Amid the Isla Vista Food Co-op’s current financial crisis, the Isla Vista Community Services District is partnering with the co-op to purchase memberships for 333 Isla Vista households.
IVCSD is paying $50,000 in two installments to secure memberships, which will give residents discounts and other benefits, the district said.
The goal is to bring more traffic to the co-op and to decrease residents’ reliance on cars.
“Access to food and parking congestion are two of the biggest issues people bring up to the IVCSD,” General Manager Jonathan Abboud said. “We feel that this is a great opportunity to be able to invest the community’s funds into long-term benefits for the community.”
Abboud said that when they heard about the co-op’s financial issues, they wanted to find a way to help that also would benefit the community.
“Lots of people told us in our surveys, in our parking study over the years, that getting groceries is a main use of their car. If we were to lose a grocery store in Isla Vista, that would have more car needs to get out to purchase groceries, and if we were able to expand use of the grocery store, we could potentially reduce car needs,” Abboud said.
“We were really touched that IVCSD reached out to us and wanted to support the co-op,” said Lisa Oglesby, president of the co-op’s board of directors. “It feels very special to have the kind of supportive relationship within the community where both of us as partners can reach out and do things to support not just the individual things that we’re doing, but how Isla Vista thrives overall as a community.”
The community-owned grocery store has been a staple in Isla Vista since 1972. It’s one of the few places where residents can buy produce, healthy snacks, bulk items and deli items.
In January, Oglesby shared that the co-op was at risk of closing unless it saw a 10% to 15% increase in sales or raised $200,000 through a GoFundMe page.
The community-owned grocery store at 6575 Seville Road has seen a 35% decrease in sales during the past two years and has been struggling with the increased costs of insurance, payroll taxes and utilities.
“Things are definitely improving,” Oglesby said. “There’s certainly room to grow, but we’ve been working on a number of different projects, and we’re seeing some good results. Things are trending positive.”
The funding for the memberships is coming from IVCSD’s cash reserves, which are invested into Santa Barbara County’s treasury pooled investment fund. IVCSD will initially reinvest $25,000 into the co-op, securing 166 memberships, according to Abboud.
If the program is successful, it could reinvest another $25,000 in June for more memberships. IVCSD would maintain control over its equity into the co-op, and could take back the investment at any time, essentially canceling the memberships.
Abboud said it will be the first time IVCSD will reinvest its funds.
Households selected for the program will receive the same benefits as other co-op members. Members earn co-op points with every purchase, exclusive access to promotions, monthly e-coupons, 15% off special orders and voting rights in board elections.
Memberships usually require a one-time equity payment of $130, which can be paid in $30 installments.
Abboud said the district’s goal is to help more Isla Vista residents have cheaper access to groceries, without having to leave the area.
“People will have cheaper grocery costs, and they won’t have to travel outside of Isla Vista as much to access groceries,” Abboud said. “This is what we heard from people in our surveys, that they leave Isla Vista to access affordable groceries, and so by doing this, we would be spreading the opportunity for that to more people in Isla Vista.”
Households that include IVCSD board members or staff will be ineligible to receive a membership through the program. The IVCSD board is set to discuss how to allocate memberships at an April 1 board meeting.
