Replace The Co-op’s Dying Produce Chiller

If you’ve shopped at the Yelm Food Co-op long enough, you may have witnessed the following scenario: a strange noise issues from the direction of the produce chiller, followed immediately by expressions of dread on the faces of all nearby staff members.

The Chiller that Doesn’t Chill

That’s because the produce chiller is an ongoing source of stress for Co-op staff. At 30 years old, the chiller cannot keep up with its main job of keeping fruit and vegetables at sustainable temperatures. It can, however, be relied on to overheat every time temperatures go up, making the summer months a prolonged period of anxiety uncertainty for staff and volunteers. The chiller has been living on borrowed time for years and they never know which day will be its last.

Unreliable Chiller = Less Produce, More Stress

In the interim, our staff keeps most of the produce in the back because we don’t want to risk it going bad if the chiller stops working. This severely limits the amount of produce we can offer at any given time, which is a negative impact for our members.

At this point it is not a matter of if the old produce chiller will stop working, but when. Our number one priority is to replace it with a new, larger system that we can rely on.

How You Can Help

To replace the old produce chiller with an efficient, larger model will cost approximately $70,000. We have received a small grant from Organically Grown Company (OGC), one of our suppliers, but it is not nearly enough. Help us achieve our goal with a donation of any amount.

Small Amounts Add Up if Everyone Participates

Think of it this way:

The Yelm Food Co-op has 2,500 members. We can easily reach our goal if:

All 2,000 members give $35.00 OR

1,000 members give $70.00 OR

500 members give $140.00 OR

250 members give $280.00

Choose the amount that works for you!

Benefits of a New Produce Chiller

Thank you for supporting our campaign and we look forward to new produce and less stress in 2023!