Step inside the world of Bethlehem Food Co-op with Carol and Eric as they share the story behind this community-owned grocery store.
Learn how they're fostering diversity and inclusion while supporting local producers. Discover how collective ownership is shaping a stronger, more resilient food system in Bethlehem.
Explore the power of community collaboration in creating a vibrant and equitable future through the Bethlehem Food Co-op.
Step inside the world of Bethlehem Food Co-op with Carol and Eric as they share the story behind this community-owned grocery store.
Learn how they're fostering diversity and inclusion while supporting local producers. Discover how collective ownership is shaping a stronger, more resilient food system in Bethlehem.
Explore the power of community collaboration in creating a vibrant and equitable future through the Bethlehem Food Co-op.
Behind the scenes, there's a lot of people that are, have been instrumental in making this happen, uh, including volunteers, including donors, including, uh, the mayor of Bethlehem, including, uh, congresswoman Susan wild and Senator Boscola who helped to fund the project. You know, I always think when I get involved in a project, there's a lot, you can do a lot, but boy, if you have some luck along the way, it changes everything. And we've had a lot of that. So we have a team of hundreds of people who believe in this and say, yes, when we asked them to do something. So there is luck, but I get a sense that there's a lot of hard work also that's going into this. All right, that is me Jimi Honochick and I am excited for this one. This one's going to be great. It is different than anything we've had before. Usually, you know, it's a local small business, but this is something on a whole different magnitude. So I'm excited to learn really about what you guys are doing. So with me today, I have Carol Ritter and Eric Shamis from the Bethlehem Food Co-op and thank you guys so much for coming on. This is going to be really, really cool. Thanks for having us. Yeah, thank you. Absolutely. So let's start there. Tell me what a food co-op is. Educate me, please. Well, first of all, it is a full service grocery store owned by the community. And when we go out and talk about it in the community, we still have people who say they're going to bring a bunch of vegetables and set them around the store and people can come in and buy their tomatoes. No, we are a full service grocery store. There's about 250 co-ops in the country. Right now, there's 14 startups. We are one of them. And the startups actually have grown significantly since COVID, which is interesting because we used to, the national group told us they used to run between two and four a year. And now there's 14 of us. So it's not your average grocery store. It's about community. It's about teaching people how to eat healthy. Where does your food come from? Eric probably can sort of chime in on where the food's going to come from. Yeah, I mean, we're going to promote locally sourced food. That's healthy. We'll also, we want to be accessible. Yeah. So we'll have a, we're not going to be organic purists. We'll have a nice mix of food. And you're saying it's from the community as local farmers. Like how does that part work? Yeah. So that's one of the strengths of a co-op is we try to source locally as much as possible. And our strength is in our inefficiency. So we saw it during the pandemic, empty shelves at grocers. And that was because they streamlined their supply chain. They have one or two big suppliers and if those get interrupted, empty shelves. So at a co-op, we want as many vendors as possible so we can fill our shelves and support the local community. That's awesome. And so the whole point of this podcast was, you know, it's community focused. It's getting out there and you guys, I mean, you're living and breathing it. So tell me more about membership and how that works. It's not like, you know, I go into giant and there we go. Like this, this is more involved. It's more inclusive. Let me hear. Right. Well, when, when I started with them, they actually hired my company to grow their membership. I don't trust me on the numbers, but I think the membership was about at 125. Wow. And we put a plan together to go out in the community and partner with area businesses. And the partnership was a win-win for everyone. We drove people into their stores and they in turn gave a thank you gift to somebody who joined the co-op. Right. So our biggest night ever was like 11 people joined in one night. But when we started, we regret, we were probably averaging from between 15 and 20 people that would attend our, our events. And before when co-op hit, we were at between 70 and 80. Okay. And what we learned there, cause you talked a little bit about lessons, is that our people, our members want to be together because they all have the same thought process when it comes to what they eat and where they get it from. Yeah, that's great. And so it is, I mean, it is more than a grocery store. It sounds like there, there's a community around that. Tell me, tell me about that. Like what sort of events can they expect or, or what can they expect beyond the food on the shelves? Yeah. Well, the interesting part about the events is that they were fun. They were exciting. They, they drew so many people in and we only right now, our next event is a dance. We're having a dance. I don't get that at my grocery