Tacoma, Seattle food co-ops explore merger

Two major food co-ops based in Seattle and Tacoma say they’re considering merging their retail grocery operations into a single entity.

Tacoma Food Co-op and Seattle’s Central Co-op have received initially favorable comments from their members regarding formally exploring a merger.

Tacoma Food Co-op has 2,300 owner-members. It operates a store at Sixth Avenue and Junett Street opened in 2011. Central Co-op, founded in 1978, operates a grocery store on Seattle’s Capitol Hill. The co-op has 13,000 active members.

A draft plan of the merger is being developed and will be reviewed by the boards of Tacoma Food Cooperative and Central Co-op, the two organizations said.

If the boards approve moving forward with the plan, they’ll call a special election of the membership, the co-ops said. Any plan of merger is subject to approval by the member-owners of both cooperatives and a final board vote.

This story was originally published November 16, 2015 at 2:14 PM with the headline "Tacoma, Seattle food co-ops explore merger."