By: Diane Benjamin
The City of Bloomington made a BIG deal when Green Top Grocery picked a site to build. Last Monday person after person spoke to the Council about the GREATNESS of this project and how they needed a tax rebate to open.
Turns out they don’t have the money to build. All those “investors” who threw in $100 or more to be GREEN are now being hit up for loans. This is a solid venture with solid backing! (not)
Why don’t they start by renting one of the many empty stores in Bloomington? Green Top is obviously not capitalism and entrepreneurs risking their money for something they believe in. They want to risk everybody’s money – including taxpayers.
Exactly how will they get local grown produce 12 months a year? If the store opens, what happens to the Farmer’s Market? The text below was included in the email.
Wow, totally awesome, fer sure! If they actually go from a shade over $500,000 to the $1,500,000 they say they need to open the doors by the 4th of September, I want to meet their fundraiser(s) and shake their hand(s)! “If ye have faith as a mustard seed…” may apply, but also remember that “Faith without works is dead.” Someone better get to some serious fundraising works…
What a joke! Can’t wait to ask my lib friends how much money they loaned this charlatan.
My thoughts exactly! Who builds a building without funding? There are so many empty storefronts that would make more sense to rent at the beginning.
They say that particular location is a ‘food desert’! Hmm – Jewel isn’t more than a mile away. All the trail traffic will stop and buy produce from them – and lug it home on the trail?
It is very possible to have fresh produce all year round due to many farms having hoop houses and/or green houses. But I have to think the consumer costs would be high. They have to pay their mortgage/rent some how!
Of course they do. The tax abatement is for Foundry Square LLC, the owner/developer of the retail space. Green Top needs the money for the lease, etc. See 8 B. Regular Agenda from August 24, 2015.
http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=9031
Forgot to add–according to the mayor, the identity of the other occupants for Foundry Square is a “sensitive” matter-aka secret.
The likely millionaire Shirk family needs your donations is the way I took it. I want to know when I will get mine. Let me guess too who the owners of that property are. Eee haw such a deal.
More ignorant, mindless, Bloomington-Normal Communism and Leftwing food fetish, all wrapped into one. Pity the taxpayers!
WOW, imagine FRESH food year round. Boggles the mind. Think I’ll go can some tomatoes. I SERIOUSLY believe this is another “Boulder” type project, that would work VERY Well in Boulder-just like bike lanes, Destination hotels, etc, but Boulder is 1000 miles away, and a totally different state of Reality??
lulz…Another Renner/Hales huck-fest production.
From the looks of it, they don’t have enough money to buy shovels for their fantasy groundbreaking ceremony…ROLMFAO.
Yea…let’s give them a tax break…LOLOLOLololoololololol……..
Green Top shouldnt worry about where the moneys coming from,Tari will provide!
It’s sad that more people don’t see the importance of a food co-op and supporting local agriculture, but then B-N can’t even support a Christian bookstore. The land Green Top acquired was donated to them. Yes, there are farmers who raise produce year round. My son is one of them. I make deliveries for him weekly year round to Urbana where Common Ground Food Coop exists (been around for 40 years) and is thriving to the point that they will be building another food coop in Champaign in the next year! My son participates in the Farmers Market in Bloomington—that operates year round & has a thriving CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program where over 100 people pay up front and then pick up an abundant supply of vegetable weekly that starts in April and goes through October. In the past few years he has operated a fall and winter CSA as well. He also sells to Common Ground in Bloomington & Harvest Cafe in Delevan & has had HyVee & Schnuck’s reaching out to him. What he can’t sell locally is shipped to Chicago. One of the biggest reasons a community should want to support their local farmers is because of the abundant supply of fresh produce which means more nutrient dense & more flavorful foods than what is purchased in the supermarket! You support local farms; keep money in your community; create good jobs that pay fair wages; the ownership is by The People and that gives them a vote in its decisions. If people understood the value of awesome food and healthy eating,& wanting to support their local farms & keeping money in the community, then everyone in B-N would be supporting the concept & they wouldn’t have to reach out to the city for money which I do not agree that they should be doing. Unfortunately most people don’t seem to care about the food they eat and that explains why so many people have so many health issues today!
Why is government picking winners and losers if Common Ground is already in business and close by? Why should green Top get a tax advantage?
Here’s another loser for ya,,,Naturally Yours have announced they are closing their store in abNormal, IL. Sale stars now! Produce shelves were cleaned out last week.
