The Isla Vista Food Co-op has raised $55,170 to avert a potential closure of the neighborhood market. 

The co-op has struggled financially in recent years, so it decided to turn to the community for support. It set a $50,000 fundraising goal by mid-May.

Now, the organization has “room to breathe,” said Neal Singh, fundraising lead and co-op board treasurer. 

“We’re having to be very careful and tight with how we manage our cash, and it can restrict how much we invest in the kinds of things that would really benefit the co-op and the business as a whole,” Singh said. 

The fundraising dollars, he said, help the organization meet expenses and make some small investments.

The Isla Vista Food Co-op sells fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy and other organic products, and has long been a destination for students and families in the area. The organization has seen a decline in members recently but is working to rebuild its popularity and better serve the community’s needs. 

The co-op ​​has seen a 35% decrease in sales during the past two years and has been struggling to keep up with the cost of operations.

Singh said they are taking a hard look at root issues, one of which is that the board of directors lacks business management expertise, making them slower to respond to changing shopping habits. 

They are working with financial experts, people who have experience running the co-op, and are putting together a strategic advisory group to help with business planning and management. 

“We understand that the co-op isn’t everything it used to be, and may not be meeting our community’s needs as it really can and should,” Singh said. “This is how we rebuild the co-op, so that we are supercharged, so that we are a community organization and institution that everybody in our community knows about and is proud of.”

The community-owned grocery store is at 6575 Seville Road.

An unidentified community member donated $20,000, which was one of the larger donations, with the condition that the funds would be used for coupons or gift certificates for community members. 

Singh said they are planning events and contests where people can earn gift certificates or gift cards. There are also plans to partner with organizations at UC Santa Barbara to get gift certificates to students struggling with food insecurity.

“That’s an exciting project that we’re going to launch, and we believe it’s going to raise a lot more awareness about our campaign, about the value in the role of our co-op and our community,” Singh said.

Co-op leaders said they might reduce hours or sell the Isla Vista building if they don’t improve finances.

“Our main issue is a backlog of accounts payable that we need to be able to address as quickly as possible, but it is a real challenge with the sales that we’re currently seeing,” said Lisa Oglesby, president of the co-op’s board of directors. “We’re improving, but without donations to help get through this short-term window, it’s just really difficult.”

In order to raise money, the co-op formed a fundraising committee to reach out to potential donors. The co-op also partnered with the Isla Vista Community Services District to give free memberships to households on blocks with more than 80% parking congestion in order to decrease reliance on vehicles and support the co-op.

Within one week of the program launching, 20 households claimed memberships, and IVCSD plans to expand the program to additional blocks soon, according to Jonathan Abboud, IVCSD general manager.

As summer is approaching, and many college students leave the community, Singh said they’re preparing to see a significant decline in sales at the Isla Vista store, but are hoping for an increase in sales at the downtown Santa Barbara location. They will be using the summer to change up the layout of the Isla Vista store and change merchandise to make it more accessible to students. 

The co-op has been a staple in Isla Vista since 1972; however, some residents find it too expensive.

Jazzy Patchell, a sophomore at UC Santa Barbara, said she usually goes to the co-op when she needs produce, but she doesn’t do her main grocery shopping there because of the high costs. 

“I try not to do my bulk grocery shopping here just because it is kind of expensive and college students are ballin’ on a budget,” Patchell said. “I would say the quality is pretty good. They have pretty niche products, especially if you’re on your health food grind.”

Bridget Bommer, a UCSB senior, said she goes to the co-op out of convenience when she can’t borrow her roommate’s car to go to another grocery store. 

“I wish I bought from it more, but it’s honestly really expensive,” Bommer said. “I understand the quality of the stuff they have is really high, but when I can get over to Trader Joe’s or Albertsons, it usually makes more financial sense.”

Bommer did say that the co-op aligns with a lot of the values in Isla Vista, but it’s hard for college students to justify the cost.