Sevananda is Atlanta’s original natural food store. And right from our opening day back in 1974, our mission has been to offer our customers food — as well as supplements, vitamins, herbs, even pet food —you can trust: where it’s from, how it’s grown, and what’s in it. That’s food integrity. Scroll down to find out more about food integrity at Sevananda, our 35+ year history, our unique cooperative business model and more. Enjoy.
Sevananda Natural Foods Market is more than just a place to buy groceries. It is a business owned and operated by its Members. Being a consumer-owned co-operative affects the products we sell, the way we conduct business and how we support our community. That means the Member Owners of Sevananda have a voice in all that we do. Along with employees and the board of directors Sevananda Natural Foods Market promotes sustainability and living on this earth with the least amount of impact.
How do we do this? First, we have been supporting local farmers and businesses for 33 years by selling local products. This includes everything from seasonal organic produce and natural groceries to health and wellness products. An on-going campaign with Georgia Organics promotes buying local, working with local farmers to supply our Member Owners and shoppers with fresh, organic produce grown within 200 miles of our store. By supporting local businesses we are cutting down on the amount of fuel used in the transportation of products and decreasing our impact on the planet while keeping more dollars in our community.
Second, we have integrated many green practices into our store facility. Within the past 5 years, Sevananda has been repainted with Low VOC paint which cuts down the emissions of harmful toxins and sustains a healthier environment. We also recycle cardboard, plastic, glass and office paper.
Third, Sevananda Natural Foods Market is the only natural foods market that contributes back to the energy grid. We have 24 solar panels installed on the roof of our building that provide an annual reduction of 5% in our energy consumption. That might not sound like a lot, but for a 29,000 square foot facility any decrease in impact is positive.
Finally, Sevananda Natural Foods Market avoids purchasing from companies that disregard human rights and environmental health. We give preference to local suppliers, producers, and growers, and those who demonstrate humane and non-exploitative business practices. We also exclude products containing artificial chemicals and genetically-engineered or irradiated foods. We exclude from our human product line all animal products or by-products for which the animal must be slaughtered, including beef, fowl, and fish. We also exclude soaps and cosmetics that have been developed using cruel and abusive animal laboratory tests.
Our Mission is to empower the community to improve its health and well-being.
The (Not So) Brief History Of Sevananda Co-opSevananda Natural Foods Market began as a small group of like-minded folks searching for a way to buy whole and organic foods in bulk. They would order 50lb bags of rice and flour and other items and share the cost amongst all. This original location was called The Egg and the Lotus and was located in a small storefront near Emory University.
In 1974, Sevananda incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation and one year later, Sevananda moved to Moreland Avenue in the heart of Little 5 Points (where B.O.N.D. Credit Union is now) in Atlanta. Although still a not-for-profit business Sevananda had Members who paid a yearly fee, received profits of the business in the form of point-of-purchase discounts, and acquired the right to vote in Board of Directors elections, bylaw changes, and product policy. In 1980 the store’s focus shifted towards a more community-oriented way of doing business and by 1984, community support and need for Sevananda was so strong that the co-op moved down the street to a larger building at 1111 Euclid Avenue in L5P.
Since Sevananda operated as a not-for-profit and the Membership and board wanted to move to a more cooperative business and keep the monies in their community, Sevananda finally became a true and legal cooperative on January 1, 1995. We are actually incorporated under Wisconsin law, since the current statutes of Georgia do not provide for consumer cooperatives like us. A Consumer Cooperative is an organization made up of Member Owners who purchase shares in the business, use its services and own it equally. One Member, One Share.
Fifteen years later in 1999 there was another move back to Moreland Avenue to our current location. Doing so gave us more parking spaces, more than one restroom (at last!) space for an Education Room where classes are taught year-round, and today Sevananda is one of the largest natural foods cooperatives in the southeastern United States.
In recent years, we have grown with the rapidly expanding natural foods industry. Currently, the cooperative has over 3,400 owners and serves many other (future Member) shoppers as well. Member Owners of Sevananda buy one Full Class A Share (consisting of six individual shares) in the co-op. The cost is $120, payable in $20 increments. Members of the co-op can run for the Board, vote in Board elections and receive a portion of store profits in the form of an annual patronage refund (in a profitable year and as determined by the Board) and even participate in the Working Members program. There are also Member responsibilities for all, such as shopping the co-op, and being an informed owner and participating in annual elections.
