Community leaders and the West Colfax Business Improvement District are exploring a food co-op somewhere along West Colfax to give residents better access to fresh, healthy and affordable food.
The co-op would allow supporting members to buy a membership that is also a part ownership allowing them to vote on issues. There would also be a board of directors.
The market would fill a need in the community for a grocer, which the West Colfax Business Improvement District has been trying to bring in for some time.
“We’re in a food desert in a sense that you have low-income people who don’t necessarily have transportation,” West Colfax BID executive director Dan Shah said.
Small lot sizes have been an issue that have kept both large and small chain grocers off of West Colfax.
Shah and leaders from some surrounding neighborhoods have been looking at the possibility of the co-op since last spring and recently met with the community to discuss the issue.
Resident Kathryn Kubala is new to West Colfax and thought the co-op was a good idea. She’s been volunteering to help run the co-op’s Facebook page.
She said people in her area typically shop at King Soopers off of Sheridan Boulevard in Edgewater, Safeway on 26th Avenue and Federal or all the way to Belmar in Lakewood to shop at Whole Foods.
People searching for quick options will go to 7-Eleven on West Colfax.
“There’s not a lot of healthy food options,” she said.
Leaders will meet again in the coming weeks to determine if the co-op is a viable option for West Colfax. They will need to gauge whether or not enough people will shop and become members. A shopper does not need to be a member, but being a member provides the opportunity for discounts, special deals and the possibility to order items at wholesale prices.
The group is working with consultant Caroline Savery on best practices to get a co-op started. Savery previously worked with the Northeast Community Co-op Market near Stapleton, which has more than 600 members.
“West Colfax is very much in need of a grocer. and that is potentially the incentive to build up the support,” Savery said.
She said it’s too early to determine a membership cost, but it could range between $25 up to $400. A location along West Colfax is still up in the air, but it would likely be a 4,000 square-foot building. Building 7 at the old St. Anthony’s site at Raleigh Street and West Conejos Place is a candidate, but nothing is confirmed.
Savery said one thing the group is fighting is the idea that a co-op is only for organic foods and is expensive.
“The idea of food co-op will present challenges,” she said. “People perceive food co-ops as a natural, organic, expensive grocer. Co-ops don’t have to be that.”
Kabala said the co-op market could be a gathering place for the community and a job creator for some locals.
“I am excited about the opportunity, it’s just in the very early stages,” she said. “It’s hard to envision what it might look like.”
Joe Vaccarelli: 303-954-2396, jvaccarelli@denverpost.com or twitter.com/joe_vacc
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For more and future information on the West Colfax co-op, visit
