It looks like the future of a pair of community-owned markets may be in question.
An article from Cambridge Day states that Harvest Co-op in Central Square could close by August unless $300,000 is raised by then, with the Jamaica Plain News saying the same about the Forest Hills location of the store. Both posts say that a letter went out to members and the communities saying that it is "an ambitious task" to raise this amount of money in such a short period of time, and that steps that could help include the shops selling more local, natural and organic foods and focusing more on community organizing and marketing, while customers can help by buying in cash, purchasing gift cards but not using them right away, and buying items in bulk along with prepared foods, body care items, and supplements. (Other ways to help are also mentioned in the letter.)
The Cambridge location of Harvest Co-op Market can be found at 580 Massachusetts Avenue while the Jamaica Plain location can be found at 3815 Washington Street. The website for both stores is at http://harvest.coop/
[July 24 update: A new article from the Jamaica Plain News states that the people behind Harvest Co-op Market are considering the possibility of the National Co+op Grocers (NCG)--which is a cooperative of food cooperatives--purchasing the assets of the two markets. A town hall meeting will take place on August 6 where people can learn more about the proposal, with the exact time and location of the community meeting being given soon.]
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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]
