From the Board of Directors: Expansion Update

MFC submitted preliminary plans to the City Planning Department.

Thanks to ongoing community support and continued growth, the Medford Food Co-op Board of Directors has been exploring expansion options for the last several years. Last September, Board President Kellie Hill gave owners an update on the Board’s work to determine whether or not an expansion is financially feasible sometime in the near future. One possibility the Board is currently considering is expansion on site.

On March 23rd, MFC submitted preliminary plans to the City’s Planning Department to determine the possibility of expansion at our current location. The Board is still assessing feasibility and feedback from the Planning Department is essential before involving owners, employees, and the community in a wider discussion. Submitting plans to the city is a preliminary step in determining if expansion is financially feasible.

“It is unfortunate that some information was prematurely released,” stated Kellie Hill, Board President. “Yes, we are definitely looking for ways to better serve our expanding ownership and customer base and we look forward to our staff, owners, and shoppers being fully involved in this process over the next 18 months.”

The Board will continue to fully assess the possibility of an expansion opportunity on site, and this is just the first step. Understanding the city’s requirements gives us more information about the actual costs, and gives the builder information to make a proforma. Negotiations, Board approval, the owners approval, and a successful fundraising campaign would all have to be completed before a project could move forward. If our cooperative decides to move forward with expansion, construction would not begin until February 2025 at the earliest. Any feasible expansion opportunities will be presented to the Co-op owners for input and consideration.

Medford Food Co-op will continue exploring expansion options in order to grow our cooperative, better serve our owners, and make progress toward our vision to cooperatively nurture a healthy community.

Owners can contact the Board of Directors any time via email at board@medfordfood.coop or join us at our monthly meeting.