In 1978, some Stillwater folks craving foods they couldn't find in supermarkets placed an ad in the local newspaper inviting others to join a buying club.

The club, or grocery co-op, is still going strong today.

The original store, called the Valley Co-op, started with 15 members.

Housed in the basement of a historic building in downtown Stillwater, it had stone walls, a stone floor, and large bins brimming with whole grains, rice, granola and peanut butter. Also in the store: a 50-gallon drum of homegrown honey.

From its humble origins, Stillwater's only food co-op has grown up. Last month marked its 30th anniversary. River Market Community Co-op, as the store is known today has nearly 4,000 members and occupies a prominent space on Main Street, right on the St. Croix River.

The bulk foods section stocks more than 750 items. Staff members include an herbalist and a physical trainer. And annual revenues top $4 million. The changes, say member employees, reflect the evolution of the Twin Cities co-op movement from tiny start-ups with very little capital and inventory to sophisticated businesses with an established presence in the food industry.

Despite increased competition from grocery store chains that carry organic and even bulk foods, River Market has survived for three decades because the St. Croix Valley community has embraced the co-op concept, said Mead Stone, general manager of River Market.

"It is a store where people can come together, where people see friends, where people can talk," he said. "The livelihood rests on the strength of the community."

One thing that's remained consistent over the years is the customers' values, said longtime member and employee Sharona Erickson. "They really do care about what they're eating, its relation to their own health and the impact their eating has on the world," she said.

Co-ops are businesses owned by the members of the business. But nonmembers also can shop at the stores. River Market is one of about 15 co-ops in the seven-county metro area.

Minnesota has a rich tradition of co-op activity, said Gail Graham, general manager of Mississippi Market in St. Paul and a co-op historian.

"It goes back to the turn of the century with the Scandinavian population up in the Iron Range," she said. "The Finns, back then they brought the whole concept of cooperation back from Finland."

In the mid-to-late 1970s, there were more than 30 co-ops in the Twin Cities, Graham said. The ones that remain after three decades are generally thriving, she said, but many have faced challenges over the years.

A couple years ago, River Market's business suffered when the Stillwater lift bridge closed for a few months, cutting off Wisconsin customers. About 20 percent of the co-op's customers live in Wisconsin.

About the same time, Kowalski's opened off of Hwy. 36 in Stillwater. "There were times when some of us were worried that we weren't going to make it," said Marianne Barratt, River Market's general merchandise buyer.

Her memories of the co-op in its early days include characters like the "cheese ladies," a group of volunteers who would come into the co-op to handle the cheese, Barratt explained. "We'd give them the big blocks of cheese and they'd cut it up and wrap it," she said.

Those were the days when the co-op offered discounts to members who came in and worked at the store.

Erickson, a member for nearly 30 years, reminisced about some of the pivotal moments in the store's history. When the co-op first opened, it did not sell meat, she said. But about 15 to 20 years ago, the board of directors met to consider carrying meat products.

One member came to the meeting and expressed her objection by toting a bag with a rubber chicken hanging out of it, Erickson said. "It was her statement," she said.

The board decided to sell meat anyway.

The move to Main Street in 2000 was also controversial, she said. The co-op already had moved from its original spot in the basement of that historic building to a space on the North Hill. Many members had grown used to the cozy building but others thought it was time to expand.

The challenge for River Market and other co-ops, Graham said, is staying true to their grass roots even as they expand and mature.

"I look at the way that food is produced and distributed in this country. Even though it's more competitive and more sophisticated, fundamentally we've really had a solid impact," she said. "Our challenge is to continue to have the same sort of relevant impact on the nature of food production and distribution."

Allie Shah • 651-298-1550