Rochester's only food co-op, Abundance Food Co-op celebrated the grand opening of its new location in Rochester on Saturday.
The day kicked off with a parade of about 150 of their owners walking from their previous location on Marshall Street, to their new store at 571 South Avenue.
Abundance spokesperson Chris Whitebell said with the new, bigger space, they’ll be able to offer a wider variety of products, a hot food menu and seating area, as well as function as a gathering space.
"Co-ops are uniquely positioned to do things in the community, so now we have a community room where we're going to have classrooms and community meet ups, and we'll be able to do more outreach through that."
Abundance partners with farms around New York State to source seasonal produce as well as their meat and dairy products. Whitebell said They also work with Peacework Farm in Newark to provide Community Sustained Agriculture or CSA options.
"Cooperatives like Abundance and others really help a sustainable local economy because it keeps money locally, and it’s owned by the community. You can’t get any more local than a cooperative business."
The original Abundance location also opened on Earth Day in 2001.