Villa Park residents, officials continue efforts to make Mama Squash Market a reality

VILLA PARK – A group of residents, with help from village officials, are working together to bring a cooperative grocery store to Villa Park late next year in an effort to provide locally sourced, healthy food to the community.

The co-op, dubbed Mama Squash Market, will function as a for-profit business, said Kristin Krueger, a member of the co-op's board and steering committee. Krueger said co-ops are governed by seven principles, including economic member participation, which means that the business is owned by the members of the co-op.

Unlike many for-proft businesses, the bottomline for Mama Squash isn't making as much money as possible, it's "the health of the community and individuals, and quality products," she said.

One of the biggest goals of Mama Squash is to introduce food sourced from local farmers to the community, Krueger said. For example, blueberries sold at the market will be sourced from Michigan, not South America.

The food is going to be fresher, and customers' carbon footprints will be reduced by eating things that are from nearby sources, she said.

Additionally, Krueger said the produce sold at the store won't be genetically modified, and it will be sold in season and grown without pesticides.

"Our goal, in addition to starting the food co-op, is to change the mentality of how people shop and what they care about when they shop," said Krueger, a clinical neuropsychologist.

She said the co-op hopes to reach its goal of 1,000 members by fall 2016 – a total which will allow them to open up in a brick-and-mortar location.

Mama Squash currently has 50 members, she said.

Though anyone will be able to shop in the store, members will receive a discount on items, share in the profits and be invited to participate in special events, Krueger said.

Each membership carries a $100 one-time fee. Typical Chicago-area co-op membership costs anywhere from $250 to $300, she said. The Mama Squash board, however, aimed to keep the membership fee as low as possible to accomodate community members with lower incomes, Krueger said.

The co-op's name also speaks to its mission of inclusion.

"A mama welcomes all," Krueger said. "And that's really the message we wanted to put out there."

The village is working with the Mama Squash board to help the co-op select a site for its store in Villa Park, Village President Deb Bullwinkle said. She said the ideal location would be one that residents could either walk or drive to.

"From the village's perspective, we're all in, in terms of helping them locate in Villa Park and succeed in Villa Park," she said.

Bullwinkle herself is a member of the co-op and said she believes the market will facilitate a sense of community in the village.

"I really like the idea of investing in a local grocery store that then in turn invests in our local farmers and the folks that bring the food to us," she said.

Both Bullwinkle and Krueger said the important thing now is to educate residents about the co-op and the benefits it will bring to those living in the village and beyond its borders.

"We have a diverse community in Villa Park," Bullwinkle said. "(The co-op) will appeal to all, to everybody, and that's the goal. Nobody is going to be shut out."

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Know more

For information on Mama Squash Market, visit mamasquash.com.