Outside of the Fare Share Food Co-operative with the new automatic sliding glass doors that will be operating this fall. [Photo Credit: Abby Shedd]

A wall in the Co-op with a sunflower painted on it that was revealed during the renovations. [Photo Credit: Abby Shedd]

NORWAY — The Fare Share Food Co-operative has been around for more than 45 years, serving the community as a local grocery and bulk food store. Since starting off in 1978 as a small business in Norway, in 2001 it purchased 443 Main Street for the symbolic price of $1. The building was in extensive disrepair and was owned by the town of Norway.

The Food Co-op and many volunteers filled around 50 dumpsters with debris from the dilapidated building. The process of renovating was time-consuming and costly, but it transformed the place into a welcoming community hub and store, providing natural food for the community. The Co-op also owns The Commons, which houses the Center for Ecology Based Economy (CEBE), Norway Downtown , and Western Foothills Land Trust (WFLT) upstairs.

“It’s not just our Co-op, it’s our place,” says Carol Marsh, board president of the Co-op. Recently, the Food Co-op received a $475,000 Thrive Maine forgivable loan provided by the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME), and the store temporarily closed for a period of two weeks, from Mother’s Day to Memorial Day. The flooring in the Co-op has been replaced, the foundation on the back of the building repaired, and the refrigeration systems have been upgraded.

“We’re thankful to Thrive Maine for helping us with all of this and more,” Zizi Vlaun, general manager of the Food Co-op, says. “The interior of the Co-op has been heavily renovated, with new flooring, shelving, and open access to bulk products.”

“I love it,” Kate Woods, traveling from Vermont for the Consumer Cooperative Management Association (CCMA) says. “It looks like a bright, inviting place.”

During the renovations, though, the Fare Share Food Co-op has unfortunately discovered more rot along the sides of The Commons, due to trapped water from the sidewalk and spray insulation. It has finished repairing this, and have installed new automatic doors that will be operating in early fall.

“We own and love our building,” Vlaun says, “which means that it’s on us to take care of it and ensure its integrity.”

The Co-op was recently a part of the Consumer Co-operative Management Association with Alan Day Community Garden, CEBE, the Norway Maine Opera House (NOH), Spoke Folks, and WFLT. Over 50 participants from across the United States came to tour the co-operative and other nonprofits in the area.

It is turning 3,600 square feet in the basement into food storage, working with farmers to have more staples and paper goods and to have storage for the future. On the first floor, there have been upgrades, making it easier to shop, and on the second floor, there are plans being looked at to create a coworking space.

“There are a lot of people in this community looking for affordable short-term places to work and meet,” Vlaun says.

The Fare Share Food Co-op is managed by 850 local member-owners, ensuring the community has a say. A co-operative is one of the most sustainable and fair ways to run a business, and the Fare Share Food Co-op looks forward to growing and inspiring other businesses to transition being a co-operative.

“When the town of Norway gave the building to Fare Share for a single dollar back in 2001, it was to save it from decades of neglect,” Marsh says.

“Fare Share poured money and tons of volunteer hours into bringing it back to stable condition, and the Thrive Forgivable Loan is enabling us to take the next step, in repairing structure, re-roofing, re-painting inside and out, installing new flooring, and making the store layout more user-friendly, as well as creating a backstock storage space in the basement, in preparation for any future problems in the distribution chain.”

Anyone can become involved in the Fare Share Food Co-op’s efforts. For more information, you can visit the website, www.faresharecoop.org, or stop in the store at 443 Main Street in Norway.