GRAND RAPIDS — Smiling faces, loud music and the smell of fried food greeted Grand Rapids First Friday attendees on Friday, May 3.
The small party in the parking lot on the corner of Highway 2 and First Avenue Northwest was a special event for the monthly celebration of artists. Free Range Food Co-op hosted to announce the future home of its grocery store: the southern half of the parking lot where everyone was gathered.
Brandon Otway is co-op owner No. 77, joining not long after incorporation in 2016. Since 2019, Otway — the early childhood coordinator for Northland Community Schools — has chaired the organization’s board of directors.
For him, finally being able to announce a site after five years of work means everything.
“It's been a huge sacrifice for my family to give up all of that time. When I'm doing food co-op stuff, I'm not at home,” Otway said.
“ ... It's just really exciting to know that there's an end in sight now, and we have something really tangible to work toward in the next phase. And then one day, my family's going to be able to walk in that store and buy healthy food and make better choices for us as a family.”
Otway said the site selection process took quite some time. It included many site evaluations and a professional market study. But while the search ran into wall after wall and was slowed by the pandemic, Otway and other board members kept working behind the scenes.
"One day, my family's going to be able to walk in that store and buy healthy food and make better choices for us as a family.”Brandon Otway, Free Range Food Co-op Board Member
Because there wasn’t much public work that could be done during COVID-19, Otway said they used the time to complete the co-op's policy handbook, which will be essential to running the store.
“There are other co-ops that are at a similar phase as us who haven’t even started their handbooks,” he said. “So, we’re really ahead of the curve on that part.”
The next step for the co-op is a community investment campaign, with a summer and fall phase.
“Without the funding, there will be no building,” Otway said. “So, it starts with us.”
After the community investment campaign, the board will seek external funding to cover the rest of the building cost. Otway estimates the entire project will be somewhere between $4.5 million and $5 million.
The co-op will provide healthier food choices for the community, Otway said. It will also create a gathering space, education and economic opportunity.
“There’s so many things,” he said. “It’s going to allow so many growers and producers in our area to be able to ramp up and potentially sell their products in our store. We’re creating economies for other people in this area.”
Otway wants people to know that the grocery store will be open to everyone, not just owners. It will also have conventional grocery items in addition to local and organic options.
“We want to be as much a one-stop shop for as many people as possible in our community,” he said.
