For the love of food: Karma Co-op

One of my number one missions when I came back to Toronto this past September was to visit the Karma Co-operative, a not-for-profit food store, to see what this alternative shop had to offer. A friend of mine introduced the Karma idea to me after learning of my interest in organic and ethical eats with an emphasis on local sourcing. This past fall, I grabbed some reusable bags, stuffed them in my backpack and headed out in search of some good Karma.

The Karma Co-op has a lot of charm because of its location. It is tucked down a laneway off of Barton Avenue, just east of Palmerston. Taking public transit, the station that gets you closest is Bathurst. The store is housed in what looks like a small warehouse smushed behind homes with bike racks and recycling bins hugging it close.

I feel like I should back up a bit and admit that I haven't always been so good with my food. As a university student, I ate my share of Mr. Noodles and pizza, and didn't really spend much of any time thinking about where my food came from. It is over the last few years of learning more about climate change, about the importance of local farming, and the health aspects of organic food that had me walking down this laneway.

I had no idea what it meant to be a part of a co-operative, but I soon found out. Everyone gets a one-time trial shop, and then you need to sign up, at least for now. All members pay a fully refundable, one-time loan of $70. This helps secure the continuity of the co-op and really wasn't a big deal for me to pay considering I'd get it back if I ever decided to "leave" Karma. Other costs include two $18 fees per year that help to cover member services and building/capital costs. Again, this sounded reasonable to me - especially because Karma doesn't mark up its groceries like other downtown stores do. The last item, which I found kind of novel, was the idea that members have rights in this food store. You can choose to be considered a working member (which means you join a work team to either work at cash, clean up, set up or even cut cheese for two hours once a month) or a non-working member (people chooose either to pay $18 at the beginning of the month or receive $10 on top of their purchases). You also get to vote and sit on committees if you choose. The Co-op has been around since 1972 and reportedly has about 500 members that are considered working and more than 380 non-working households on its roster.

Okay, let's get to the shopping! Karma is stacked with loads of local produce, some organic and some conventional, that is sourced as locally as possible given the season. It carries a decent supply of household and personal care (shampoos and supplements) items, the bulk food section is really quite good and well priced, organically raised meat and local cheeses fill the fridges and freezers, and the shelves are well-stocked with canned and packaged foods (they even have their own Fair-Trade Plus Karma Coffee). Basically, the Co-op brings in whatever its members want, with an emphasis on the local, the environmental and the social.

Karma Co-op is always looking for new members. Being a former big grocery store shopper myself, I understand the hesitation, but I encourage people to come and check it out.  Also, this is not the only co-op in the city, so do a bit of research and see which one is most conveniently located to you. Check out the Karma website: www.karmacoop.org to learn more.