store. Right. Yeah. And we're going to teach people how to dance, swing dance. Yeah. So that's just a tip of the iceberg on the kinds of things we do. But when people would join, they would say to me, what do I get from my membership? And at the time we had nothing. Yeah. We didn't even have a building. So they, what we did was we created the membership, what's the name of it? The membership benefits program. Thank you. That's why we're together. The membership benefits program where area businesses give our members exclusively as an example, 10% off of their bill for the rest of their lives. Wow. Yeah. So there's lots of perks of being a member. Oh yeah. There, even more will come once the stores open. Yeah. And this has been in the works for a long time. So I, I know that we're, we're getting near the final stage, but it's got, there's a lot that got us there. Walk me through like how long it's been going and what you guys have been doing behind the scenes. Well, uh, I think it's, I've only been involved seven, seven years there. Okay. I've been with us almost a year. Yeah. Yeah. But behind the scenes, there's a lot of people that are, have been instrumental in making this happen, uh, including volunteers, including donors, including, uh, the mayor of Bethlehem, including, uh, congresswoman Susan wild and Senator Boscola who helped to fund the project. You know, I always think when I get involved in a project, there's a lot, you can do a lot, but boy, if you have some luck along the way, it changes everything. And we've had a lot of that. So we have a team of hundreds of people who believe in this and say, yes, when we asked them to do something. So there is luck, but I get a sense that there's a lot of hard work also that's going into this. And you hit on something there that I haven't touched on. Like who are you guys to the co-op, right? I know who you are, but walk me through your roles in the co-op. Well, I'm the board chair. That's about it. And Eric is our new general manager. Okay. So he can explain where he's come from and why he's here. It's really interesting. Yeah. Let me hear your story, Eric. Yeah. I mean, uh, I come from a retail background. I started pushing carts when I was 16 and, uh, done a couple of things in between, but I always came back to grocery. I love the connections and the people and the customers. Um, and I was in conventional grocery. I have about 15 years of experience in conventional grocery. So joining the co-op, it gave me an opportunity to bridge my skillset with my values. Um, so that's why I'm so excited to be here. And what are your values? Let me hear kind of what drives you. Yeah. What drives me is, uh, community, uh, working together, uh, sustainability, um, and you know, really building a future together. Right. So one of the things you'll find from the co-op is money, um, stays in the community, right? Where in some of the other grocers, right, that money gets taken out of the community and it's centralized, right? And they send it to shareholders. They send it to other locations. Um, the money from the co-op stays in the community and that's what makes it so special. It's really great. I, it's funny. I have those sorts of thoughts all the time. Like, great. I'm going to this publicly traded chain. Um, and it's, it's nice and it's convenient, but that money's gone, right? Whereas if I go to a locally owned business, um, it is staying in the community. And so it's great to hear that, you know, you guys are kind of the culmination of that and it's nice. Like you must've found your home, right? Those are your values and this combines basically everything. Yeah. Yeah. It's a tremendous opportunity. I'm so grateful for the, uh, the opportunity. Yeah. Um, and, uh, we're, we're building something really special together. Yeah. And Carol, your, your role as the, the board director, I mean, walk me through sort of what you do and how you got here. Take care of people. Yeah. Seriously. That's my leadership style. I try to inspire and help and grow, uh, leaders, uh, on the board. We have a fantastic team. Every leader, every person on the board has a job and they pretty much are able to do it to the best of their ability. And that's what has got us here today. How did you get involved in the co-op? I know your background. I got hired by them. Okay. Oh, right. Yeah. To grow their membership. I've grown, uh, I used to, uh, be involved with the national PTA, uh, national parent teacher association. And I was the membership chair there and we grew their membership in six states for the first time in 11 years when I was the chair. I had a team around me. So I've always had a passion for membership. Um, and I remember people saying to me, how, how are you going to do this? And, um, and I'm, I just sit there and go, we will, don't worry. We will. Yeah. And co-ops, I mean, you told me how many are there in the country? 250. 