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.
- Alternating gluten and gluten-free baking days to minimize cross-contamination
- Strict cleaning and testing protocols to ensure our products are gluten free; however, we are not a certified gluten-free facility
Gluten Intolerant?
We alternate gluten and gluten-free baking days to minimize cross-contamination.
We follow a strict cleaning and testing 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.