East End Food Coop (credit, home, buying)

[PittNewbie]

Anyone shops or is a member of this place and can share their experince?

[groar]

what do you want to know? i like the place, i like supporting a local business, they have good customer service, and they seem to have made an effort to make their prices more competitive since all the other natural food stores moved into the area. their produce section is really good, albeit expensive compared to non-organic stuff. their bulk section is the best in the city. the member discount is barely worth it, although membership is just a flat $100 fee (payable in up to 4 quarterly installments) for a lifetime household membership and is refundable if you ever stop being a member. so i guess it eventually adds up.

where membership is worth it is bulk buying - if you ever buy cases of things, the discount is substantial - i think it's 20%. you also get( discounts some other places, most notably (to me), construction junction.

you can also join their credit union, which is a pretty cool thing.

[raubre]

I didn't know you had to be a member to shop there. I always thought the store was a bit dirty.

[TechieTransplant]

Originally Posted by raubre

I didn't know you had to be a member to shop there. I always thought the store was a bit dirty.

I do too, along with being small and cramped. I don't see the fascination.

[Geeo]

You don't have to be a member to shop there, but it does get you a small discount. I like to load up on the bulk foods, and it saves a lot of unecessary packaging because I take my own containers. It's amazing how little plastic spice jars add up when you toss each one after each use.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

I like the East End Food Co-op, but I live a bit too far away for me to be a member since I only shop there once a month if that. Here's the pro's and cons of the place:

Pro's
- Nice produce section
- Bulk selection is awesome
- You can find pretty much any obscure spice here
- The smoothies they make are amazing
- Surprisingly good hot foods section
- Fun selection of obscure food products I haven't seen elsewhere

Con's
- Very high prices (I bought the same vanilla extract I saw here on amazon for 1/3rd of the price)
- Registers are very cramped
- I feel out of place sometimes compared to the other customers there
- Location is kinda hidden and the parking is spotty (since the lot is shared sometimes it's full)

Never felt that it was dirty though. It may not be as glitzy as Whole Foods, but after working at a Shop N Save for years this store is very clean and tidy in comparison.

[groar]

yeah it doesn't seem very dirty to me at all. cramped, for sure, especially on the one day a month when members get an extra discount. but whole foods feels just as crowded a lot of the time even though it's bigger.

prices are high on some things but not so high on others. same thing is true of whole foods.

parking is definitely an issue but i live within easy walking or biking distance so it didn't occur to me. when i do drive the only time i've had a real problem finding parking is, again, on the member extra discount day. other than that, it's pretty much like whole foods where sometimes you have to park across the parking lot.

and yeah, membership just means discounts. here are the benefits of membership, from their site:

http://www.eastendfoodcoop.com/images/bullet2.gif (broken link) 2% discount on all daily purchases
http://www.eastendfoodcoop.com/images/bullet2.gif (broken link) 10% discount on Member Appreciation Day purchases
http://www.eastendfoodcoop.com/images/bullet2.gif (broken link) 20% discount on uncut case purchases
http://www.eastendfoodcoop.com/images/bullet2.gif (broken link) Check writing privileges for up to $20 over purchase amount
http://www.eastendfoodcoop.com/images/bullet2.gif (broken link) Access to EEFC Federal Credit Union
http://www.eastendfoodcoop.com/images/bullet2.gif (broken link) Voting privileges in Co-op elections
http://www.eastendfoodcoop.com/images/bullet2.gif (broken link) The opportunity to run for the EEFC Board of Directors
http://www.eastendfoodcoop.com/images/bullet2.gif (broken link) The opportunity to serve on board committees
http://www.eastendfoodcoop.com/images/bullet2.gif (broken link) The Co-operator, EEFC's newsletter, mailed monthly to your home
http://www.eastendfoodcoop.com/images/bullet2.gif (broken link) Reduced advertising rates in The Co-operator
http://www.eastendfoodcoop.com/images/bullet2.gif (broken link) The opportunity to volunteer and earn an additional discount

i'll shop at any grocery store in the east end depending on what i'm getting, but the co-op is my first option cause it's the closest to me. i'll go to other places if they have something the co-op doesn't carry or have something they do carry for much less.

[DoitYerself]

I like the idea, but their prices are ridiculous. I stopped there to pick up some kale once, and grabbed a handful of other things...almond butter, some cereal, milk, falafel powder from the bulk section. Basic, staple stuff...my total ended up being something like 74 dollars? Ridiculous. I'm all about supporting local business and local food, and paying a little more, but who can afford 75 bucks for nut butter, cereal, and milk? OK, there was a book in there too, but still. Jesus.

[groar]

i don't find their prices to be all that different than whole foods (where it seems like i spend $40 every time i go no matter what). definitely more expensive than a conventional grocery store for most stuff, but not that out of the ordinary for a natural foods store. whole foods does have their store brand which is generally very reasonable, but i've also found things at the co-op that were cheaper than whole foods.

part of it is that buying from smaller companies (by that i mean the food producers, although it also applies to the store itself) is generally more expensive. there are economies of scale in giant corporations, and in non-organic farming practices.

there's no doubt about it, eating organic and supporting small local businesses is more expensive than not doing those things. it's a tradeoff and it's up to each individual person how far they want to go in one direction or another. personally, i think it's worth adjusting my budget and elminating some other things i might want in order eat better food, but that's just me.

[creepsinc]

Worth the drive just for the bulk items. Agree that they're too expensive for most other things.