250. So it's a really unique, it's not, it's not, you know, kind of on every street corner. Tell me about that community in that world. Um, as someone who knows very little about it. Well, we get trained actually by the food cooperative and initiative on a monthly basis. Okay. I'm in a training once a month. Eric's in a training. He's, we're actually going to a training together soon. Uh, they're bringing the GMs together with the board chairs. Uh, and we also have gone to conferences. They've run conferences that we can go to. We went to California with another board member this year. Actually, I think we send some, but since I've been involved, there's somebody from the co-op that goes out for training every single year. So we try to take turns. Yeah. And, and also when we went, three of us, we all took different classes. So we had a broad variety of training. I went to, um, board transition because our board of directors is going to transition from this active hands on board to a policy board. Once the store opens, it's going to be tough for you. I feel like not really, or you're maybe looking forward to it. No, I know. Isn't there a song about that? You gotta know when to go. Yeah. Uh, I will be thrilled to be able to, um, give that part of, of what I do over to the store. Yeah. Yeah. And Eric, how have you found the community? So coming from, you know, the traditional grocer, how have you found it differs with the co-op community? Yeah. So we're mission based, right? So, uh, what is that mission, right? To offer local, healthy, uh, sustainable foods, and educating and work with within the community. So, um, it's really just getting out there, right? Uh, I've met so many great community members. Uh, I'm not hard to find. You'll find me at co-op events. Uh, you'll find me in zoom meetings, um, you know, and, uh, I've just got the opportunity to meet so many great people, um, that, that really want this, you know, we'll be the first and only community based co-op in the Lehigh Valley. That's gotta be a really cool accomplishment. Yeah. And we're not there. So we were talking, we're getting real close. Tell me, I guess, when you guys expect to launch and what's the stands between kind of now and then the build out. Okay. Um, that's probably going to start in February to start looking for permits and things, but we have been preparing for this build out for two years, getting ready to go into that store. And we're going to, um, put in the freezers and the coolers and the, you know, uh, Eric knows more about the inside than I do, but it's going to be, uh, a store that represents when you walk in that door, you're going to say, I belong here. Yeah. It's about the community. We just hired an artist. Um, Eric and I are on a team that hired an artist to bring into the store and we, he is going to put a mural together and we're going to involve the community. We're going to train the community on how to paint the mural. Yeah. We're including us a local middle school on this project. Yeah. And it's going to be a taste of Bethlehem. It's so cool to really be like the culmination of this community and to reflect what is it going to be seven panels long, I think. Yeah. Wow. So walk me through the store. Like literally, what am I looking at? Is it a grocery store? Um, give me a sense for what I'll be walking into. Yeah. So we'll be a full service grocery store. You'll walk in, you'll walk into a full produce department from there. Um, you'll walk into a pretty extensive bulk foods department. Um, you know, that's one thing that grocery has kind of turned away from, right? Um, but in, in the name of, uh, saving money, sustainability, bulk foods are a great way to do both of those things. Um, so we'll have an extensible food department. You turn the corner, we'll have meat, fish, uh, refrigerated items, dairy, dairy alternatives, um, and dry grocery. Uh, what we're really proud of and what's going to be so special about this store is we're going to have a robust, uh, prepared food, uh, cafe department. Um, you know, it's, it's going to be something really special. I mean, you'll be able to buy, um, you know, hummus made right on broad street. No way. Yeah. So now are you guys making those in house or are you using local businesses? So for the prepared foods, it's all going to be in house, produced locally in house. Um, prepared foods is going to be something coming right, right from broad street. Wow. That's very cool. Now tell them about the peanut butter. Please tell me about the peanut butter. So, uh, maybe I should start by saying, uh, I am pro nut grinders. Yes. So I should, uh, disclose that before I tell my story. Um, nut grinders were not part of the original plan, right? So where you can grind your own, uh, peanut butter, almond butter, um, seasonal blends potentially. Um, and I love that idea, right? Because, uh, you can, you can get fresh peanut butter. You can have engaging events with like, uh, different, uh, blends, you know, for holidays, maybe have a peppermint blend. Yeah. Um, and it's just, uh, just, just something so cool and differentiates us. Right. Um, so, uh, we, we had a long discussions, uh, with the project designers and project managers about, uh, the merits of, uh, of nut grinders. Yes. And I'm, I'm really happy to say that we will be having a multiple nut grinders in the store. Oh, get out. That's awesome. Yeah. That's very cool. Uh, and so when you, when you go into the store, uh, how do you, I mean, I guess, how do you guys handle, right? I'm hearing great things sustainable. I'm hearing local, all these things that I love the other side, I think of those. And I think the price is going to be, you know, through the roof. How do you guys handle that sort of trade off? Yeah. So, uh, we're, we're so proud to say that we became members of infra. Okay. And for is a purchasing co-op, um, and they, uh, give us, uh, you know, leverage and buying power. So, you know, uh, for dry groceries, they're going to really help us stay