Wait wait – isn’t that in Normal? I thought they loved paying more to be green or whatever color they choose this week!
Hmmm here’s my take – another way overpriced place for “convenience” for the Trendies who know next to nothing about REAL farms – personally, I support Bloomington Meats, Ropp Farm and often go down to The Amish in Arthur, also local farmers markets and small home “stands” – can’t wait to see their “free range” chickens and eggs at Green Top proudly boasting how they are “Vegetarian fed!” and the trendy little city folk won’t even know that if they are “vegetarian fed “they are NOT true free range. Their 10 dollar a pound bacon will be a hoot too when you can get excellent pastured pork for less at several small operations within a hundred miles. Yes “Green Top” is a scam and most likely a sham as well – IF they buy local lets see how much they pay the producers and how much they jack up the price. That was Naturally Yours’s downfall but I am sort of sad to see them go – thing is, not enough people have money targeted for decent FOOD despite the well known health benefits already mentioned – I have news for them though They can get GOOD real free range eggs for $2.50 3 bucks a dozen NOT 5 and a decent chicken can be had for less than 25 bucks. I need to go live in a small country town or OUT of town I think…for many reasons.
Naturally Yours was very poorly managed. The times I catered to them they never had items in stock. When HyVee came in with a huge organic/health food section, I’m sure that was the tipping point for them. One of the comments above talked about hurting the Farmers Market and this would not happen. There is a trend of more people wanting to purchase local for health benefits and supporting their community through local markets & the purchase of organic and non-GMO foods increases by 20% each year. The Farmers Market is only one day out of the week and not everyone has the opportunity to get out on that day or if there is a hint of rain or bad weather that usually dampens the participation. It’s unfortunate that more people do not see the advantages of supporting local farms that raise produce and other products & the community provide the support that is needed to get this project off the ground.
We do, just not using tax bucks (that they are going to raise again!) to do it.
I wasn’t there when GreenTop presented, but their campaign is asking people to provide money to support the cause in a loan form and after the building is built and they are operating, they will pay people back plus interest. They haven’t been on the campaign trail very long and just announced that they raised $626,000—they are a little over a third of the way to their goal. And as things are progressing, it doesn’t appear that it will make any difference whether the city decides to help in this endeavor or not. (I am not in favor of government handouts—if the people want it bad enough it will happen without any support from government & they will be better off without city intervention). There appears to be enough “health conscious people” in the area and those who understand the importance of supporting local farmers and local food that this concept will eventually happen. Their supporters come from all walks of life whether liberal or conservative—Christian or not. The concept has been around for awhile and is growing throughout America. Urbana’s food coop, Common Ground has been around for over 40 years and its success has led to another coop opening in Champaign by 2016. I know people who come from other towns who cater to the market seeking local produce and foods because they desire eating health for a healthier body.
This whole situation is a win win for everyone—both offering healthy foods & keeping money in the community as well as providing jobs. It is so sad reading some of the comments and seeing how out of touch people are with local food & agriculture. This is not a trendy thing, but is good for everyone. Farm Bureau’s “FarmWeek” had an article on local food indicating that the concept is growing and that each year we will see people purchasing more local food. Agriculture is the back bone of our country and somehow in my lifetime, people kept wanting “cheap” food. We all need to be making a living—-including the farmer! People don’t seem to have a problem paying for expensive coffees & fast food isn’t cheap either & neither truly nourish the body. There are studies that show for every dollar spent on your health four dollars could be saved in healthcare. Hippocrates said “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” Unfortunately what I see most people eating is not food, but processed garbage & then people wonder why cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, ADD, ADHD, autism and other health issues are on the rise.
Wendell Berry offered a great quote: “People are fed by the food industry which pays no attention to health & are treated by the health industry which pays on attention to food!” And when I see what most people stock their grocery carts, it’s obvious that most people do not care about the health either! A few years ago I completed a holistic nutrition class where one of the professors made the statement that “Fake people eat fake food,” and that is where we are at in America! Just got back from the Patriot Expo in Quincy, Colin Gunn, spoke on his new documentary “Wait Till It’s Free,” & he tells the people that they need to make better lifestyle choices, including eating healthier. A great Bible study is “The Daniel Plan” that focuses on an abundance of healthy lifestyle choices in order to transform you from the inside out! After all, our bodies are the temple of God—shouldn’t we be treating them as such?
They got the City to rebate Sales Tax. The entire rest of the City gets to fund their food. Brilliant.