About the Isla Vista Food Co-op
Characteristic of Isla Vista’s beloved hipster charm, the Isla Vista Food Cooperative (IVFC, but more affectionately known around here as just “the Co-op”) has been a landmark of our college town for over fifty years. The Co-op is a unique feature we get to boast about; living in a well-developed area surely provides us with abundance, but having a home in a neighborhood with a local market makes for a truly rich community. From fresh, locally sourced produce to 2025 planners designed by independent artists, we practically have a permanent farmers market right outside our doors!
Beyond its IV storefront, the Co-op not only has a Downtown Market, but is extraordinarily active in the larger Santa Barbara community. In just this past month, the Co-op has partnered with other philanthropic organizations to host a marketplace for small artists, a cycling road race, and Santa Barbara County Food Bank drives.
What Even Is a Co-op?
Every dollar slipped out of your pocket and into a register is a ballot toward that company’s values and social efforts. Called a cooperative for good reason, a co-op is a mutual aid organization. This means that your grocery money is reinvested in the local farms and vendors that stock the market’s shelves, as organized by a collaborative board of directors. Every purchase is an investment in the Co-op’s future– these profits and benefits go hand-in-hand to support our community!
Why Does It Need Saving?
Entering the new year, the Co-op announced a state of financial crisis, rooted in a decline beginning in 2023. Due to a “significant drop in sales” and “rising operational costs,” as stated on their Instagram post announcing the kick-off of the “Save Our Co-Op” Campaign, the future of the Co-op is entirely at stake. Both inflation and changes in the IV demographic are attributed by the board to this apparent drastic decrease in sales. While the Downtown Market location is a significant source of revenue for the overall business, it unfortunately could only buy so much time for the overall business and losses occurring in IV. After a year of success downtown but a slump all the while in IV, the owners are now calling it — the Co-op needs our help.
The Co-op’s Plan
The threat presented by the Co-op’s financial state is immediate, and the owners are working toward collecting a startling $200,000 in donations (or $25,000 per week for the first eight weeks of the year) to secure future operations and long term stability. This money is needed to pay for operations, simply stocking the shelves, and riding out an anticipated slow season during this time of the year.
Rebuilding a future, the leaders behind the Co-op have a plan to manage expenses and keep its doors open. This includes cutting operational costs, increasing revenue through promotions and partnerships, minimizing waste, and anchoring the business to its community’s support. Both serving and supported by our neighborhood, the mission of the co-op is not a large profit. What truly needs to be rebuilt is the support of our community toward our local market.
Let’s Support Our Local Co-op!
There are so many ways to help, but being an active community member engaging with this amazing resource is by far the easiest (and the best)! Missing cilantro for that new recipe you were meaning to make for dinner? Instead of hopping in the car and going grocery shopping, take the short walk over to the Co-op and pick up a fresh bunch. And if your market trips become regular, consider a membership and earn points back for your purchases!
To make an even bigger impact, donations are welcomed through the Co-op’s GoFundMe as well as through their website. To get directly involved, you can volunteer with the Ambassador Program or attend community-wide events and fundraisers. Just like the well-known (and well frequented) Woodstocks and Freebirds, the Co-op is a pillar of our Isla Vista community and is part of what makes this such an amazing place to get to spend these few short years of college. Let’s treasure the character of our town by becoming regulars at the Co-op, and keep its doors open for many years to come!