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Eileen at a Co-op picnic with a plate of food.
Eileen Murray at a Co-op community picnic.

More than a Grocery Store — Reflections of a Member

by Eileen Murray, Co-op Member since 1990

Hello, my name is Eileen, I moved to Sacramento in April 1990. The first and most important need upon arriving in a new city was obtaining organic food. Landing in the suburbs I realized that organic food was many miles away, Downtown. Also on my list of needs were a job and a place to live. So, I headed Downtown.

The Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op had just moved in Sept. 1989 from Freeport Blvd. to S Street and Alhambra Blvd. The “New Store” was big and bright, full of creative staff and members. Enthusiasm and commitment to success were evident in one’s shopping experience.

Customer service, education, and member involvement plus benefits were then and continue to be the creed of the cooperative movement. Democracy in action, sometimes messy as it is said, the “New Store” was truly a cooperative, an independent light in the corporate landscape.

So, with a resume of 20 years of employment in food service including cooking and managing a small natural food store in Fairbanks, Alaska I had the idea to meet all my needs at the Co-op. I bought some veggies and applied for a job. Everything serendipitously fell into place. I found a mother-in-law cottage a mile from the Co-op, and my landlady was also a Co-op member sporting a pair of Birke’s. My community was born.

A black-and-white photo of the Co-op from the 90's
The Co-op storefront when it was located on Alhambra Blvd.

During the 32 years of being a member of the Co-op so many evolutions have transpired. The beautiful Deli we have now had its beginning in a display case adjacent to the produce dept. at the “Old Store” which morphed into two iterations of a kitchen and deli that absorbed warehouse space to house the prep kitchen and refrigeration. The warehouse expanded to outbuildings and admin moved into digs across the street on Alhambra Blvd.

The Marketing Dept. being the blood of retail sales and consumer education for the co-op set its sight high. During the growth of the Co-op, it continued to take on challenges in the ever-changing landscape of diet, organics, fair trade, local farmers, diversity of consumers, community involvement, and the consumer education of young and old.

The store food demonstrations and the Co-op Cooking School were a visionary labor of love envisioned by marketing staffers. Projects like “One Farm at a Time” conserving farmland for future generations and partnering with nonprofit organizations like Soil Born Farms invigorated the circle of like-minded citizens interested in the healthy future of Sacramento. Other projects continue to keep the co-op engaged in the larger community. Benefits for the community continue to be reaped from the constant dedication of the Co-op in building community alliances that give back to members and the larger community.

The digital landscape is now the vibrant center stage in communication and commerce for our community. We now have a younger staff with the same vision of health and wellbeing as in the past, eager to dance the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op into the future with new projects and services.

A group photo of Co-op employees at a team bowling event in 1994.
1994 Co-op staff bowling party.

I personally am grateful to have supported, both professionally and as a member, the education and community building the Co-op has initiated over the last 32 years. We now have another “New Store”, six past and present general managers, many, many staff who have moved on to other adventures, and a score of board members elected to oversee the democracy in action of our co-op.

I have made many friends as a member of the Co-op. The community has sustained and nurtured me for all these years. I am grateful to have met like-minded individuals who step up every day to fuel the light of cooperation.

Thank you, I hope to run into you next time I shop.

Eileen Murray has been a resident of Sacramento and a member of the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op since May 1990.  She started Eileen‘s Kitchen in 1991 as a personal chef, baker, and educator, Eileen also works part-time as an usher at the City’s Performing Arts Complex.  Eileen likes to garden, read, watch films, take trips to the coast and walk her dogs Mio and Toby.

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