About New Leaf Market

Mission Statement

New Leaf Market is committed to building a vibrant and healthy local community by providing natural and organic foods and products. As a cooperative, we emphasize socially and environmentally responsible practices, and provide education and information about our products and the cooperative principles upon which we are based.

Vision Statement

New Leaf Market sees a world in which humans live in harmony with their environment and each other. We offer an alternative approach where people and the environment come first. We learn to cooperate with each other to build something greater than ourselves. Offering wholesome foods and educating the community about products we sell is our contribution to a healthier future generation.

History
Organizational History

Like many other cooperatives, New Leaf Market originally began as a buying club to provide its owners, mostly college students and young families, with affordable, healthy food. In 1974 the buying club legally became the Leon County Food Cooperative (LCFC). On May 1, 1974 the Co-op found its first permanent home at 702 S. Macomb with only 200 owners, $1000 in capital and $260 in inventory. Just a year and a half later in 1976 the LCFC moved to a warehouse at 649 W. Gaines Street, which offered approximately 4,500 sq. ft. of retail space in addition to housing the Canopy Road Credit Union. The LCFC was staffed by volunteers and led by a three-person management team and a small Board of Directors.

The Leon County Food Co-op spent 15 years on Gaines Street refining practices, hiring paid staff and expanding product lines with an emphasis on natural and organic food. In August of 1989, General Manager Carol Wilkinson moved the Co-op to its current location at 1235 Apalachee Parkway. One year later sales had increased by almost 60 percent over the previous year. At the same time, the Co-op changed its name from the Leon County Food Co-op to New Leaf Market in an attempt to dispel the notion that co-ops were only for hippies and to appeal to the broader Tallahassee community.

The Parkway store featured a large organic produce section and a café that eventually became the deli. New Leaf MarketÕs yearly sales steadily increased. In 2001 sales reached $4.1 million and New Leaf Market was utilizing every last inch of its space. In June 2001, New Leaf Market acquired 1,500 additional sq. ft. from the adjacent store front and a small loan to expand the store. The grand re-opening, in March of 2002, unveiled a dazzling new store that offered more of everything: produce, refrigerated, frozen, bulk and a brand new deli.

In 2001 owners approved two proposals; reincorporation as a cooperative and patronage rebates. Owners voted to change to a patronage rebate system from discounts at the register. Prior to 2001, New Leaf Market gave owners discounts at the register in exchange for their level of equity investment; $25-2%, $50-5% and $100-7%. Unfortunately, the discount system dispensed discounts regardless of whether the store had made a profit. The patronage rebate system assures that rebates are only returned if, and when, the store has made a profit by returning a portion of the profit based on each ownerÕs patronage of the Co-op. This change allowed the Co-op to pull itself out of a cycle of loss.

The second change gave New Leaf Market legal co-op status. The state of Florida prohibits retail cooperatives. From 1974 through 2000 New Leaf Market did business as a cooperative without legally being recognized as such. In January 2001 New Leaf Market reincorporated as a cooperative in the state of Minnesota.

In 2004 the Board authorized the General Manager to once again begin the expansion process. In conjunction with this decision, the Board increased the ownership fee from $25 to $100.

In 2007, New Leaf Market signed a new lease that secured 4,435 additional sq. ft. for the store, extensive building maintenance and a home on the parkway through 2021. Construction is slated to begin August or September 2007. The expanded and renovated store will include wider aisles, two more checkout lanes, and additional retail space for grocery, frozen and refrigerated, health and body care, deli products, and a fresh meat and seafood department. The store will be also house increased storage space for back stock, a produce prep area and a much-needed employee break room.

Donation Requests

Every year New Leaf Market donates thousands of dollars in product and services to local schools, churches and community organizations. If you would like to apply for a donation please fill out the on-line donation request form. Due to the high volume of requests, we ask that you review our Donation Guidelines before submitting your request.

« Donation Guidelines
« Request a donation for your organization [PDF]
« Request a donation for your organization online

Ends Policies

New Leaf Market is a source for healthy communities and supports a sustainable environment.

1. New Leaf Market educates and advocates for our members as consumers.
2. New Leaf Market supports local, organic, cooperative and fair labor suppliers.
3. Through New Leaf Market, community is created and empowered.
4. New Leaf Market takes organizational action to achieve a healthy environment.

Cooperative Principles

New Leaf Market conducts its affairs in accordance with the following cooperative principles that were adapted from the International Cooperative Principles by LaCrosse People's Food Co-op.

1. Voluntary and Open Ownership
   New Leaf Market is a voluntary organization; open to all persons able to use our services and willing to accept the responsibilities of ownership, without gender, social, racial, political, or religious discrimination.


2. Democratic Owner Control
   The Co-op is a democratic organization controlled by its owners, who actively participate in setting policies and making decisions. New Leaf Market recognizes that owners have different motivations, needs and expectations. Owners are encouraged to participate at a level and on the issues that they choose. Men and women serving as elected representatives are accountable to the ownership. In primary cooperatives owners have equal voting rights (one owner, one vote).


3. Owner Economic Participation
   Owners contribute equitably to, and democratically control the capital of the Co-op. At least part of that capital is the common property of the cooperative. Owners receive limited compensation, if any, on capital subscribed as a condition of ownership. Owners, through their Board of Directors, allocate surpluses for any of the following purposes: developing their cooperative, possibly by setting up reserves, part of which at least would be indivisible; benefiting owners in proportion to their transactions with the cooperative; and supporting other activities of the cooperative.


4. Autonomy and Independence
   The Co-op is an autonomous, self-help organization controlled by its owners. If the Co-op enters into agreements with other organizations, including governments, or raises capital from external sources, it dose so on terms that ensure democratic control by the owners and maintains the Co-op's autonomy.


5. Education, Training and Information
   New Leaf Market provides education and training for its owners, elected representatives, managers and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of the Co-op. New Leaf Market has a responsibility to educate the local community about co-ops and cooperative principles. The Co-op informs the general public about the benefits of natural products.


6. Cooperation Among Cooperatives
   New Leaf Market believes that cooperatives serve their owners most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement by working together through local, regional, national, and international structures. As a part of the greater cooperative community, the Co-op works to strengthen and support other cooperatives.


7. Concern for Community
   The Co-op seeks to be a model of an environmentally aware, socially just, community based business that uses responsible employment practices. New Leaf Market has an active role to play in the local community in building thriving sustainable relationships between owners, the local community, and the environment. The Co-op's values and beliefs are integrated into all of its interactions.