Yelm Food Co-op Grand Opening

“The Yelm Food Co-op had their long awaited Grand Opening ceremony on Saturday, June 28th in conjunction with Yelm’s Prairie Day activities.

We started on Thursday evening with an entry in the parade. Our float was a truck and long trailer with bright banners down the side, balloons floating, and kids waving and shouting Shop at the Co-op!…Many Yelm residents were made aware of us for the first time and such fun was had by all we want to do it again next year.

Saturday, vendor and product demo tables were set up around the store showing off many of our great products, like Batdorf & Bronson coffees, Robbins honey, silver water and gel, juices, fresh baked cookies, cracker spreads and frozen snacks.
At 12.30 sharp, the ribbon cutting ceremony took place with Yelm Mayor Ron Harding and Co-op Board President Tom Dewell doing the honors. Also in attendance were many members of the Chamber of Commerce Board and the beautifully dressed Chamber Ambassadors, all Yelm HS students, who pitched in to help with whatever we needed done.

A highlight in the store was our long awaited refrigerated produce cooler that arrived at noon on Friday, just in the nick of time. Brimming full of beautiful produce, much of it locally grown, it is the first thing you see when you enter the store.

As always, the success of such an undertaking is due to the hard work of many people. Taking the lead on this one was our store manager, Florence Vincent, who had the vision and did a grand job of coordinating all the activities. Working members and staff who worked a long, hot 12-hour day, setting up, manning the tables, re-stocking shelves, waiting on customers, fighting the heat (with occasional retreats into the nicely air conditioned store) included Debbie Burgan, Ektara Jarecki, Jutta Dewell, Olivia Zatz, Steve Wood, and Tom Dewell…

As a part of the Miracle Bowl for Kids! program hosted by Ron and Janet Harding in conjunction with the opening of the new Prairie Lanes, the YFC fielded a team of awesome bowlers (Gary, Tom, Jutta, Debbie and Nate) who rolled far more balls out of the gutters than in! All in the spirit of participating in the community, contributing to the Children’s Miracle Network and helping to draw awareness to our Co-op,” quoting the Yelm Food Co-op Press Release.