Eat to Live Food Cooperative opens on Syracuse’s south side

SYRACUSE — Syracuse University’s (SU) South Side Initiative Office and the Southside Community Coalition have formally opened the Eat to Live Food Cooperative at 2327 S. Salina St. in Syracuse.

Organizers and project stakeholders held a small ceremony on Oct. 15 to mark the occasion.

GroundWorks Capital Coalition (GC2), the Gifford Foundation of Syracuse, and the Southside Community Coalition worked together on the project that is aimed at bringing healthy food to Syracuse’s South Side, according to SU.

The 3,000-square-foot grocery store and café features healthy food and produce from local farms and distributors.

The cooperatively owned grocery store will serve an area of Syracuse that the state and federal governments have defined as a “food desert,” according to SU.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food deserts “as parts of the country vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthful whole foods, usually found in impoverished areas. This is largely due to a lack of grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and healthy food providers,” according to the website of the American Nutrition Association, a nonprofit that provides nutrition and wellness education.

The Eat to Live Food Cooperative wants to offer the neighborhood residents more healthy food “options,” Shirley Rowser, president of the board of directors at the cooperative, said in her remarks during the ceremony.

The resident member-owners will run the cooperative along with an elected board of directors, SU said in a news release.

Residents and organizations on Syracuse’s south side had the idea to “satisfy the need for affordable and fresh food in the neighborhood,” said Joseph Bryant, president of the Southside Community Coalition.

Reeves Farms of Baldwinsville is among the suppliers, according to Bryant.

“Basically, it’s a grocery store. Anybody can shop [here]. The difference between this and the traditional grocery store is the business model of being cooperatively owned,” Bryant said while speaking to reporters after the ceremony.

Nearly 100 shareholders own the Eat to Live Food Cooperative, Bryant said. Every member-owner has equal voting rights and decision-making rights, he added.

The cooperative employs eight people, including a mix of full- and part-time employees, he said.  Bryant wasn’t sure if the employee count would increase over time.

A membership costs $100, SU said, and the cooperative will accept monthly payments.

The project to prepare the store cost about $1.5 million, Bryant said. The entire process started in 2007.

Grants from Empire State Development through the Central New York Regional Economic Development Council (CNYREDC), National Grid, the Central New York Community Foundation, the Gifford Foundation, and the Allyn Foundation provided most of the funding for the cooperative, Bryant said.

The CNYREDC grant totaled $394,000, Bryant said.

Irish-Millar Construction, Inc. of Syracuse served as the general contractor on the project. 

Independent architect Sekou Cooke designed the building. Cooke came to Syracuse in early 2010 to teach at SU’s School of Architecture and learned about the project from Linda Littlejohn, associate vice president of SU’s South Side Initiative.

“At that point, they didn’t have a budget. They didn’t have a site. They didn’t have a place to go. And I told her she really needs a full scope of architectural services,” Cooke says.

SU students and faculty in the School of Architecture, the College of Law, the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, and the School of Information Studies were also involved in the project as part of ongoing academic and engagement work, according to the university.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

SYRACUSE — Syracuse University’s (SU) South Side Initiative Office and the Southside Community Coalition have formally opened the Eat to Live Food Cooperative at 2327 S. Salina St. in Syracuse.

Organizers and project stakeholders held a small ceremony on Oct. 15 to mark the occasion.

GroundWorks Capital Coalition (GC2), the Gifford Foundation of Syracuse, and the Southside Community Coalition worked together on the project that is aimed at bringing healthy food to Syracuse’s South Side, according to SU.

The 3,000-square-foot grocery store and café features healthy food and produce from local farms and distributors.

The cooperatively owned grocery store will serve an area of Syracuse that the state and federal governments have defined as a “food desert,” according to SU.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food deserts “as parts of the country vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthful whole foods, usually found in impoverished areas. This is largely due to a lack of grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and healthy food providers,” according to the website of the American Nutrition Association, a nonprofit that provides nutrition and wellness education.

The Eat to Live Food Cooperative wants to offer the neighborhood residents more healthy food “options,” Shirley Rowser, president of the board of directors at the cooperative, said in her remarks during the ceremony.

The resident member-owners will run the cooperative along with an elected board of directors, SU said in a news release.

Residents and organizations on Syracuse’s south side had the idea to “satisfy the need for affordable and fresh food in the neighborhood,” said Joseph Bryant, president of the Southside Community Coalition.

Reeves Farms of Baldwinsville is among the suppliers, according to Bryant.

“Basically, it’s a grocery store. Anybody can shop [here]. The difference between this and the traditional grocery store is the business model of being cooperatively owned,” Bryant said while speaking to reporters after the ceremony.

Nearly 100 shareholders own the Eat to Live Food Cooperative, Bryant said. Every member-owner has equal voting rights and decision-making rights, he added.

The cooperative employs eight people, including a mix of full- and part-time employees, he said.  Bryant wasn’t sure if the employee count would increase over time.

A membership costs $100, SU said, and the cooperative will accept monthly payments.

The project to prepare the store cost about $1.5 million, Bryant said. The entire process started in 2007.

Grants from Empire State Development through the Central New York Regional Economic Development Council (CNYREDC), National Grid, the Central New York Community Foundation, the Gifford Foundation, and the Allyn Foundation provided most of the funding for the cooperative, Bryant said.

The CNYREDC grant totaled $394,000, Bryant said.

Irish-Millar Construction, Inc. of Syracuse served as the general contractor on the project. 

Independent architect Sekou Cooke designed the building. Cooke came to Syracuse in early 2010 to teach at SU’s School of Architecture and learned about the project from Linda Littlejohn, associate vice president of SU’s South Side Initiative.

“At that point, they didn’t have a budget. They didn’t have a site. They didn’t have a place to go. And I told her she really needs a full scope of architectural services,” Cooke says.

SU students and faculty in the School of Architecture, the College of Law, the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, and the School of Information Studies were also involved in the project as part of ongoing academic and engagement work, according to the university.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com