Grocery Stores
Karma Co-Op
Karma Co-op is a not-for-profit food store tucked away in a residential area on Palmerston Ave. Though it has served as an alternative to commercial grocery stores for nearly 40 years, Karma is still easy to miss.
After a few wrong turns, I realized I had to actually wander down an alley to get to Karma's entrance. From the outside it seems as though someone's set up a makeshift store from his or her den, but inside there are rows of packaged food, bins of bulk items, meats, produce, household products and more.
Karma's members are also its owners, who contribute back by working at the store, volunteering their services, or participating on one of Karma's committees. Members used to be required to pay a loan of $70, but ownership has changed recently and that figure is in debate. Meanwhile, membership fees remain at $10 for three months, amounting to $40 per year.
Karma stocks its shelves with eco-friendly, sustainable, local products made with as little packaging as possible. Items such as rice (brown basmati: $5.04/kg), pasta (organic quinoa/rice spaghetti: $11.29/kg), peanut butter (organic smooth: $9.49/kg) and dish soap (Nature Clean: $4.42/kg) are housed in bulk containers and are self-serve.
Unlike in most grocery stores, many of the fresh item descriptions at Karma not only tell you which province or state they're from, but also which farm produced the product. For example, when I visited Karma had stocked up on eggs from Hope Eco-Farm in Aylmer, Ontario ($5.32/doz). The chalkboard in the produce section also lists how many locally grown items are in store on any given day (46, when I popped in) and Karma's Twitter feed lets members know when new produce will be in store.
And the impulse buys near the cash? Well, you probably won't find info on LiLo's latest rehab stint, but you can pick up a copy of Shameless, Bitch, or Adbusters. And lots and lots of fair trade chocolate.
Photos by Dennis Marciniak
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Prices are higher, you have to pay a membership fee, plus work there so many hours per month, or pay a fee in lieu of working.
Karma does offer a great deal more info on the *provenance* of the food they sell than any other store I know. That may be worth the extra cost to some people.
But since it's a non-profit, I tried to figure out WHY Karma costs more and where that money goes. As far as I can figure, it goes to paying their staff better-than-average grocery store wages. Which is fine. It just seems to me that the whole co-op set-up seems like an awfully elaborate way to get that result.
having shopped at almost every grocery store in toronto for organic food..karma is at the low end of costs.
one visit is all you will need to be convinced. i look forward to my weekly karma trips. i use to work there each month but now i just pay a 10% fee each time i shop...i find the price is still competitive with the 10%.
besides, it's not all about $...karma is a great community and you can trust where the food is coming from...unlike most "organic" grocers in toronto.
Other pros:
-Smells good
-No terrible muzak
-Almost never crowded
-Cashiers are not dead-eyed zombies whose will to live has been drained by their terrible grocery-store job
-Other customers are members too, so the atmosphere is great; no rude people abusing the cashier over the price of discount pizza bagels
-You get to know the staff and other members so it's a bit of a community
-You know that someone has thought about the environmental/social costs of every product on the shelves
Con:
Occasionally some stuff is out of stock. This is a tiny store and they don't have much room for overstock. In my opinion, this slight inconvenience is far outweighed by the pros.
Misc:
If you don't want to work 2h/month as part of your membership, you can pay 10% extra on your groceries.
In sum, highly recommend.
Karma is not cheaper than other natural/organic-type for-profit stores in the same neighbourhood. I checked. Carefully. Making sure to compare identical items and everything.
Not only is the sticker price usually higher or at best the same (I never saw a LOWER price at Karma, though I'm sure it has happened at times), one has to factor in the cost of the membership and labour. There is no such cost at a regular for-profit grocery, even the independently owned organic ones.
The other stuff re: staff friendliness etc - you can get that other places too.
Overall the atmosphere was great, things were tightly spaced but neat, the staff were helpful when I asked about sundried tomatoes, and nut free yet filling granola bars, and yes the food was highly priced a little more than I’m used to at say farmers markets, but I was willing to make an exception. I spent a long time filling my basket and knew that my produce alone was going to cost a lot, but at least it was to support a business that supported us. When I got to the front they asked me about membership, I told them that this was my first (and likely only) time here b/c I live far away and was in town visiting. Then I mentioned that I was a vendor, excited to see the peddling of some of our merch, and THE reason I came out of my way. So they told me that I could have a one time trail shop.
