of Louisville. Board member Judy S opened the business meeting by inviting veteran owners to talk about LCG co-op organizing and what has worked in the past. Owners shared the following positive experiences from past years:

    • commitment, discipline, consistency among board members and owners
    • a sense of community, a sense of shared purpose in working together to open a cooperatively owned grocery store
    • specific ways to enter the work

    Next, those present offered the following areas that need improvement now:

    • need to set strategic goals for engaging current owners over the next year
    • need more informal fellowship times to build community and trust
    • need to implement the onboarding process developed by the Ownership & Outreach Committee for owners to become involved
    • need tangible ways for owners to contribute time as organizers and as “worker bees”
    • need a database to collect owner information and a dedicated volunteer to keep it updated
    • need a way for prospective owners to join and if technology is a hurdle then consider simpler ways (i.e. cash or check)
    • we may need to reconsider the role of owners – not just as investors, but active members

    Judy then summarized the options MK Lindsey of Winter Wheat presented at the February Owners Meeting regarding the case studies she researched and LCG’s possible way forward:

    1. closure & dissolving assets for the benefit of a like-minded project; 
    2. partnering with a like-minded project or partner; 
    3. re-organizing better.

    For the next hour we had a panel discussion with Barry Z., owner and former member of a food buying club, and Birch Bragg, owner of LOCALS in Louisville and Frankfort.

    Barry talked about his experience as a buying club member in the 1970s at another co-op. He shared about the various jobs the co-op members would do as part of the buying club, such as contacting farmers to find out what they had for the coming week, picking up produce from the farmers and bringing it to the distribution site, bagging the grocery items for the buying club members to pick up, managing the orders and handling the money. Barry noted that courts closed many co-ops in the late 70s due to not paying members for their work which became a violation of the new employment tax laws. This raises awareness for us about our business model as we consider opening a buying club as a Limited Cooperative Association (LCA) in Kentucky.

    Birch discussed his business endeavors beginning with forming a Bowling Green community supported agriculture (CSA) to get farmers’ food in people’s hands. He has since expanded to a grocery store model with a restaurant component. He noted that the restaurant stabilizes the grocery business. Birch offered to share information and resources when LCG is ready to discuss. He suggested contacting Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s cabinet for grants and answers to business questions.

    After a stretch break, we agreed that LCG would need to have at least 15 owners commit to joining a buying club working group for the project to continue to be developed. We will spend the next few weeks sounding a call for owners to step up. If we do not get 15 owners to commit, we will let the buying club project go.

    We continued to discuss what a food buying club working group would be tasked to do:

    • First priority is to learn the legality of owners volunteering to run the buying club for the LCA; if this is not possible, how many employees would be needed?
    • Starting from scratch. We need to make a timeline for the buying club. 
    • Finances. We need to make a business plan; initial capital for equipment, funding for supplies
    • Product. We have a buying club survey with over 50 responses indicating top priorities for owners interested in joining a food buying club.
    • Location. The Kling Center has offered space and refrigeration.
    • Operations. Staffing – employees and volunteers

    There was some concern around a food buying club being for “subscribers” only vs. open to the public. Does this line up with our purpose? Will this turn people away from LCG if they cannot become regular subscribers to a buying club? A hybrid version with subscribers and walk-up sales was suggested as well.

    Action: Lead Team (Abby L, Judy S, Carrie V, Barry Z, and Carlos N.) will commit to the buying club working group. We need 10 more owners to join these leaders. A poll will go out in our e-news and voice messages asking for owners to choose a meeting time in August for the first organizational meeting. These dates are August 5, 19, 26, and 27 at 6:30 – 8:00 PM.

  • Let’s Start Selling as Louisville Community Grocery

    Let’s Start Selling as Louisville Community Grocery

    LCG owners agree that we want to begin engaging in the business of selling fresh, high quality food and other products in a cooperative manner that is responsive to community needs, and support the regional food economy (one of our core purposes). We want to start now, while we are still working on opening our brick and mortar store. A buying club project has risen to the top in recent owner meeting discussions as a desirable way to start achieving this objective.

    The Buying Club Survey

    Owner, Barry Z. created a 2-question survey and we’ve had 43 responses from owners who would like to participate in a buying club. Can you help us get to 70? We’re learning from the survey what your top 3 criteria are for participating, and what products you would be most interested in purchasing. This helps a great deal to plan a prototype for a buying club.

