Gem City Market in Dayton, Ohio, is the recent recipient of the Startup of the Year award, given by the Food Co-op Initiative (FCI). The award recognizes Gem City’s innovation in fundraising and building deep connections in the community. It is granted to a startup food co-op that has opened within the last three years that has displayed notable excellence in one or more of the following areas: strong, viable business planning leading to successful funding and opening of their co-op; innovation in food co-op development; or implementing new approaches to meet the needs of communities traditionally under-served by food co-ops.
“We stated in our award speech that we felt that Gem City not only excelled in one of these areas, but all three,” said JQ Hannah, assistant director of FCI. “They have shown clear innovation that has impacted the larger startup food co-op movement in everything from how they organized with their community to how they funded their store. They have created pathways forward in both areas that are now being followed by startups coming up after them.”
Hannah also called out Gem City for its new approaches to meet the needs of their community, a “historically redlined community,” and for leading the way for other communities facing similar roadblocks to community ownership and consistent access to fresh food.
Gem City recently collaborated with NCG on a store reset, which allowed for more affordable organic items in store, as well as an improved product selection and pricing for the community. Morgan Hood, Gem City’s director of community health and connection, said one of the reasons for the reset was to offer the area’s Black community better access to organic, affordable products and a greater variety of food choices.
The co-op has also been working on expanding its community outreach offerings, launching a worker ownership class and strategizing on community programing. In the past, Gem City has found success with a program called “Mamas at the Market,” which was designed to serve moms and babies by connecting them with resources like WIC, public health services, etc. The co-op is now looking into expanding the program to include entire families (fathers and older children) and incorporating more cooking classes and information about food.
Another initiative on the co-op’s horizon is a farmers market. Gem City is working on a partnership with Edgemont Solar Garden to create a space where the community can connect with local growers.
“Our coordinator on staff works with a lot of local growers who we’re already connected with,” Hood said. “We hope to tap into that network to make sure local growers and farmers are being supported.”
Hood added, “All of us are really grateful — as staff, community and board — to see the fruits of our labor. We’re excited about the direction we’re going in and how to better serve our community.”