competitive. Yeah. prices. That's perfect. Yeah. And so it's, you know, a team of you co-ops coming together to increase that buying power. Exactly. That's great. And we have 42 apartments above us. We talked about luck. Wow. And we're excited about that because that those are people that are going to walk by us coming home every night. Yeah. Yeah. And so the building is in this current stages of being built, right? The building, the apartment building is pretty close to being done. Okay. Uh, we're going to be the last piece of it. Wow. Um, so I mean, that is great. Where, where is it? It's 250 East Broad Street. Excuse me. In Bethlehem. Okay. Uh, it's in a very high traffic area. It's on a bus route. Uh, we're going to have electric bikes, delivering food. No way. Yes. You're living out the mission. We are. Yeah. We're living the mission and we're also, I like the word, what, what Eric just said about differentiating ourselves from other grocery stores. Cause we're just not the average grocery store, but we are in the neighborhood and we're going to provide opportunities for people to learn about healthy eating. Yeah. That's great. And how's the reception been from the community and the neighborhood? Fantastic. Yeah. The neighborhood. Yeah. Fantastic. One guy told me he, he can get there in 88 steps. So people are, they're counting down basically. Yes. Oh yes. That's awesome. I know people who bought carts already cause they want to walk there. Yeah. It's walkable. Um, we have 25 parking spots, right? Okay. That's great. Like in, in a city to have that much. Yeah. That's really great. And bike rack. We'll have a bike rack too. Oh, perfect. Oh, if you want to stop and get your dog some water, we're going to have a little dog area. That's great. I love, uh, your to your, your connection that you didn't even know existed. Can you tell me a little bit about how, I guess you guys got linked up before you even knew it. Yes, we did. Yeah. Yeah. It's really, you tell that story. Yeah. So, uh, I have a lot of connections to Bethlehem. Um, you know, uh, my grandparents built a house and lived in the same house for 65 years in Bethlehem. Wow. And I did not live in Bethlehem. I grew up in Bucks County. Yeah. So, uh, I came, I grew up, uh, coming to Bethlehem on the weekends, right? We would fish, we would go to the banana factory and I spent a lot of time on my grandparents' backyard. Well, uh, I didn't know this at the time, but 30 years later, I found out that, uh, my grandparents were neighbors with Carol Ritter and her family. They shared a property line. That's how close they were. That's insane. It's a small world. Yeah. And I was an organic gardener when it wasn't popular. Oh, get out. Literally where, and his grandma would run, come over and lean over the fence and say, will you sell me some of your tomatoes? And I say, no, uh, but I'll give you some. So I used to give her produce. So this has come completely full circle. That's what he says. That's a, that's a trip. Yeah. And I know my grandmother, uh, rest in peace, you know, she would be so proud. She was so proud towards the end, um, because, you know, she really championed healthy eating. I mean, she was doing wheatgrass shots before anyone knew. Maybe we'll have a wheatgrass shot. Yeah. Yeah. And it just wasn't a thing, you know, years ago. Um, but you know, she, she believed in sustainability, healthy eating. Um, you know, she lived till 98 and beat cancer twice. So wow. Maybe there's something to it. Yeah, exactly. That's wild. And so it seems like volunteering is a big part of your background, Eric. I mean, being involved, obviously this is a culmination of all of that, but it seems to be something that's part of your DNA. I mean, talk to me about your experience in volunteering and community engagement. Yeah. I mean, uh, I love to volunteer, um, you know, because my expertise is in food, right? So, uh, food pantries, uh, are somewhere I'd love to volunteer at. Um, you know, shout out to the, uh, the East side food pantry, a great group of people, great community. Um, and, uh, you know, there was one story I'd love to share, uh, from that, uh, you know, it really puts things in perspective. Um, so, you know, it was, you know, working at the, uh, food pantry and, you know, helping, uh, folks and gentlemen comes up to me and he's like so thankful that we're there. And he, you know, he's almost in tears, right? And, you know, he goes, you know, before the food pantry and before the access to this, you know, uh, my family, um, we would eat dirt just to fill our stomachs, you know, in America, right? People eating dirt in America. I mean, that puts things, if that doesn't put things in perspective, right? Like it makes your challenges seem much more trivial, right? Yeah. Um, you know, so, you know, to be able to do that for people, I mean, there's nothing better. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and Carol, how about you? I mean, I think you, you are very involved in the community. Talk me through sort of how you got there. What, what makes you so involved? Uh, probably my parents. Uh, we, well, I was, I always had this, um, desire to help people and I had a national business. I was speaking all over the country and, uh, my parents both got sick and I wanted to take care of them. So I really went to Lehigh Valley chamber and said, how can I get involved here? How can I meet people? Even though I was born and raised in Bethlehem, I had moved away for 30 years. Yeah. And, uh, that's where it started. And I, uh, I'm a coach, you know, consultant and so on, but I also have always, always been on some kind of a board in my, with my career. Yeah. And not with the intention of getting new clients, more with the intention of, uh, a passion for that particular cause. No, that's great. And the Lehigh Valley chamber, like I'm not going to do a plug for them here, but they're, they're amazing. Aren't they? I have a lot of good friends there. Yeah. I recently got involved in it's, it's really eyeopening what they do behind the scenes. Yeah. So how, how did we settle on Bethlehem for the co-op? You've got the whole Lehigh Valley. How did you guys choose Bethlehem? Well, there's a red pepper story on our website. Uh, the founder, Jamie, um, was looking, needed a red pepper for a recipe one night. She lived in Bethlehem and, and it took her 45 minutes to go to get a red pepper. And she somehow found out about what a co-op was. And she decided, uh, to put a call out on social media and say, is anybody interested in, uh, starting a co-op? Yeah. And like a hundred people showed up and those, those folks were the, the first members of the co-op and, uh, they started to build a structure and things of that nature. So probably the fact that she, I wasn't around them, but probably the fact that she lived in Bethlehem and, you know, we need a co-op downtown. Actually many years ago when I used to work, I wear, I was in banking for a little while. There was a green grocer on Broad Street. It was a little hole in the wall. You went in and you walked in with a box. He walked out with a box filled with groceries. And he was so sweet. He'd say to me, I like you. Give me $2 for that box. No way. Yeah. For vegetables. I said, no, I'll give you five. Okay. Give me just, give me, he never charged me the full price ever. Wow. But along that path, uh, you know, that from the first meeting where she had the members to now, I've got to imagine you have heard the word no multiple times or like this isn't going to work. How do you, either of you, you know, push through that to get to your goal? It's not easy, you know, to hear it over and over again. So what has kept you guys going? Well, that is a true statement. A lot of people have said, no, a lot of people said you can't do it. A lot of people said, I'm not going to stick around. It's tank taking too long. That actually inspires me. Really? Yes. Yeah. I'm like, yes, we can. Yes, we can. And we're going to do this. And that's the first thing I said to the board when I was elected as board chair, we will open the store. If we get a roadblock, we're going to jump over it. Yeah. And we've had many right here. I think we have one a week. Yeah. But I don't know if you saw the last dance with Michael Jordan, but that's, that's sort of his MO where, you know, whenever someone doubts him, it makes him want to be better. Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's like, I can't explain it. Yeah. I can't explain it, but my brain starts going. Yes, we can. Yeah. And I knew we could. I knew we could. I wasn't making it up. What are you guys most excited for when it opens? I am most excited to be able to not have to drive an hour and a half to get products that I use daily in my home. Yeah. I'm just so excited, you know, to be opening that store and to be serving the community, right? Like, like, like you mentioned, it's taken a long time to get here. And I'm so excited to be able to serve the community. Yeah. My wife will say all the time, like, there's, there's lots of things around here, but to get a lot of these products, you do have to go, you know, far away. So it's great that you guys will, you know, have that here as an ice cream addict. I do have to ask, will there be ice cream at the store? There absolutely be ice cream. Perfect. And I'm set. So Carol, I want to hit, but, you know, before we wrap this up, which I realize and we're close, your background is really interesting. Any, any highlights from it that, you know, you want to hit on because like you said, national, like you've done so much. Well, I worked for a, I was in banking and I had my children. I took a break a little bit. And then I was hired by an investment company and my boss was an author and a speaker. And that just, I'm like, I could do that. Yeah. But what happened was, I was a volunteer and on the board of the Pennsylvania parent and teacher association and they started asking me to do workshops to teach. And I'm like, okay, well, it was exhilarating. I just loved it. And fast forward. I was elected as president of the national speakers association in Philadelphia. And that's where the train, I would, I'd actually go out and train other speakers. And I still do in my coaching business, teach people how to run a coaching business. But I just, I love speaking. It was just so much fun. And it led me to many different avenues. But at the end of the day, you're helping people. You're teaching people. I always, a lot of times I have probably 20 canned speeches, but I actually, everyone is custom design. But I always say to people, don't come in here saying, I've got to do 20 things. She's going to talk about today. Pick one, two, or three and see what you can actually take and start tomorrow. So, you know, one of my most popular speeches is smash the box marketing. And what's that? Don't follow any rules. Yeah. And is