Cheap gas in Greensboro.Co-op grocery stores fight back against financial worries

Forget sugar plums, candy canes, and Apple Watches.

Cheap gasoline is the most popular gift this season.

Most Circle K convenience stores in the Triad will be offering 30 cents off gas today from 4 to 7 p.m.

Chain owners are calling it a holiday gift to loyal customers. According to AAA, a very reliable source on such matters, his current average price per gallon in North Carolina is $2.95. Nationally it’s $3.10 each, so there’s that.

Less than $3 apiece isn’t terrible, but it’s not where it was in early 2022 when prices skyrocketed above $4.

Still, the 30 cent discount applied at the pump is a great stocking, er, tank, stuffer. Of course there are conditions. There are always conditions.

Circle K’s offer is valid only at “participating company-operated and select franchise-operated fuel stores in the Carolinas.” While supplies last.

Fourteen of the 15 Circle K stores in Greensboro are participating, and four in Winston-Salem, including 2121 Clemmonsville Road and 5981 University Parkway.

If the Rev. Willard Bass Jr. was feeling pressure, he didn’t let it show.

Bass, co-founder and president of the nonprofit SHARE Cooperative, stood near the end of the Harvest Market grocery store aisle, calmly answering questions.

This co-op market was founded with the simple goal of providing fresh, healthy food at affordable prices in a city plagued by food deserts.

He and Pastor Gary Williams began gathering a passionate following in 2016.

As Harvest Market weathered the COVID-19 shutdown that hit many businesses hard, its supporters were thinking of ways to stay ahead. They have mobilized enough public and private financial support to open in October 2022.

But the pressure has mounted in recent months. A small shop with big ambitions is nearing a crossroads.

Harvest Market may not have hit financial rock bottom yet. But supporters see it coming.

“There was. We’re definitely there,” Bass said. “We hope we can encourage people to come back here.

“If we don’t see some change in our customer base…”

He hadn’t finished the thought. But there was no need.

From the outside, Harvest Market looks exactly like what Bass, Williams and the SHARE members envisioned all along: the anchor store in the revitalized West Salem Shopping Center.

The atmosphere is bright and inviting, with a wide selection of basic and healthy options. The aisles are lined with a variety of products, and the deli near the front entrance offers a wide selection.

The Harvest Market plan has its roots in a longstanding anti-racism project that Bass has led for years in the city.

It helped establish his authenticity and helped him (and his friends) learn more from the disgraceful press that named Winston-Salem one of the most food-insecure American cities. That led him to a natural offshoot: the co-op grocery store.

Food deserts are exactly what the name suggests: areas that are far from grocery stores and lack reliable transportation to get to them.

In such areas, access to fresh produce and ingredients for healthy diets is difficult. Cigarettes, sugary drinks and cheap beer are plentiful. Apples and lettuce not so much.

“We had the fifth largest (food desert) in the United States,” Bass said in 2020. “Three years ago there were 11 food deserts planned. Now there are 22. The situation has gotten worse and worse.”

One way to help is by opening up access. It’s a simple concept. Feed people, fill their bellies, and take away the big worries of everyday life. Doing so will free up your time and energy to tackle other issues.

The market takes the problem directly.

Located in the heart of Peters Creek Parkway, adjacent to one of the Winston-Salem Transit Authority’s busiest bus routes, and with ample buy-in from members and owners who pay $100 in annual membership fees to help defray costs. You can enjoy delicious food at a higher price. Rather than offering competitive prices to those who don’t have access.

But membership numbers are not what supporters had hoped. Bass said there are currently 620 members/owners in the market, which is about half the number they would like.

Grants have been on the decline since the pandemic, at a time when nonprofits are being forced to compete with each other for small amounts of funding from local governments, foundations and private donors.

SHARE, and by extension Harvest Market, will not be watching quietly.

Bass said the grocery store has been reset by putting more emphasis on organic foods and realigning the look of the store. Leaders recently applied for and were approved for membership with the National Cooperative Grocers Association, an association of about 150 similar co-ops across the country.

“This increases our purchasing power and gives us access to technology services,” Bass said.

SHARE also hired its own grant writers and reached out to consultants from North Carolina State University to help with marketing, social media advertising, and getting information about the mission to the people who needed it.

Bass and Williams, both veterans, helped run the place almost full-time on volunteer-level salaries. That is, zero.

And in recent weeks, SHARE has launched a $50,000 fundraising campaign in hopes of raising enough money to ease financial pressure by covering operating costs through 2024.

“You know our history,” Bass said. “The idea is still the same. We are trying to build community cohesion by supporting food security.”

A cause worth fighting for – one donation, grant and member/owner buy-in at a time.