About the TPSS Co-op
Takoma Park Silver Spring Co-op is a natural foods cooperative business owned by our friends and neighbors. Our mission is to ensure that our customers have access to goods produced in socially and environmentally responsible ways, with an emphasis on local and organic foods, at reasonable prices and in a welcoming community marketplace setting.
The Takoma Park Silver Spring Co-op started as a vegetarian storefront on Sligo Avenue in Takoma Park in 1981. In February of 1998, we moved to our store in Takoma Junction. Today, with a bigger store and a wider array of offerings, including beer, wine, meat and fish, we now have nearly 10,000 members.
TPSS prides itself on being a natural food cooperative business owned by friends and neighbors in the surrounding Takoma Park area. Our mission is to ensure that our customers have access to goods produced in socially and environmentally responsible ways, with an emphasis on local and organic foods, at reasonable prices and in a welcoming community marketplace setting.
TPSS is a member of the National Cooperative Grocers (itself a co-op), which includes more than 150 co-ops around the country that work together to optimize resources, strengthen purchasing power, and offer more value to owners and shoppers.
Here are some of the ways we are unique –
- Member-Owned: We are a member-owned cooperative, not a global corporation like Whole Foods or Wal-Mart. Anyone can become a member-owner and help shape the future of the store.
- Thoughtful Options: We offer products and services that protect and nurture the planet and our immediate area. Our buyers prioritize sustainable and organic food and fair-trade products from local and other small producers whenever possible.
- Community-Centered Business: We constantly reinvest our profits to benefit our members, our staff, and the broader community. Anyone can shop at the Co-op. And, members-owners receive every day Member Basics discounts, monthly 10% discounts, and special order discounts. We also sponsor memberships for folks receiving government benefits. And, we host community education events throughout the year, in addition to sponsoring and contributing to community events and programs.
- Humane Workplace: We are proud to be a major employer and taxpayer in the City of Takoma Park. We offer living wages with generous benefits. And we are proud of our staff of more than 45 people from 22 different countries. As of 2018, the International Workers of the World (IWW) represents a bargaining unit in our store.
