Follow along as we get closer and closer to Opening Day. A multistage pre-opening marketing plan is in the works. Postcards will be sent out to over 30,000 households in early February. Also, watch for the Open House that will be coming up later in February to show off our new store to owners and the public!

Wondering what could be a thoughtful and personalized gift for your loved one this holiday season? Local food is always something to celebrate! Gift someone a Wild Onion Market Ownership this year! Read our fall newsletter and learn about our latest events and progress on our market!

Momentum is growing! Construction is well underway, Devon Bank has approved our loan, we’re in the final push to raise the last funds needed, and to get to 2000 Owners by December. Join Us!

With 70 new Owners in the last month, we’re well on our way to the 2000 Owners needed to open OUR store! Spread the word to your friends and neighbors. Join our welcoming community. 

We are thrilled that Wild Onion Market has been awarded a highly competitive ETOD (Equitable Transit Oriented Development) grant from the City of Chicago. The ETOD initiative is intended to revitalize communities in underserved Chicago transit corridors. It is an honor to be included alongside so many worthy community projects.

In Memory of Debbie Hillman: Debbie Hillman was Owner #604 of Wild Onion Market.  She was a longtime contributor to this newsletter, sharing meaningful information about events, organizations, policy and research in her monthly Food Politics Corner column. We will remember Debbie fondly and are grateful for her involvement and passion.

Thank you to all Owners that participated in our cooperative democracy and voted for our new Directors. The voting period ended on March 15, the new Directors will begin their terms on April 1. The Board will self-select Officers at its first April Board meeting. Please join us in sincerely thanking Michelle Parker-Katz, My Nguyen, Cam Davis & David Mark for their Board service. All four will be rolling off at the end of March.

Are you an Owner? Consider running for a Board of Director position. Why? Because it’s exciting, satisfying, and at times challenging – but always about learning and growing as we represent Owners’ ideas and work around this focus as we state in the Board application

There is great progress being made! We are set to begin the first phase of construction in the next couple of weeks. The construction team will be digging trenches in the concrete floor to install plumbing, frame walls, and complete the first phase of plumbing and electric. This is all the work that happens before the walls are closed in. This first phase is scheduled to take 5-6 weeks, and the build-out from start to finish is scheduled to take about 16 weeks!

My name is Kristin Alexander and, along with Kim Stover, I have been volunteering countless hours over the past 15 months managing everything related to our site selection and store build out. As a social worker and physical therapist respectively, we have learned more than we ever imagined about grocery store equipment, design and construction! We are so close! Please help us bridge this gap by making a tax-deductible donation. Any amount you can give will help get the store open as soon as possible.

After a months-long search for the ideal candidate, Wild Onion Market has brought on John Calhoun, who will officially begin tomorrow, November 1. There will be many opportunities to get to know John over the coming weeks, and an introduction from John is below. Mark your calendars: meet and greet at the store, 7007 N. Clark, this Saturday, Nov 5th 10 AM-noon.

A huge thank you to our Spring Capital Campaign team who raised over $500,000 to open our co-operative grocery store. We are getting ready to launch the Fall Campaign Event on Sunday, October 16th and many of our callers will be returning and will be joined by new callers. Our closers did an amazing job of getting documents completed and funds to Wild Onion Market.

Our store can’t open without you! Almost 150 Owners showed up and invested in our Capital Campaign this Spring to raise $527,000, a great start!  Now is the time for you other 1,200 Owners to invest or donate to raise $600,000 more. Learn more about what we still have to accomplish…

A most heartfelt thank you to Debbie Hillman for her Food Politics Corner contributions to the Wild Onion Market newsletter for well over a year. It’s been an important and interesting resource, highlighting significant news, events, and organizations working towards food justice – we hope to keep this section going. Debbie, your efforts have been very much appreciated!

Building a food cooperative means standing up to corporate bullies who want to control what we feed ourselves and our families. And while this is our “lane”, we want to offer support and visibility to all those personally, deeply, materially, and emotionally affected by the news on Friday June 24th, 2022. We believe here that all people have a right to decide what is right for themselves and their families and we will continue that belief and fight in every way we can. 

A huge THANK YOU to our team of Owner/volunteers: Nancy, Betty, Paula, Maureen, Greg, Ariel, Matt, Sandy, Roxanne, Jodh, Lin, Rachel, Ann, Barry, Adam, who together have raised over $500,000 to build our grocery store.

Wild Onion Market just won Best of the Best Start-up Food Co-op in the country! Out of almost 100 emerging food co-ops in the United States, we have been recognized at the Up & Coming Food Co-op Conference for our exceptional community organizing and project development.

It it out of respect and care for the Earth and humankind that Wild Onion Market is being built. Wild Onion Market and Evanston Development Cooperative base their business models on a cooperative structure that puts people and planet first before and without being beholden to shareholders or corporate interest. Both businesses are completely community-owned and managed.

Check out the design of Wild Onion Market’s new 7007 N. Clark Street location! We will serve up community, local/sustainable produce, a coffee bar with seating and three bulk sections! We need 400 more Owners by the time we open the store, which we hope will be this year!  Join us and become a member today!

Have you heard the news?  After 8 years of hard work, we have signed a lease for 7007 N. Clark Street!  Our architect and store designers are busy working on the store layout and design, and we hope to get all necessary documents to the city for permitting in the next couple of months.

We found it! We are signing a lease this month for the Wild Onion Market retail location. There will be a big announcement for our Owners later in January, and for the public and press shortly thereafter.

In case you haven’t heard, Wild Onion Market is fast approaching our goal of 1,000 Founding Owner households. Founding Owners are local visionaries who see the possibility of a community owned grocery store…

Over 70 people gathered under the lights to talk, meet, and make new connections. We come together in person and in great spirits to build our market and support our communities.

We are so Excited! We have an architect, store designers and an equipment procurement specialist all ready to start working! Now we just need to sign a lease…

There are currently 860 Wild Onion Market Owners. The first 1000 will be forever known as the Founding Owners, visionaries who are building a community-owned grocery store as part of a robust local and sustainable food system. 

Wild Onion Market is our market. We’ll keep dollars local, support local farmers and producers, and help build a sustainable food production and packaging system. Join here! Spread the word! Share and comment @WildOnionMarket on Facebook and Instagram Help Reach the...

Wild Onion Market is our market. We’ll keep dollars local, support local farmers and producers, and help build a sustainable food production and packaging system. Join here! Spread the word! Share and comment @WildOnionMarket on Facebook and Instagram Section...

Wild Onion Market is our market. We’ll keep dollars local, support local farmers and producers, and help build a sustainable food production and packaging system. Join here! Spread the word! Share and comment @WildOnionMarket on Facebook and Instagram

Wild Onion Market is our market. We’ll keep dollars local, support local farmers and producers, and help build a sustainable food production and packaging system. Join here! Like & Follow Wild Onion Market on Facebook,...

Owner Number Update: Our co-op is growing, nearing 700 Owners! We hit two records with the highest ever new Owner numbers in January and February. Help us smash through 700 Owners in March! Join by purchasing a one-time only Owner share ($250 per household/business)....