Members of the Co-op purchase equity which entitles them to a variety of benefits and advantages including:

• Discounts at many locally-owned businesses through our Community Connections Program.
• A Patronage Refund in profitable years, based on a percentage of each member's purchases and the store's profit from member sales.
• The opportunity to volunteer in and out of the Co-op for store discounts.
• Become the featured Artist of the Month in our Member Artist Café Gallery.
• A discount on advertising rates in our monthly newsletter, The Onion Skin.
• Free water from our Reverse Osmosis Water Machine.

Basic Information on the Patronage Refund
Individual patronage checks are a refund on profit relative to your member purchases when your equity is current. In 2009, patronage checks were issued to over 3,500 members, ranging from $1.03 to $946.45. Please note that the IRS allows the patronage refund as non-taxable income for individuals! Please make sure to present our cashiers with your patronage card everytime you shop at City Market!

Be a Philanthropist
Member-owners have the option of making a donation to the Vermont Local Food and Farms Fund, administered through the Vermont Community Foundation. Donations to the fund are tax-deductible. Members should make donations by debit/credit card through the Foundation’s secure website.

Vermont Local Food and Farm Fund
The Vermont Community Foundation (VCF) is working with City Market, Onion River Co-op to support the efforts of a large number of innovative farmers and entrepreneurs and a network of organizations, food co-ops, and farmers markets that are reshaping the agricultural landscape and creating a food system in Vermont that will be sustainable, environmentally sound, and economically viable.  The VCF works closely with local organizations like the Intervale Center to think strategically about how we can bring local food to the state’s residents. If we can increase our consumption of local food from 3% to 20% over the next decade, we will add $800 million to Vermont’s economy! 

To learn more about our Local Food and Farms Fund, or to make a donation, visit http://www.vermontcf.org/localfood or contact Ryan Torres at (802) 388-3355 x289.

Thank you for your continued support of the Co-op. Your patronage makes us successful.