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Winchester Co-op Market

@wcmarket.bsky.social

220 followers 220 following 950 posts

🌱 Start-up member-owned grocery focused on sustainable, local, and wholesome food in Winchester, Virginia. Building community, supporting farmers, and promoting eco-friendly practices. 🌿

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Winchester Co-op Market @wcmarket.bsky.social · Dec 15

Did you know that WCM is across multiple platforms? 💚

Find our other spaces here👇

linktr.ee/WinchesterCo...

Winchester Co-op Market | Instagram, Facebook, TikTok | Linktree

Start-up phase💚 Community-centric market🌿 Join us for a sustainable future!🌱

linktr.ee

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Winchester Co-op Market @wcmarket.bsky.social · Jun 22

please stop acting like food just shows up
please stop pretending local farmers don’t matter
please stop choosing convenience over community
please stop asking why your town has fewer options

it's because of this

your grocery bill could be building something better

Winchester Co-op Market @wcmarket.bsky.social · Jun 22

One store. Owned by the community.
With food that didn’t fly across the country to get here.
Wild idea, huh?
#WinchesterVA

Reposted by Winchester Co-op Market

The Cooperative Economy @cooperatives.bsky.social · May 2

Food co-ops are driving change. The 2024 NCG Food Co-op Impact Report details the efforts of 240+ food co-ops across the United States. These community-owned businesses provide affordable, locally sourced products and promote regenerative and sustainable food systems.

www.ncg.coop/sites/defaul...

Cooperation Makes the Difference

Food co-ops don’t change their values based on which way the wind blows. We are rooted in our communities and participate in the international cooperative business movement, a business model rooted in cooperative principles and values.

At a food co-op, members own the business and elect their board of directors from among their community every year, ensuring that as their co-op grows and changes it remains true to the values and goals of its community. NCG is owned by 165 community food co-ops with stores in 240+ communities and growing!

Cooperative Principles

Voluntary and open membership
Democratic member control
Member economic participation
Autonomy and independence
Education, training and information
Cooperation among cooperatives
Concern for community
Diversity, equity and inclusion

Cooperative Values

Self-help
Self-responsibility
Democracy
Equality
Equity
Solidarity

240+ co-op locations in 39 states

$9 million collectively donated to local community organizations annually by NCG co-ops

1.3 million co-op owners as of 2024

Co-op owners account for 58% of sales

Leaders in Local and Organic Food

Resiliency, interdependence and a thriving local economy — cultivating a strong local food system brings many benefits to a community. Food co-ops invest time, energy and money in building strong relationships with farmers and food producers, and it shows — we sell more local products than any other grocer.

Food co-ops are also leaders in organic sales. We have a higher percentage of sales from organic products than our competition does. Soil-based organic agriculture is a regenerative farming system that builds soil health and increases its ability to capture and hold carbon (as CO2) from the atmosphere.

Organic farming is good for bees and butterflies and builds biodiversity by
working with the natural food chain to control pests — just how nature balances itself.

Co-ops Lead in Local and Organic

Local products as percentage of sales
NCG Co-ops: 24%
Conventional Grocers: 2%

Organic products as percentage of sales
NCG Co-ops: 37%
Conventional Grocers: 3%

Number of local producers
NCG Co-ops: 175
Conventional Grocers: 41

Responding to the Climate Crisis

Food — how it is grown, produced, transported, used and thrown away — has a huge impact on our climate. Food co-ops work together to reduce our impact on the climate individually and collectively.

NCG has been offsetting carbon emissions from staff travel and office utilities since 2012. In 2024 we welcomed a new offset partner, ReSeed, an innovative organization that funds Indigenous Brazilian farmers who use traditional agricultural methods that sequester carbon and reduce climate change.

Food co-ops promote organic food as a climate change solution — soil-based organic farming methods are regenerative and can help to heal environmental depletion and slow climate change.

100% NCG food co-ops have up-to-date sustainability tracking software and support to set goals and reduce carbon footprint

8,293 metric tons CO2 offset since 2012 through conservation and agroforestry practices in partnership with Indigenous communities

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Reposted by Winchester Co-op Market

GreenTree Co-op Market @greentreecoop.bsky.social · May 4

7. Concern for Community: While focusing on member needs, cooperatives work for the sustainable development of communities through policies and programs accepted by the members. #CoopPrinciples

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Reposted by Winchester Co-op Market

GreenTree Co-op Market @greentreecoop.bsky.social · May 11

8. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Cooperatives believe we are stronger when a proactive effort is put forth to engage everyone in governance, management, and representation. #CoopPrinciples

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Winchester Co-op Market @wcmarket.bsky.social · Jun 22

Cold pizza? We support it.
Supporting billion-dollar grocery chains? Less so.
#FoodJustice

Winchester Co-op Market @wcmarket.bsky.social · Jun 22

If your grocery store has shareholders but not a compost bin… we’ve got questions.