the co-op living that? I mean, I follow you guys and I know you're, you're out there on all the socials. Are you using the smash the box? Oh gosh, yes. And we also, all Eric's very good speaker. We speak together sometimes separately. I'm getting to do my speaking through the co-op. If anyone wants to bring us into their organization, we'd be happy to come in and talk. Yeah, we love that. Yeah. And that's something I wanted to hit. Like how do you guys work together? How have you found the working relationship between the two of you? Awesome. Yeah. It's been really nice. We have one-to-ones every week where we brief each other. And, you know, I think we have a really good understanding and relationship. And that's, that's crucial. I think sometimes, you know, the board and the management can come to heads at times. So to find that working relationship is nice. Well, the thing is that we, I sort of separate it into compartments. If it's on my lap, if it's the board, it's on his lap if it's the story. Yeah. I try to make it easy. Absolutely. Well, all right. So I mean, we are, we are low on time and we do want to give a shout out to our sponsor Notch Modern Kitchen. They do these really cool custom cocktails and basically go in there. You tell them what kind of mood you're in and what kind of alcohol you want. And they, they put it together. Wow. Yeah. And they're, they're right down the street here on Hamilton. So definitely check them out. I have to go. Yes. We have to go. Yeah. Sounds like an invite. Sounds like a strategy meeting. Right. Yeah. So we try to kick it up a notch here. So, you know, it's the end of the, you know what I usually do the end of the week, but let's say the co-op has launched and now you're going to kick back and celebrate. What kind of drink are you guys reaching for? Go ahead. I'm boring. I like a whiskey on the rocks. What kind of whiskey? I'm, I'm partial to makers. Okay. Yeah. Like, I like my maker's Mark. Yep. However, I've been known. I will try cocktails and branch out every now and then. I branch out. Yeah. Oh, that's great. You have to branch out once in a while. Of course. I'm a Tito's and club soda with lime. Easy. Yeah. Person that I love that, but I do like to rock on the rocks and I like a martini. Yeah. That's perfect. Oh, very good. Blue cheese. You've got to have anything that I didn't hit that I should have hit that you guys want to talk about. Well, I I'd like to talk about growing our membership because let's do it. We're, we're about a few members away from our fifth from 1500, which is a major goal for us. You can join the co-op by going to our website, www.bethlemfood.coop and then look for join the co-op. You can bring the scroll down on it on the webs. It's very easy to join. Uh, we've made it. Um, that's, this is what we made community. You can join for $10 a month, 20 doubt five a month or pay the whole 300 for life. It's $300 for life. Wow. So, uh, I mean, 1500, that's no small fee. Like you guys have done an incredible job. You've got to be happy with that. What's, what's the goal? Like where, where do you see yourself getting or where do you want to get to with the membership? We won 1700 by the time we opened the store. That is our goal, but the membership continues to grow matter of fact, we expect through working with other co-ops, we'll have a mega boost when we open the store. That's great. And why do I become a member? What's in it for me? Besides obviously the access to great co-op, our member benefits program. So you can shop. Oh, you can go to the edge restaurant as an example and get 10% off your bill for the rest of your life. Uh, in Bethlehem. Where else can you get that? Like that's incredible. Yeah. And we're actually building that program right now. We have a team who's building that program. Uh, I think we're at about 30, right? 30. Yeah. And that's number one. Number two, uh, once we're profitable, you can get dividends. Um, number three, you can be part of, uh, uh, the group that votes on your leadership every year. Uh, what are some other, can you think of, well, we'll have member discount days, uh, once we're open, uh, in the co-op and while you'll have access to exclusive member events as well. Um, and, and really like it's about supporting that local economy and local community and being a part of something, uh, bigger than us as individuals. Yeah. Yeah. So why wouldn't you become a member is what I just turned right there. Yeah. 300 bucks for life. And then I get 10% off at any restaurant that is part of this. Right. Right. And the, like I said, we're growing that program right now. So I'm hoping that, uh, some folks that have businesses, small businesses in Bethlehem, especially, uh, that would like to be part of that. All you do is say, I want to be part of it. We give you a sticker, you sign a, you sign a paper and, uh, our people, you can advertise to the members of the co-op. That's incredible. Well, thank you guys. This is, I didn't say this at the top, but this is the season finale. We have done a full year of these and this was a way to, to kind of close out the season. You guys are awesome. So thank you truly so much for coming on. Uh, thank you. You have a really great thing going here. It's really great for the community. And so I appreciate you guys coming on to talk about it. Yeah. Thanks so much for having us. We look forward to shopping with you. Yes, absolutely. You will. All right. Thank you guys.