Buying Standards

Fresh Foods & Honest Products

The Community Food Co-op is committed to providing our community with good food and quality ingredients. Each of our departments maintain a standard to ensure the authenticity of our products.

With the help of our knowledgable staff we are dedicated to promoting a sustainable and honest food system. Here’s a few of the things we look for:

Our Buying Standards

We strive for:

  • Clean: No harmful ingredients or additives
  • Sustainably Produced: Organic, transitional, or other sustainable practices
  • Locally Produced: Within our five-county area or in Washington state
  • Socially Responsible Productions: Cooperative, fair trade, or production-scale business practices
  • Appropriately Packaged: Minimal packaging, recyclable, compostable
  • Healthful: Reasonable sugar, fat, and salt contents, minimal empty calories

Grocery

  • Free of unwanted additives, preservatives, and artificial colorings and flavorings
  • Organic whenever possible
  • Local, Fair Trade, or Cooperatively Produced
  • Reasonable sugar, fat, and salt content
  • Minimal packaging that is recyclable or compostable

Bakery

  • Whenever possible we source organic, free-range, non-GMO, or sustainably produced ingredients
  • Local and organic milk and cream
  • Local, organic, and free-range eggs
  • Organic, fair trade chocolate chips, produced in an allergen-free facility
  • No artificial colors or flavors.
  • Cleaning and storage protocols to ensure our products are gluten free; however, we are not a certified gluten-free facility

Gluten Intolerant?


We follow a strict cleaning and storage protocol to ensure our products are gluten free. However, we are not a certified gluten-free facility.

Produce

  • Organic: We maintain a department of about 90% organic produce
  • Local: We carry produce grown and shipped from Whatcom, Skagit, Island, San Juan, and Snohomish Counties
  • Washington Grown: Produce grown and shipped within Washington State
  • Farmer Direct: Produce grown and shipped directly to your co-op by regional farmers we know and trust

Meat & Seafood

  • Free of added nitrites or nitrates
  • Free of antibiotics
  • Free of added hormones and growth promoters

For more information about our product selection check out our New Vendor Requirements.