Sevananda has been transformed from a small-but-spirited enterprise where shoppers made their own change from a cigar box to a multi-million dollar natural foods supermarket. We offer customers the highest quality products available while playing a vital part in Atlanta’s natural foods community. However, Sevananda is more than just a place to buy groceries. It is a business owned, used, and operated by its Members. This affects everything from the products we sell to the way we conduct business. It’s where food you can believe in lives.Triple Bottom Line
WHAT IS A CO-OP?
• A cooperative is a special form of business owned and managed by the people who provide and/or use its goods and services. Resources are pooled to satisfy a common goal as economically and efficiently as possible.
• As a locally-owned business, a co-op is committed to the people and the community it serves. Member Owners have a voice in what is available for purchase, as well as in the overall organization of their particular co-op. Member Owners get the most buying power for their money, and the money stays in the community, contributing to its economic strength.
• At Sevananda Natural Foods Market Member Owners literally own the store, so membership benefits are much more than just the discount.
CO-OP PRINCIPLES
1. Voluntary/open Membership
2. Democratic Member control
3. Member economic participation
4. Autonomy and independence
5. Educate, train and inform
6. Cooperation among cooperatives
7. Concern for community
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Co-Op 101: Everything Co-op.
World views & world change with co-op industry leaders
Local, regional, and global co-op economics
Health & Wellness, Food safety, co-op start up & development
Mondays 4:30-5:00pm on WRFG 89.3FM
Atlanta Local Co-ops
Links http://www.sevananda.coop
http://www.bondcu.com
How To Start A Co-op
http://www.cgin.coop
http://www.foodcoopinitiative.coop
Co-op Funding
http://www.cdf.coop
http://www.ncb.coop
Co-op Development, Support And Education
http://www.cds.coop
http://cdi.coop
http://foodcoopinitiative.coop
http://wrfg.org/features/shows/shows-desc.asp?showid=92 (listen live)
http://radio.sevanandatestsite.com/ (show archives)
National Co-op Organizations
http://ncba.coop
http://ncga.coop
Other Links
http://organicconsumers.org
http://cornucopia.org
http://federation.coop
http://frontiercoop.com
http://organicvalley.coop
http://georgiaorganics.org
http://sierraclub.org
Co-operative Business Model A
The co-operative business model was established by the International Co-operative Alliance.
Co-operative History
The Rochdale Pioneers
Co-operatives started out as small grassroots organizations in Western Europe, North America and Japan in the middle of the nineteenth century. However, it is the Rochdale Pioneers that are regarded as the prototype of the modern co-operative society and the founders of the Co-operative Movement.
In 1844 a group of 28 artisans working in the cotton mills in the town of Rochdale, in the north of England, established the first modern co-operative business, the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society. The weavers faced miserable working conditions and low wages, and they could not afford the high prices of food and household goods. They decided that by pooling their scarce resources and working together they could access basic goods at a lower price. Initially, there were only four items for sale: flour, oatmeal, sugar and butter.
The Pioneers decided it was time shoppers were treated with honesty, openness and respect, that they should be able to share in the profits that their custom contributed to and that they should have a democratic right to have a say in the business. Every customer of the shop became a Member and so had a true stake in the business. At first the co-op was open for only two nights a week, but within three months, business had grown so much that it was open five days a week.
The principles that underpinned their way of doing business are still accepted today as the foundations upon which all co-operatives operate. These principles have been revised and updated, but remain essentially the same as those practiced in 1844.
STATEMENT ON THE CO-OPERATIVE IDENTITY
Definition
A co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.
Values
Co-operatives are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. In the tradition of their founders, co-operative Members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others.
Principles
The co-operative principles are guidelines by which co-operatives put their values into practice.
1st Principle: Voluntary and Open Membership
Co-operatives are voluntary organizations, open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of Membership, without gender, social, racial, political or religious discrimination.
2nd Principle: Democratic Member Control
Co-operatives are democratic organizations controlled by their Members, who actively participate in setting their policies and making decisions. Men and women serving as elected representatives are accountable to the Membership. In primary co-operatives Members have equal voting rights (one Member, one vote) and co-operatives at other levels are also organized in a democratic manner.
