Tired of only being able to buy grains in 50-pound sacks , the half-dozen downtown residents decided they “ needed a more formal approach ,” Mueller says , and they opened a small , admittedly shabby storefront on 16th Street just off P .
That “ hippie-dippie grocery store ,” as another organizer , Mike Savino , described it , was called the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op , a name that endures today . Rent was $ 50 a month and the group began selling bulk , non-perishable items to its customers . “ I still remember the wooden floor was all cracked and dirty . I don ’ t know how we passed the health inspection even if we had one ,” says Savino , who was working for the state in the health care sector at the time . He ended up writing the co-op ’ s articles of incorporation .
The Davis Food Co-op is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year , while Sacramento will officially note that milestone next year , marking the date it began incorporation efforts in October 1973 , says Stacie Larkin , who has been with the Sacramento co-op for 20 years . Both co-ops are reminders of a consumer-driven movement a half-century ago that changed the way people shop , pushing supermarkets into offering more organic options .
Early 1970s were the boom years for food co-ops
Fifty years ago , in addition to Davis and Sacramento , there were several other cooperatives becoming established throughout Northern California in cities such as Berkeley , Richmond , Woodland , Chico and Grass Valley , says Mueller , who edited a newspaper at the time called Natural Food News .
“ I visited co-ops all up and down the state , particularly the one in Chico ,” Mueller says . “ That was part of the research I did just to get some ideas . How do you run a co-op ? What equipment do you need ? Everybody had different ways of how to buy and distribute food .”
Food co-ops are community and member-owned grocery stores , independent of the larger corporate store chains . Cooperatives focus on buying from local farmers while emphasizing environmental and social responsibility , adopting the “ farm to fork ” philosophy
William Mueller , left , and Michael Savino , at the site of the original Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op on 16th Street , near P Street , they opened in the spring of 1972 . Both were signers when the co-op incorporated in 1973 .
years before the term became popular . Members generally participate in the operation of a co-op by volunteering , electing its board of directors and then receiving discounts or other perks .
After several years operating as a formal buyers club , the Davis co-op came to serve about 300 households and quickly outgrew a number of temporary spaces , Evans says . In December 1976 the group took $ 5,000 in capital — turning down a bigger investment from a company that would have limited their independence — and opened a 500-square-foot Davis store with an allvolunteer crew on L Street . Incorporation efforts began ( they weren ’ t officially finalized until 1981 ) and the first bylaws were written in 1978 , around the same time its first paid staff members came on board . The fast growth prompted a move into the second store — a 2,160-square foot facility just a few blocks away on G Street .
David Thompson , who had helped develop co-ops all over the world , met Evans at a conference in 1978 . They married in 1981 when Thompson moved to Davis and became involved with the co-op . He became the longest-serving member of the board with 17 years of service , leading the effort to move into the G Street store . He also later worked to change member costs from $ 10 for a lifetime membership to $ 10 per year , requiring a $ 200 commitment .
“ We needed capital — the co-op had no equity — and that was the only way to convince the bank ,” Thompson says . Today , members pay $ 20 per year , with a $ 300 commitment .
The Davis co-op moved into its current 17,000-square-foot location on G Street in 1984 , taking over a store formerly occupied by Safeway . It has undergone several renovations since then , the last coming in 2018 . A carrot and tomato statue created by local artists , depicting the symbols that have always defined the co-op , greets visitors entering the store .
Evans , who later served in the first administration of Gov . Jerry Brown , where she ran the Department of Consumer Affairs ’ Consumer Cooperative Development Program , was also a Davis City council member and mayor . At the co-op ’ s 50th anniversary celebration in May , she said , “ We ’ ve come a long way from an infant buying club operating out of my living room to a supermarket that we own , with almost $ 19 million in annual sales , a
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