COMMUNITY GIVING
In 2024, Maple City Market continued our ongoing partnership with The Window Food Pantry, donating 3-4 boxes of fresh produce and groceries twice a week. This program reflects our commitment to supporting our community and addressing food insecurity. While the total impact of these donations has yet to be calculated, the initiative continues to provide much-needed support to local families, embodying the cooperative spirit of giving back.
Through our Register Round-Up program, gift cards, and sponsorships, Maple City Market proudly supported numerous local organizations in 2024. These included The Window, Trees for Goshen, Bushelcraft Farm, Goshen Community Schools, Center for Healing and Hope, River Bend Film Festival, Goshen College, Phoenix Performing Arts, Goshen Public Library, and others. Thanks to the generosity of our member-owners and shoppers, we were able to give back to the Elkhart County and Goshen community in a meaningful way, contributing a total of $4,850 this year.
A statement from Round-Up recipient, Bushelcraft Farm:
Thank you to Maple City Market. Round-Up funds from Maple City Market helped Bushelcraft Farm get through a rather challenging streak this past spring. The funding that came through helped us wrap up our food baskets program in which our teammate Elizabeth Miranda Ramirez took the lead, putting together food basket meal kits for families at Goshen Boys & Girls Club.
This also helped us give her part time work hours to continue harvesting and donating produce to the food pantry at Church Community Services in Elkhart. As you may know, we were waiting for many months of delays for grant funding to come through for our latest tree-nursery project in partnership with the City of Goshen. The City of Goshen was also waiting for a while. Long story short, we had a challenging April-August as we waited. Being part of the Register Round-Up was a game changer for us. We are still a very tiny nonprofit, as you know. Currently, we are rolling out a list of community classes at https://bushelcraftfarm.wordpress.com/
-John Zirkle, Director of Bushelcraft Farm, Elkhart IN
ROUND-UP FUTURE PLANS
2024 marked the successful debut of Maple City Market’s Register Round-Up program. Thanks to the generous support of our customers, each participating non-profit received an average of $1,000—a truly remarkable impact made possible by spare change! While this first year exceeded expectations, it also served as a trial run, offering valuable insights to help us refine the program moving forward.
What’s Changing in 2025?
When we launched the program, our goal was to host one round-up fundraiser each financial quarter—four in total per year. However, based on feedback from staff and shoppers, we’re adjusting this to two fundraisers annually: one in the first half of the year and another in the second. This change reflects our commitment to creating an enjoyable and sustainable experience for everyone involved. With the co-op’s continued financial growth, two fundraisers per year feel more aligned with our capacity. By reducing frequency, we can ensure that these events remain collaborative, impactful, and engaging without causing fatigue for shoppers or staff.
Greater Community Involvement
In 2024, MCM pre-selected each round-up recipient. This approach allowed us to introduce the concept, measure community interest, and build the foundation for the program. With those goals accomplished, we’re excited to shift to a more community-driven model in 2025: shoppers will now have the opportunity to vote on the recipients. By incorporating your voices, we aim to make the Register Round-Up even more reflective of the values and priorities of our co-op community.
Thank You for a Great First Year
We’re deeply grateful for the enthusiasm and generosity you’ve shown during the program’s inaugural year. Your support demonstrates the incredible potential we have to make a difference together. We look forward to another year of working hand-in-hand with our community to create meaningful impact. Stay tuned for updates on the voting process and upcoming round-ups!
NEW REFRIGERATION UNITS
This past fall, we embarked on a major upgrade to enhance your shopping experience: the installation of the brand-new refrigeration system! This upgrade has allowed us to offer even fresher produce, delicious local meats, and a wider variety of artisanal products.
NEW MEMBER-OWNERS
In 2024, the Maple City Market Co-op welcomed an incredible 174 new member-owners, a milestone that highlights the power of community collaboration. Each new member-owner represents a shared commitment to investing in local food systems, sustainability, and the cooperative spirit that strengthens our community.
Members receiving a free pumpkin during “Oh My Gourd” event
This growing network not only supports the co-op’s ability to provide healthy, locally sourced options but also ensures its long-term resilience and growth. Together, we are creating a vibrant, sustainable future that benefits everyone, fostering deeper connections and shared purpose within our community.
MAJOR GROWTH – A $3,000,000 year!
The MCM Board of Directors both anticipated the wonderful growth we have experienced over the past 12-18 months and were also pleasantly surprised by it. We anticipated growth because we have supported our General Manager, Brad Alstom, with his recommendations for strategic changes and enhancements to our store and our product offering. We’re surprised because, well you just never know for sure what will happen and our levels of anticipated growth exceeded our expectations! We experienced overall growth from 2023 to 2024 of 20%! Wow! Specifically our total sales in 2024 were $3 million up from $2.5 million 2023. The staff was abuzz on the day we hit $3 million which happened to be on December 31st! It was an amazing way to end the year and provided the inspiration for all of us to feel excited about the year ahead.
On a broader scale, it’s important to know that we are part of a national trend in the food Co-op world. Food Co-op sales for all National Co-op Grocers stores (NCG) were up 6% during 2024 which compares to just 3% growth in total U.S. grocery sales. Clearly shoppers are beginning to understand the difference and the value between big box retail grocers and Co-op grocers. As well, clearly there is something happening with our store that is exceeding NCG trends. This is due entirely to you as shoppers and we are extremely grateful for the continued support that you as member-owners provide for our store, our employees, our vendors and our community!
All that being said, rapid growth can be exciting, challenging, and maybe even detrimental if not handled well. To that end, the board, and management team are working with great diligence to continue to nurture this growth while staying true to who we are and what you want our store to be. A primary guide for this effort can be found in our ends statement which says, “There will be a healthy community nourished and educated by: equitable economic practices; regenerative environmental impacts; and inclusive, socially responsible relationships.” More succinctly as we pursue growth and profitability, we will always keep people and planet as our north star.
-Darin Short, Co-Chair of Maple City Market BOD
UPCOMING 50TH ANNIVERSARY of Maple City Market!
This year marks an incredible milestone for Maple City Market Co-op—50 years of serving our community with local, sustainable, and healthy food options! We are thrilled to honor this legacy and invite you to join us for a community celebration later this year. Stay tuned for more details as we prepare to commemorate five decades of cooperative spirit and the amazing people who have made it all possible.
Blog by MCM Marketing Department: Carrie Lee Bland-Kendall and Bailey Harmon