3rd Principle: Member Economic Participation
Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their co-operative. At least part of that capital is usually the common property of the co-operative. Members usually receive limited compensation, if any, on capital subscribed as a condition of Membership. Members allocate surpluses for any or all of the following purposes: developing their co-operative, possibly by setting up reserves, part of which at least would be indivisible; benefiting Members in proportion to their transactions with the co-operative; and supporting other activities approved by the Membership.
4th Principle: Autonomy and Independence
Co-operatives are autonomous, self-help organizations controlled by their Members. If they enter to agreements with other organizations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their Members and maintain their co-operative autonomy.
5th Principle: Education, Training and Information
Co-operatives provide education and training for their Members, elected representatives, managers, and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their co-operatives. They inform the general public — particularly young people and opinion leaders — about the nature and benefits of co-operation.
6th Principle: Co-operation among Co-operatives
Co-operatives serve their Members most effectively and strengthen the co-operative movement by working together through local, national, regional and international structures.
7th Principle: Concern for Community
Co-operatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies approved by their Members.
Our product sourcing policies are more stringent and more demanding than you’ll find anywhere else you could shop, and it’s that way because at Sevananda we live by a policy we call food integrity. Because we’ve developed in-depth, personal knowledge of our suppliers and their production methods over years of working with the same small, trusted group of growers and vendors — many of them locally based — we can guarantee the integrity and quality of everything we sell, so you get food you can trust. Nothing’s more important to us.
The products we do carry, the products we don’t, and why
General Principles
Through our product purchase and sales policy, we at Sevananda seek to gain control of our food supply system and to promote health and well-being among our Members and community.
We provide affordable, nutritional products which nourish the body and foster good use of the Earth’s resources. Emphasis is placed on providing high-quality whole and natural foods, preferably those grown and prepared using organic methods. Natural care, household and general merchandise items will also be provided.
We avoid purchasing from companies and, in appropriate cases, countries that disregard human rights and environmental health. We give preference to local suppliers, producers, growers and those who demonstrate humane and non-exploitive business practices.
Other Considerations
Demand for a product may override other guidelines. Demand is demonstrated by documentation of sales volume for products already on the shelves. If any such products contain one or more of the excluded items they will by clearly documented for shopper review. More desirable alternatives will be provided whenever possible and will be substituted when they are available at competitive prices (where “competitive” is defined generally as being as much as 25% more expensive).
While lack of profitability may be one factor in choosing not to carry a product, profitability will not be the sole or major determining criterion in stocking a product.
If removal of a product would jeopardize the survival of Sevananda, the product will remain in the store while alternatives are researched and information is provided to the consumer.
Product Selection and Exclusion
In a cooperative where the Membership is large, diverse and growing, there will be many different ideas regarding which products are appropriate for Sevananda to carry. Many may wish to exclude certain products that they believe are unhealthy or are politically or morally wrong. We do not want to worry about accidentally buying these products. We do not want them on the shelves because they prevent more desirable products from being carried. We believe that Sevananda should not be using its resources to promote them. Others, however, may have different views about these products and wish to have them available.
The selection and exclusion of products based on principle rather than market forces is potentially controversial. Very specific resolutions tend to be divisive while general resolutions may not be effective.
For these reasons decisions on product selection and exclusion will be made in three ways:
1. This Product Policy will be regularly reviewed by the General Manager based on a survey of the Membership.
2. As an integral part of the normal product selection process, staff will make decisions based on this Product Policy and their perceptions of and sensitivity to the current values and preferences of the Membership.
3. When the above process is judged inadequate by a Member or Members, a Member Product Policy Review Committee may be formed and used to review and recommend products, as well as determine the preference of the Sevananda Membership on specific products and issues. It can be used, for example, for adding a product or supporting boycotting efforts by recognized organizations. Members should contact the Member Services Manager for more information.
Specifically Excluded Products
• We exclude from our product line — to the extent we have been made aware of them — genetically-modified foods, products containing artificial chemicals, and products that have been subjected to irradiation.
• We exclude products that contain sugars refined using animal by-products.
• We exclude animal flesh or byproducts for which the animal must be killed, including beef, fowl and fish intended for human consumption.
• We exclude products such as soaps and cosmetics that have been developed using cruel and abusive animal laboratory tests.
