How It Works
The Market is set up like most small grocery stores where you can come and shop for fresh produce, prepared snacks and meals, frozen meat and entrees, dairy, eggs, pantry, household, and personal hygiene items. We even have pet food.
Parking lot opens 10:00am and we are not able to accommodate early arrivals. Please do not line up before 10:00am, please do not park on the road, gravel lot, or neighboring businesses.
You will enjoy coming after the morning rush and find the same items those that came early did.
Grab a cart, if none are available we will give you a pager that will buzz, beep, and flash when one is.
Once you have a cart, start shopping.
Watch for limit signs which will tell you how many items you can take from each location. These signs are typically located above shelves and fridges.
If you have any questions, please ask Market staff or volunteers.
Shop, grab what you need for a couple of days’ supply of food, then head to the checkout.
Load your groceries on to the counter.
If you have a Market membership card we will scan the barcode and off you go.
If you don’t have a Market membership card we will quickly get you one and off you go.
Where does the food come from?
Most of our groceries come from our Retail and Foodservice Partnerships (RAFP) Program. We pick up food 5 days a week, from our local grocery stores, that is about to expire but is plenty good to eat. We also get food from other resources such as Food Lifeline, Northwest Harvest, and community food drives.
Most of our meat is purchased locally at Evergreen Meats and our milk and eggs come from Dairy Fresh.
Because we rely on these partnerships, we don’t always have a consistent supply of items and you will likely see a constant rotation of good stuff. Throughout the day we are restocking to keep things fresh and equitable for everyone so that regardless of the time you come to shop there is plenty of food to choose from.
Some of our food comes from The Emergency Food Assistance Program from the USDA. This is called TEFAP and is available to anyone that meets the SELF DECLARED income level (TEFAP income Eligibility). No identification or proof of address is required
Our members privacy is very important to us and we will not share your personal information outside of this organization. Demographic information collected is used to aggregate for reporting and grant funding.
Why do we have limits for items?
Because we want to maintain equitability so that regardless of the time you come to shop there will always be food to choose from, we have limits on some items.
You can find these limits on top of our fridges, freezers, and shelves. The number on the sign indicates how many items you can choose from that section, not items per shelf.
If you ever have questions while shopping, please find a volunteer or staff member to help you!