When the Eat to Live Food Cooperative on Syracuse’s South Side opened in October, residents could find fresh food just around the corner.

But in December, just two months after opening, the co-op closed — forcing community members to once again rely on their familiar, tedious practices to obtain the food they needed.

“Half of the people in the neighborhood don’t have cars. They buy what little food they can at local corner stores, or carpool to grocery stores in other towns. It’s been difficult, as it has been for many years,” said Howie Hawkins, one of the co-op’s board members.

Residents of the South Side live in a food desert, an area with limited access to affordable, healthy food — especially for those who walk or rely on public transportation. People in food deserts often end up eating food that is overly processed, said Jikyo Bonnie Shoultz, South Side resident and Chaplain at Hendricks Chapel.

“It’s not nutritious, and it can be toxic,” Shoultz said.  “Co-ops provide organic and locally grown food. These are the qualities that we need to bring to people.”

The co-op plans to meet these needs in the South Side once again, as the board hopes to re-open the co-op this spring, possibly in April.

The original closure was due to a lack of money — which, for Hawkins, didn’t come as a surprise. Hawkins said he knew it would be difficult for the co-op to generate enough revenue in order to become stable.

Hawkins said the board views the closure as a delay, not a setback. With the re-opening, the board plans to show that it’s learned from its mistakes to provide consistent access to healthy food on the South Side.

“We’ve been working on the project for seven years, and there have always been hurdles along the way,” Hawkins said.  “It’s a part of every business, especially the new ones.”

The re-opening, complete with a new business plan and management team, is meant to make the store more accessible to customers while also increasing revenue to sustain business into the future.

When it re-opens, the store will be fully stocked to offer variety. It will also have a new café portion that Hawkins said he hopes will increase revenue and traffic.

Though its doors are closed, the co-op has also worked with members to pay off their membership fees. The fee is a one-time $100 payment, and many members have been paying this off in $10 increments each month, Hawkins said. With the membership, customers have access to reduced rate special items that the store manager chooses.

Shoultz, who was also a leader of the Hendricks hunger awareness and action campaign for the fall semester, said she hopes to see the co-op offer food that is not only local and organic, but also affordable for poorer South Side residents.

“To me, co-ops aren’t necessarily always cheaper. For some people, expense is the most critical factor,” Shoultz said.

When the store re-opens, the board hopes to address issues of affordability, in part now that it has received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program licensing, Hawkins said. Low-income individuals and families couldn’t purchase food at the co-op with SNAP benefits before.

As a South Side resident, Shoultz also said she would like to see the co-op educate the community. A lot of people in food deserts have forgotten how to cook foods like fresh vegetables, she said.

“Some people on the South Side have community gardens and have worked to educate people in the neighborhoods. If the co-op could also promote that I think it would be really helpful,” she said.

Matters of the re-opening and other topics were discussed at a co-op board meeting held Tuesday night.

Shirley Rowser, co-op board president, said an important part of the meeting was working with the management team on a revised business plan.

“The board is working diligently,” Rowser said, “We’re optimistic that we’ll meet our April goal.”

During the meeting the board also reviewed applications for a new general manager, Hawkins said. The co-op fired Jim Diamond, Eat to Live’s original general manager, and Hawkins said he believes finding the right manager will be one of the most crucial steps in the re-opening process.

“Even a great manager would’ve had difficulty when the store opened, but we didn’t have the right person for the time,” Hawkins said. “We’ve learned from that hire, and we’re going into this with a little more experience. We’re looking for someone who can be the calm in the middle of the storm.”

Rowser said she’s looking for knowledge on property laws and finance in the new manager to help counteract any future financial problems the co-op may face.

Shoultz said she hopes that city funding can also help prevent future financial problems. She said she believes the city plays a key role in supporting co-ops and eliminating food deserts. Shoultz pointed to Binghamton and Ithaca as cities that assist poorer residents in affording nutritional food, such as through the Community Supported Agriculture program.

“It should be the city’s mission to make sure people are fed well,” she said.

Shoultz said she hopes the Syracuse community will stand behind Eat to Live to make sure it has the funding it needs to operate.

“It’s too bad co-ops are struggling by themselves when other organizations in town should have the same mission,” Shoultz said.

Despite original budget problems, both Hawkins and Rowser said they feel confident about the re-opening. The board says it has learned from the closure and hopes the co-op can help reduce the area of the desert well into the future.

Said Hawkins: “When we do open it’s going to be bigger and better. We have the foundation to operate in the black. I’m confident we’ll make it work.”

Published on February 27, 2014 at 3:09 am

Contact Lydia: lawilson@syr.edu