It’s again time for another Customer Corner feature here on the blog. This edition is all about Skagit Valley Food Co-op located in Mount Vernon, Washington. They have been making it easy to eat healthy in their community since 1973! Read on to find out more about their mission and values and be sure to check them out on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, & their website!

Skagit Valley Food Co-op

At the Skagit Valley Food Co-op, we’ve been growing community since 1973. What started as a buying club in a basement has grown into something much greater: a hub in the local community for good food and good people. Everyone is welcome to shop at the Co-op because we believe healthy food is for everyone!

Our commitment to good, healthy food is just one reason people choose to shop here. Eating healthy shouldn’t be difficult, but in today’s world, a lot of food in grocery stores isn’t really food, and separating the good from the bad can be confusing—and exhausting. For this reason, we have a rigid set of buying guidelines to help take the guesswork out of grocery shopping for our customers. People can trust that the food found in the Co-op is healthy and safe to eat, locally-grown, certified organic, and produced in humane, ethical, and sustainable ways.

Our access to fresh, local food is another reason people frequent the Co-op. Skagit Valley is home to some of the best farmland on Earth. From the best farmland in the world comes the best food in the world, and we work with dozens of local farmers and producers to ensure it ends up in the Co-op for all to enjoy.

With local foods high on our list of priorities, we’re proud to put our name on the food we make from scratch right here in the Co-op. When we can’t source something locally, we make sure to partner with other brands doing their part to protect their people and the planet wherever they are. With its commitment to cooperative principles and working with producers who pay great attention to the fine science of making maple syrup, Maple Valley Cooperative is a great example of a company doing just that.

In 2016, we opened C-SQUARE & Third Street Cafe, an extension of the Co-op found just through our parking lot. C-SQUARE is our marketplace of specialty foods and kitchens, boasting a charcuterie, creamery, espresso bar, and our well-established bakery. We roast our fair-trade, organic coffee on site; we spin small-batch ice cream using milk from Northwest dairies; and our bakers craft fresh goods made with flours from no-till farms.

Third Street Cafe is our full-service restaurant and the only community-owned restaurant for miles and miles. We make our dishes from scratch using our own recipes with local and organic ingredients from people who share our commitment to serving real, delicious food.

We are happy to call Skagit Valley home and are honored to be a healthy resource to all in our community.