OK I thought, that would be all I need, but I was then informed that I would have a 10% surcharge added to my subtotal, silly me I assumed that the “one time trial shop” offer was free (it doesn’t state otherwise on their FAQ)! And I had already spent a pretty penny 80$ on the organic local meat, and 100$ at the LCBO so that news was a hard pill to swallow. But it was dusk and I invested so much time hand selecting the produce, so I sighed and nodded my head, little did I know that soon something so simple as wet parsley would break me. I had subconsciously packed my parsley, which had been kept fresh in a bucket of water, in one of Karma’s thin plastic produce bags, as she punched in the parsley I also noticed a 5cent charge for the bag, which is when something inside snapped and I stopped to question her. Why was I being charged for the bag?!!! No other grocery store charges for these flimsy plastic bags I said, NOT EVEN THE BIG CARROT, And maybe if there was signage of said charge near the roll dispenser I wouldn’t have taken one!!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn’t continue the transaction after that point so I walked out, into the cool December air, took a breather and went home feeling spent, irritated and disappointed. In the end I finished my xmas shopping at the big carrot the next time I was in town, and I would never join a co-op that required a membership, I’d rather join a CSA.
Overall the atmosphere was great, things were tightly spaced but neat, the staff were helpful when I asked about sundried tomatoes, and nut free yet filling granola bars, and yes the food was highly priced a little more than I’m used to at say farmers markets, but I was willing to make an exception. I spent a long time filling my basket and knew that my produce alone was going to cost a lot, but at least it was to support a business that supported us. When I got to the front they asked me about membership, I told them that this was my first (and likely only) time here b/c I live far away and was in town visiting. Then I mentioned that I was a vendor, excited to see the peddling of some of our merch, and THE reason I came out of my way. So they told me that I could have a one time trail shop.
OK I thought, that would be all I need, but I was then informed that I would have a 10% surcharge added to my subtotal, silly me I assumed that the “one time trial shop” offer was free (it doesn’t state otherwise on their FAQ)! And I had already spent a pretty penny 80$ on the organic local meat, and 100$ at the LCBO so that news was a hard pill to swallow. But it was dusk and I invested so much time hand selecting the produce, so I sighed and nodded my head, little did I know that soon something so simple as wet parsley would break me. I had subconsciously packed my parsley, which had been kept fresh in a bucket of water, in one of Karma’s thin plastic produce bags, as she punched in the parsley I also noticed a 5cent charge for the bag, which is when something inside snapped and I stopped to question her. Why was I being charged for the bag?!!! No other grocery store charges for these flimsy plastic bags I said, NOT EVEN THE BIG CARROT, And maybe if there was signage of said charge near the roll dispenser I wouldn’t have taken one!!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn’t continue the transaction after that point so I walked out, into the cool December air, took a breather and went home feeling spent, irritated and disappointed. In the end I finished my xmas shopping at the big carrot the next time I was in town, and I would never join a co-op that required a membership, I’d rather join a CSA.
The reason you see so many big box stores out there, is because they figured out that by buying in massive quantities and building 40,000 squarefoot eyesores they could keep their costs low and therefore knockout the smaller competition. As to whether that's sustainable, time will tell.
I haven't shopped at Karma, but I believe this is REAL fair trade. They aren't going to be able to compete with other grocers, because you can't and still be fair to every one. So are people making money? Yes, I think they are. But I would hope in a situation like this, that it would be going to the right hands, which you know isn't the case with those other supermarkets.
5cent charge for the bag - Isn't this supposed to be the law? At any rate those who join get a formal introduction to the store and know there is stockpile of bags/containers/jars brought in by members who no longer need them that are free. You can't find that at any other store.
CSA - Is a good idea, but if you can survive off a CSA alone I'd be impressed.
At Karma committees of owners decide store policy (such as charging for bags and what percent price increases to apply to products in order to cover our costs). When you sign up as a member or are considering becoming a member then all of these things are explained. All non-working members pay a 10% surcharge on the sticker price of groceries and trial shoppers are treated as non-working members. All our financials are transparent to members. If you don't like a policy you can join a committee and try to have it changed.
For me the prices are fair for the products. Our produce is consistently fresher than other stores selling local/organic produce in the neighbourhood. And if we don't have something on the shelves the staff can often special order it for you! What other grocery store offers that kind of service? If it is something you think others might like you can submit it to the committee who sources the products to see if it's something that could be added as a regular stock item. My husband and I joined about 6 months ago and have been very happy with the selection.
It's not for everyone but I would hope that anyone visiting would give this little grocery store institution that has been around for decades now the respect it's due for the contribution it has made and continues to make to the community. The more often I go and shop and work the more I learn about the amazing people there who care so much about supporting local farmers, sustainable agriculture, fair labour practices and other neighbourhood not-for-profit charities/organizations. I love it.
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I find karma to be more reasonably priced that other large conventional grocery chains.
I purchase many bulk items, meat, eggs, supplements and produce.
Longo's across the street from me wants 6.99 for 200 grams of organic almonds.
At karma the same thing costs half of that.
A container of almond butter costs me $4.00 in bulk.
A huge bunch of collard greens is only 1.99.
A dozen free range eggs in bulk is 4.86
A huge bag of organic quinoa from bulk cost me 3-4 dollars.
Being on the community development committee we have done extensive and thorough price comparisons and all in all, karma wins for prices.
Plus there is a food safety committee that checks to ensure our food is coming from reliable sources and that it is what it says it is. You just won't find this anywhere else in Toronto.