About New Pioneer Food Co-op
Welcome to New Pi! We’re proud to be our community’s provider of top quality foods in a full-line grocery setting. New Pi offers the freshest and finest quality food available. We believe that purity, wholeness, nutrition, and great taste contribute to the quality of your life. Whenever possible, we offer food produced locally and by organic methods (without the use of synthetic chemicals, such as pesticides). New Pioneer Food Co-op is trans-fat free, and, whenever possible, we offer food that has not been genetically modified. Our goal is to provide you with the healthiest, tastiest food you can find—food you can really trust! It is possible to eat smarter and have fun doing it!
What Kind of Business is New Pioneer? We’re a Co-op!
A co-op is a business owned by its customers. Being a co-op means that we’re owned by members of the community and we’re pleased to be a part of our area’s diversity and lifestyle. You don’t have to be a member to shop the Co-op; everyone is welcome at New Pioneer!
Why is New Pi Different? Make a Statement When You Shop Your Co-op!
New Pioneer has been keepin' it real since 1971!
Find Out About the History of the Co-op
Our Mission
New Pioneer is a cooperatively owned business, fully serving the needs of the natural products consumer. We emphasize high quality, fair prices, and product information. We are an environmentally and socially responsible member of the community we serve. New Pioneer’s mission is to serve the needs of its members and to stimulate the local agricultural production of natural and organic foods by providing a market for such foods. The Cooperative fully recognizes the value and dignity of work and shall place a high priority on the health, welfare, and happiness of all its employees. The Cooperative shall strive to set a community standard for the best possible working conditions, training, wages, benefits, and opportunities for advancement for its employees.
We Love Food!
New Pioneer is always on the lookout for hard to find unique, ethnic, and local foods to share with our shoppers. We select the most worthwhile and delicious products from over 400 suppliers. We have the crunchiest carrots and the tastiest roast beef in town! Quality is our keynote, whether you're shopping for basic staples like brown rice and broccoli or for specialty olive oils from around the world. Our membership is as diverse as our product line, so we emphasize variety in conjunction with quality to meet all of your shopping needs.
We're More Than A Grocery Store!
Organic Pioneers
For over thirty-six years, New Pioneer has sold and promoted foods produced without synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. Our vision of sustainable agriculture features foods free of chemical residue and air, earth, and groundwater free of agricultural contaminants. We encourage and support organic growers while simultaneously educating our shoppers and the public about the health and ecological benefits of buying sustainably and locally-produced food. We share your concerns about genetically engineered foods and the future of our food systems, and we emphasize the importance of food safety in all of the products we choose to sell.
Passionate About the Environment
New Pioneer Food Co-op shares your concerns about the environment. We show environmental awareness in our choice of products and packaging. How can you make a difference when you shop the Co-op?
- Shop our bulk department to reduce the packaging you take home; you may also opt to reuse your own containers and get a nickel back for each!
- Bring your own bag! New Pi encourages all shoppers to use reusable bags. We offer a great selection of canvas totes, biobags, Chico bags, and locally-made bags.
- Forgot your bring-back bag? Never fear! We’ve got a bin at the front of the store filled with reusable grocery sacks of every shape and size.
- Read the Catalyst, our newsletter (available in hard copy form in our stores and here on our website), to stay informed on food and ecology issues in our community.
- Purchase products made from recycled paper.
New Pi supports local and national efforts to reduce waste, to recycle, and to protect our environment. We do our best to eliminate packaging waste in our deli and bakery packaging. We created the Co-op Green Stamp Program to help achieve these goals.
Investing in the Community
As part of our mission, New Pioneer contributes donations to many community programs. It’s important to our members that we conduct and contribute to fundraisers for local organizations that address human needs. We've helped Hospice, Free Lunch, ICARE, Domestic Violence Intervention Project, Free Medical Clinic, Table to Table, and other local groups. We do not donate to political parties or candidates or to religious institutions. We do request public recognition of our contributions. To request a donation, please fill out this form. For more about our donations program, contact Theresa Carbrey at (319) 248-6411 or tcarbrey@newpi.coop.
Learn about the Co-op Community Partnership Program
New Pi created the Co-op Community Partnership Program (CCPP) in summer of 2012. The program allows former Co-op working members (those active in 2011) to earn Co-op gift cards by assisting at specified community non-profits.
As of Feb. of 2013, we have 14 members placed in 5 community non-profits. The non-profits chosen for this pilot program include the Crisis Center food bank (5 CCPP volunteers), Backyard Abundance (3 CCPP volunteers), Free Lunch Program, Farm to School, and Table to Table (2 CCPP volunteers each).
In January of 2014, the Co-op will evaluate the success of the pilot program and the program maybe ended, maintained, or expanded at that time.
To learn more, contact Theresa Carbrey at tcarbrey@newpi.coop or (319) 248-6411.