    The Buying Club Survey

    Develop Our Cooperative Business Model

    We’re at a catch-22 with the prospect of opening our brick and mortar store. If our Business and Site Development Committee finds the right place and the willing partners to get started, we will need to have a team ready to take on the work to make it happen. This is why we need to start now to develop our cooperative business model through practical sales so we’ll be ready.

    Our Purpose  

    • Combat food insecurity;
    • Operate a multi-stakeholder, Cooperative grocery store;
    • Engage in the business of selling fresh, high quality food and other products in a Cooperative manner that is responsive to community needs and supports the regional food economy;
    • Develop an attractive and successful business model for worker and community ownership in food retailing and local economic development;
    • Create jobs that are secure and educational and support the dignity of all workers of the Cooperative; and
    • Engage in education

    Coordinators Needed

    To move this project forward and start learning new insights into what will work on a larger scale, LCG needs one or two volunteer coordinators for the project. This would involve the following tasks and time commitment:

    • Set up and facilitate working group meetings once or twice per month in person or online, or both;
    • Commit to one year as project coordinator or co-coordinator;
    • Set a goal for a start date for a buyers club or other prototype for sales;
    • Coordinate the operation of the sales prototype for a period of 3 months and evaluate;
    • Delegate work to group members such as
      • Drafting a committee charter with the group, to be approved by the LCG board of directors;
      • Recording meeting notes and posting to the LCG Google drive;
      • Attending monthly LCG board meetings to report on the progress, ask and answer questions;
      • Liaising with the Business Development and Site Selection committee as insights become clear about what will work on a larger scale;

  • New Projects Brewing

    New Projects Brewing

    At our March 19th owners’ meeting, a small group of Louisville Community Grocery (LCG) owners volunteered to explore ways that LCG could start selling groceries before we build a store. One way is a “buying club,” which has a small space for receiving, storing, and distributing food but
    not an actual storefront. For example, a buying club might accept food orders from its members every Wednesday (in person or online) and distribute the food on Friday. A buying club usually serves only its member-owners, and not the general public. Starting a buying club could be a
    low-cost, low-risk way for LCG to grow into a full-service grocery store. It would help us learn the items to stock in the store, the payment methods that our community prefers, and other things that will make our owners and community members happy to shop at LCG.

    The LCG Buying Club Working Group is putting together a proposal to bring to the LCG Board for approval. We would start the buying club as an experiment, with the intention of improving and expanding it as we go. We will ask for your suggestions and concerns every step of the way. To help us get started, please answer a quick 2-question survey. Thank you!

    Buyers Club Survey


    If you would like to join the LCG Buying Club Working Group, please contact Arte Chambers at LouisvilleCommunityGrocery@gmail.com.

  • Special Projects kicking off: Impact Economics and Teamwork

    Special Projects kicking off: Impact Economics and Teamwork

    At our last owners meal and meeting we asked members what kind of LCG special projects they would be willing to invest their time into. A couple of workgroups formed discussing a community impact type event and a co-op owned buyers club. 

    Some of the topics discussed within the community impact group were

    Community Gardening

    Community enrichment

    Potlucks

    Fellowship

    We are looking for an owner volunteer to take the lead on continuing these conversations. If this is you contact Arte at louisvillecommunitygrocery@gmail.com to get plugged in.

    Some of the topics discussed within the buyers club workgroup were

    Engaging with food vendors

    Delivery

    Group buying power

    Buying selling groceries now

    LCG Owner Barry Z. has begun conversations within the groups online message board. Check this message from Barry:

    I want to seed the conversation with a few ideas and give you all a chance to approve, reject, revise, or replace them before I start writing in more detail.

    I am thinking in terms of a “soft launch” for LCG, which might take the form of a buying club and may take another form that involves establishing accounts with one or more food suppliers, selling food and perhaps other items on a regular schedule, getting LCG members involved, and spreading the word that we exist and are working toward a full-scale local grocery. 

    -Barry Z

    –Read More 

    https://groups.google.com/g/lcg-buying-club/c/ulaNX-KYxZM/m/D8c-1m4GAgAJ

    If you would like to join the conversation send Arte an email at louisvillecommunitygrocery@gmail.com

    These are exciting times for the co-op. Your response to our hard work has truly been inspiring. I for one am feeling charged up and capable of solving our communities food access issues. 

    Thank you again for you time

    -Arte