Education
The Member Services Manager will serve as an educational resource for both staff and Members on the principles described in the Product Policy and on relevant current issues. In order to aid and educate consumers, we will attempt to provide information regarding the ingredients, nutritional composition, integrity and origins of products sold in the store.
There will be a constant effort to make people aware of what is contained in Sevananda’s products. We will inform manufacturers and suppliers of our objections to products which are not in agreement with this Product Policy.
Member Product Review Procedure
At Sevananda we want to avoid conflict when dealing with questions of product selection, individual political and moral convictions, and every Member’s right to choose his or her own diet. This Procedure is available and designed to provide Members with the ability to determine whether or not the Co-op will take action on a specific product. Please see the Member Services Manager for a copy of the Member product review procedures.
PRODUCT POLICY EXCEPTIONS
A companion to Sevananda’s Product Policy
Hydrogenated Oil
Although not specifically excluded from Sevananda’s Product Policy, hydrogenated and saturated tropical oils are things we generally don’t carry. Current exceptions are:
• Margarine
Many people want to avoid butter for ethical or health reasons. Although it contains hydrogenated oil, margarine is an all-purpose substitute for butter.
Sevananda carries Earth Balance® as a vegan, non-hydrogenated natural buttery spread and Spectrum Naturals Shortening® as a non-hydrogenated vegan shortening.
• Candies
Good quality carob and chocolate candies are made with highly saturated oils such as fractionated palm kernel oil.
• Others
A few isolated products like banana chips contain hydrogenated oils. We carry these products to meet customer demand.
Animal Byproducts
While Sevananda carries no animal flesh for human consumption, we do carry the following items which contain animal by-products:
Rennet
Many cheeses are made with animal rennet, a coagulant that contains ingredients from the stomach lining of calves. Most cheese at Sevananda is made with rennet from non-animal sources. A few imported cheeses are made with traditional animal rennet and these are marked “animal rennet” on the label because of EU requirements for cheese making.
Soaps
Many soaps contain animal tallow (fat). The only soap at Sevananda that may contain animal tallow is the Bee & Flower® soap from China.
Gelatin
Gelatin is made with animal by-products, particularly hooves and bones from pigs and cows. In traditional grocery stores, marshmallow and Jello® contain gelatin. At Sevananda we have found an acceptable vegetarian marshmallow, and marshmallow crème substitute and made them available. The only place you will find gelatin at Sevananda is in some capsules in our Wellness Department. While some of our wellness products use vegetarian capsules, these are usually more expensive than gelatin capsules. Vegetarian capsules are usually clearly marked on the product label.
Glandulars
Glandulars are supplements that are derived from organ tissues of animals. They are often a necessary component in rebuilding human tissues according to many health professionals.
Homeopathics
The homeopathic philosophy is based on the introduction of the aggravating constituent into the body to increase the body’s defense mechanisms, much like a vaccine. A small portion of Sevananda’s homeopathic products have animal ingredients — most notably goose liver in Oscillococcium®.
Enzymes
Enzymes are necessary to help humans digest and assimilate food. A few of our enzyme supplements are of animal origin, particularly the combinations with papain or ox bile. Most enzymes are found in the Digestive section of the Wellness Department. Some are also found in combination formulas in the Vitamin section.
Fish Oils
Fish oils are a valuable source of Essential Fatty Acids and vitamin D. Fish oils are rich in Omega-9 fatty acids, which some people believe are hard to find in vegetable sources.
Vitamins
Vitamin E, D3 and certain forms of vitamin A are derived from animal sources. If you wish to avoid these, look for vitamin labels that state “vegetarian” or “vegetable sources”. You may also consider “green foods” as a vegetarian source for nutrients.
Exceptions to Our Product Policy
Sevananda’s Product Policy is designed by the management and staff of our co-operative and it serves as a general guide for choosing the products we will carry and those we will not. Because Sevananda’s number one priority is serving our Member-owners and shoppers, demand for a product may sometimes override our general guidelines. This usually happens only when there is no alternative to the product or when the alternative is significantly more expensive.
Exceptions to these guidelines are rare and when made, our shoppers will be notified. This brochure serves as a guide to general categories where exceptions are made.
We firmly believe that our integrity is based on carrying only high quality natural foods, vitamins and supplements. On this point we will never compromise.
