Giving Back in 2020
Co-op donates more than $5,600 to local nonprofits in 2020
Community-owned grocery store gives back to R.A.C.E. Matters SLO, Transitions-Mental Health Association, People’s Self-Help Housing, RISE SLO
From left, Director of Development and Marketing with RISE/Sexual assault/abuse and intimate partner violence programs, SLO Food Co-op Communications Coordinator Kasey Main and SLO Food Co-op General Manager Zack Sheppard, SLO’s only community-owned grocery store donated more than $5,600 to local nonprofits in 2020 and plans to keep the momentum going strong.
SLO FOOD CO-OP (Monday, Jan 11, 2021) — After donating a total of $5,685.55 for San Luis Obispo County area nonprofits in 2020, SLO’s only community-owned grocery store has set its sights on giving back to a fellow cooperative, Paso Food Co-op, this January-February.
Past 2% Tuesday recipients in 2020 included R.A.C.E. Matters SLO, and Transitions-Mental Health Association). Just last week, the Co-op donated a total of $1,944.60 to RISE SLO, which provides low or no cost crisis services to victims of sexual and domestic partner abuse.
SLO Food Co-op General Manager Zack Sheppard underscored the good cooperatives can do within the community as a whole.
“Co-ops strengthen the community. The success of our 2% Tuesdays program shows that our shoppers care not just about local food, but the overall well-being of our friends and neighbors. Together with our shoppers, we’ve helped folks grappling with housing insecurity, mental health issues, abuse and injustice,” Sheppard said. “Food co-ops, in particular, create incredible value for all, from coming together to support important shared issues to championing local farmers and growers to encouraging active, engaged ownership of a shared vision of a better future.”
Designed to give back 2% of each Tuesday’s total sales to a worthy local nonprofit--or in the case of the next beneficiary, a worthy fellow cooperative--the 2% Tuesday program began in July 2020. That initial effort supported the store’s first recipient, R.A.C.E. Matters SLO. From there, the program blossomed into a popular way for shoppers to give back to the causes that matter most.
The momentum is growing strong: In November and December 2020, the Co-op also raised more than $600 for People’s Self-Help Housing with a new “Charity Tree” effort. The community outreach program encouraged shoppers to donate a monetary amount of their choosing at check-out over the holiday season. Donation ornaments were “hung” on the Co-op tree, spurring others to give, too.
“Our community continues to show their energized support for local nonprofits, families in need and local businesses we value and hold dear,” said SLO Food Co-op Communications Coordinator Kasey Main. “The positive responses we see for our 2% Tuesdays outreach provides a compass for the continual excitement we have in facilitating these programs for our shared communities. We are pleased to reinforce our vision of empowering health and well-being in our community through our current outreach opportunities, and looking forward to many more on the horizon.”
SLO Food Co-op is currently open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., with the first hour dedicated to high risk shoppers. The team is also happy to shop for customers during regular store hours, Monday through Friday. Just bring your shopping list to a door attendant or cashier and they’ll take care of the rest.