Group Hopes Organic Market Takes Root in Tow

by Katherine Sweet

San Clemente Times

Frustrated by the number of trips and different stores it takes to find the food they want, a group of South County residents has decided to take action. The store, to be called the San Clemente Community Market, will target those interested in sustainable food, featuring everything from organic produce to eco-friendly household cleaners. Their top priority will be to offer organic food, followed by local goods as a close second. 

“It’s about sustainability,” said Sam Olmstead, one of the founding organizers. “One of the biggest factors is to know where our food comes from.”

The idea took root many years ago, evolving from a buying club here in town that provides organic milk products at wholesale cost. While initially starting small, the residents envision a full-size store, hopefully in under a year. They have not yet secured a location, but hope to have a small store up and running soon.

“It will grow into a full market eventually,” Olmstead said. “We’re taking baby steps.”

The market is designed to both serve the community and make a difference. Their mission is create “a community-owned, whole foods grocery store, with the goal to provide San Clemente locals with easy access to high quality, best-value, organic and hormone-free products, and a focus on consumer empowerment, product quality and member control.”

Toward this end, they will sell seasonal, sustainably-grown produce; organic, grain-fed meat, dairy and eggs; a wide range of bulk foods; and an array of fresh, frozen, canned and prepackaged natural food items—all with a focus on local products.

But the offerings do not stop at grocery items alone. A café featuring eats and a juice and espresso bar is planned, and herbs and spices, environmentally friendly household cleaners, body care products, arts and crafts, and more will also be sold.

According to founding organizer Renee Plasky, the goal is to find farmers as close as possible to San Clemente.

“We want connections with farmers and their farms,” Plasky said. “Our priorities will be to work with sustainable local farmers and ranchers.”

Locally produced is a mantra for several reasons. Olmstead quotes activist Michael Pollan, who claims that the average item of food travels 1,500 miles before it gets to your plate—in the process wasting energy and losing nutrients. Local goods also keep money in the community and support local farms.

“I like to give local businesses our dollars,” said Diane Palmer, who said she will support the store when it opens. “It’s good to buy local to give the city money.”

According to Olmstead, the market will cater to “anyone who eats,” hopefully drawing from San Clemente and surrounding cities.

“We want to give people more access to organic/biodynamic food,” Olmstead said. “Many people think it’s too expensive, but it’s not. We pay for our current cheap food with air pollution, human rights and health effects from chemical additives and obesity.”

The goal is also to help people eat better, save energy and improve customers’ health. Another main selling point is that the market will be based on the co-operative model, where the company becomes member owned.

“Basically the patrons who shop there, own it,” Olmstead said.

Customers join by paying a fee, which could be from $150 to $300. The fee makes the contributor one of the owners. When decisions are made, everyone will vote. While there will most likely be a board of directors, the store will be largely member controlled. The group will be partnering with Food Coop 500 and Ocean Beach’s People’s Co-op San Diego.

“The market will put power back in the community,” Plasky said. “It allows people to participate in what they want to see in the community…If people don’t want to carry a product because of its company’s ethics, we don’t.”

As the group is still in search of a location, they are reaching out to the community to find possible sites.

“People ask when the market is coming,” Plasky said. “When is up to the community.” She invites anyone interested to attend the regular monthly meetings and get involved.

In the end, the market hopes to meet a community need.

“There is no big meeting place where San Clemente locals can come together to educate, share ideas and buy foods in a sustainable way,” Plasky said. “There is no large health food grocery store, no place to shop healthy and organic; yet this type of store would accomplish all of that, [plus] shine as a model of health and sustainability for some of our most pressing political issues to date.”

Beyond being simply a place to purchase food, the organizers also envision the market as a place that brings the community together.

“The problems in the world are solved one community at a time,” Plasky said. “We want people to come together and be proactive.”

For more information about this grassroots effort, to join in their cause or help them out by taking their survey, visit their Web site at www.sanclementemarket.com. Or contact Renee Terese Plasky at 949.735.0497 or renee@vibrantblossom.com.