Free Range Food Co-op

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Free Range Food Co-op Our start-up Food Co-op THRIVES on the support of our owners and volunteers. Visit our office in Room 209, Old Central School. Join as an owner today!

The Free Range Food Co-op steering committee was formed in October of 2015 to gauge the interest and feasibility of starting a food cooperative in the Itasca County area. After a few months of new members joining the committee, and an overwhelmingly positive community response, the decision was made to move forward. The official definition of a cooperative is: an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise. For our purposes, this means we want a member-owned, member-run, food co-op that specializes in fresh local produce, sustainably raised meats, and organic and natural products in OUR community! Our promise to you is that we will work tirelessly to make this happen, by conducting community outreach to gain support and memberships, establishing relationships with farmers and growers to secure fresh, local produce when our store opens, fundraising events, and taking advantage of every possible resource in order to be successful. But, ultimately this can't happen without the support of the community. We need YOU to let us know you want this. You can do that by taking the community survey, reaching out to us to let us know you support the co-op, serving on a planning committee, and of course joining the food co-op by purchasing your member equity share of $100. This is a one-time payment only. There are no annual fees, and no volunteer requirements to work in the co-op. Contact us at: [email protected]

October is National Co-op Month and we're celebrating! 🎉Cooperatives are a powerful business model that are controlled b...
10/20/2026

October is National Co-op Month and we're celebrating! 🎉

Cooperatives are a powerful business model that are controlled by the PEOPLE that own it and use the services - not nameless/faceless stakeholders that are only concerned with making a profit.

Co-ops are structured to allow member-owners to participate in equitable and democratic business management practices while upholding cooperative principles and values. One of those principles is one owner, one vote - so no matter how many stocks you may own in the company, you as an owner, will always just have one vote.

As owners of Free Range Food Co-op we work together to meet our communities shared needs like:
👩‍🌾 Supporting local farmers and producers
🥕 Making local and organic food more available and affordable
💪 Strengthening our local economy

Want to join the movement? Become an OWNER for life, just a $100 investment.
Find out more: www.FreeRangeFood.coop/Ownership

The $10,000 match has been met!! THANK YOU!!! This match challenge was made possible by a group of owners who came toget...
10/16/2026

The $10,000 match has been met!! THANK YOU!!!

This match challenge was made possible by a group of owners who came together to put their investments towards a project that will have a real impact, locally. Together they pooled their funds and issued the challenge to their fellow co-op owners and supporters to match that, and surely they did! ❤🐓

Thank you, thank you, thank you. The door is still open for contributions until our doors open. Please consider supporting your local food co-op, today!
Visit www.FreeRangeFood.coop/invest to learn more!

The Free Range Food Co-op 2026 Annual Meeting was held on Wednesday, October 7th in the greenhouse at the beautiful Bryn...
10/11/2026

The Free Range Food Co-op 2026 Annual Meeting was held on Wednesday, October 7th in the greenhouse at the beautiful Bryndlewood Gardens. We are so thankful for Bryn and Wil Lenius for welcoming us onto their property and hosting our group of about 75 attendees!

We also want to give a special shout out to Kyle and Amanda Lussier of The Pines Restaurant who catered the delicious, seasonal meal featuring ingredients grown in the high-tunnel next door. They don’t normally do catering so they did us a very special favor!

We had a volunteer bring home-grown honeyberry & grape juice which ran out quite quickly, we'll definitely plan for more next time.

And we really couldn't have asked for better weather for October.

Thank you to all who came in person, and joined live on Zoom. Unfortunately we had some technical difficulties and can not recover the file of the recording. We are so sorry for this. Us board members are always available to meet one-on-one to discuss and answer any questions you may have. The presentation was largely based off of the Annual Report, now published on our website - www.FreeRangeFood.coop/annualreports

Also announced live at our Annual Meeting - a $10,000 match challenge made possible by Betsy Hoene, Mary & Doug Freeman, Lynn Drusner Bliss, Kent Vilensrer, and Adrianne & Lee Reiners.

We are so thankful for these owners investing together, so we can continue grow together. We have already raised a third of the goal as of 10/9! Double your impact and make your contribution during this limited time match TODAY! Visit www.FreeRangeFood.coop/invest to find out all the ways you can make an investment in your locally & cooperatively owned food co-op. ❤🐓

October is National Co-op Month and we're celebrating! 🎉 Over the course of the month we'll be sharing about what makes ...
10/02/2026

October is National Co-op Month and we're celebrating! 🎉 Over the course of the month we'll be sharing about what makes co-ops great, co-op history, how you can help our co-op thrive, and the impact that being an owner really makes to a cooperative business!

Starting close to home... Did you know that Minnesota was the first state to declare an official Co-op Month proclamation in 1948? AND co-op Month has been a nationally recognized celebration since 1964, when U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman, a former Minnesota governor, proclaimed October Co-op Month!

How cool is that?! ❤🐓

10/01/2026

A few announcements from Board Member, Lydia Williams.

🍂 A brief appology about our absence on our social media/communication channels.
🍂 RSVPs for our Annual Meeting (next Wednesday, October 7th) are due TODAY, October 1st.
🍂 Board Applicatons to get on the ballot for the Annual Meeting are also due today.

📣 ATTENTION FRFC OWNERS 📣Check your email for a link to RSVP to our Annual Meeting just 3 weeks away on October 7th, 202...
09/16/2026

📣 ATTENTION FRFC OWNERS 📣

Check your email for a link to RSVP to our Annual Meeting just 3 weeks away on October 7th, 2026 at Bryndlewood Gardens!

Didn't get the email? Send us a message! ❤🐓

Join us for September’s First Friday Art Walk THIS FRIDAY (tomorrow, 9-4-26!) in our office (Room 209, Old Central Schoo...
09/03/2026

Join us for September’s First Friday Art Walk THIS FRIDAY (tomorrow, 9-4-26!) in our office (Room 209, Old Central School) from 4-7pm 🥳

We’ll be featuring Karen Olson Pottery who will be bringing a variety of my hand painted under glazed pottery that is “Inspired by Nature” and the Minnesota Northwoods ❤️🌲

We hope to see you there!

The fair is officially open!! Stop by our booth located next to Paul Bunyan Communications in the commercial expo buildi...
08/20/2026

The fair is officially open!! Stop by our booth located next to Paul Bunyan Communications in the commercial expo building today from 10am to 8pm to play our Mystery Produce Guessing Game and take our Sticky Dot Opinion Poll!

We’ll also be here tomorrow (Friday) 10am - 9pm
Saturday 10am - 9pm
and Sunday 10am - 4pm

🎡🐓❤️

Address

10 Fifth Street NW
Grand Rapids, MN
55744

Opening Hours

Monday 11am - 4pm
Tuesday 2pm - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 12pm

Website

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