#SustainableLiving

Winchester Co-op Market @wcmarket.bsky.social · Jun 22

Hot take: food tastes better when it’s grown within 150 miles and picked by someone who wants to feed their neighbors 💚
#LocalFood

Winchester Co-op Market @wcmarket.bsky.social · Jun 22

You want tomatoes, but kill the pollinators?
Babes. Be serious.
Local food needs local bugs 💚

#GrowLocal

Winchester Co-op Market @wcmarket.bsky.social · Jun 20

Big thanks to everyone who came out for Kidz Fest! 🌟

We had a blast connecting with families and dreaming together about a co-op grocery store that serves our whole community.

The energy, creativity, and curiosity of the kids made our day!

#KidzFest2025 #WinchesterCoopMarket #FutureCoopOwners

Winchester Co-op Market @wcmarket.bsky.social · Jun 19

We had such a meaningful time celebrating #Juneteenth at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley! 💚

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to connect, share, and learn more about Winchester Co-op Market.

We’re honored to be building a space rooted in community, equity, and access to healthy, local food.

Winchester Co-op Market @wcmarket.bsky.social · Jun 19

We don’t just believe in food access.
We believe in food dignity.
Everyone deserves the right to real, nourishing, locally rooted food.

Winchester Co-op Market @wcmarket.bsky.social · Jun 19

Locally sourced, community powered, co-op driven.
Because better food is everyone’s business.

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Winchester Co-op Market @wcmarket.bsky.social · Jun 19

What ingredient should be local but rarely is?
We’re looking at you, garlic 👀

Winchester Co-op Market @wcmarket.bsky.social · Jun 18

You don’t need a perfectly curated life to live your values.
You just need to start where you are, with what’s on your plate.

Winchester Co-op Market @wcmarket.bsky.social · Jun 18

Sustainability isn’t one big decision—it’s dozens of small ones:
🛒 What you buy
📍 Where it comes from
💚 Who it supports

Winchester Co-op Market @wcmarket.bsky.social · Jun 18

We’re not just opening a grocery store.
We’re building something ours.
Rooted in Winchester. Owned by community. Powered by cooperation.

Winchester Co-op Market @wcmarket.bsky.social · Jun 18

What’s the most controversial food take you’ll stand by forever?
We’re not saying raisins ruin cookies… but we are raising eyebrows 👀

Winchester Co-op Market @wcmarket.bsky.social · Jun 18

You know what’s wild? The average meal travels 1,500 miles to get to your plate.
You know what’s better? A meal grown 15 minutes from your kitchen.

Winchester Co-op Market @wcmarket.bsky.social · Jun 18

Composting isn’t just for garden people. It’s for community people.
Less waste, more nourishment. Sustainability starts at the soil 🌱♻️
PS if you like talking about the nuances of soil, check out @thegoldberrygrove and the discord he runs!

Winchester Co-op Market @wcmarket.bsky.social · Jun 18

What’s the one pantry item you insist on buying local—even if it costs more?
We’ll go first: honey. 🍯
Support your neighbors. Taste the difference.

Winchester Co-op Market @wcmarket.bsky.social · Jun 18

Just to clear things up:
We’re Winchester, Virginia.
Not the UK.
Not the demon-hunting brothers.
Just your friendly, local, community-owned grocery store in the making. 🛒💚
No silver bullets. Just fresh produce.

Winchester Co-op Market @wcmarket.bsky.social · Jun 17

Let’s settle this Winchester-style:
Is there ever a wrong time of year for soup?

Winchester Co-op Market @wcmarket.bsky.social · Jun 17

Be honest: are you Team "Corn Belongs in Everything" or Team "Corn Has Limits"? 🌽
We have a community to build and this could divide us.

Winchester Co-op Market @wcmarket.bsky.social · Jun 17

Are pickles a snack, a side, or a personality trait? 🥒
(We’re asking for a friend.)