Coteau Community Market

A member-owned community food market in Watertown, SD, working to create a local, healthy, and sustainable society.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

General

Membership

Stock

Producers

Products

"I can't find _____ here."

"There's nowhere to buy _____ in town."

"I have to go to Sioux Falls/the Twin Cities/elsewhere/order online to buy what I need."

"I don't have anywhere local to sell my locally grown/raised/made products."

"I sure wish I had my co-op here."

More information about the market's goals and why we're starting it here.

At 5 W Kemp, Watertown, South Dakota, USA.

When we've raised the money needed to open. The target date is late 2021 or early 2022. Have you sent in your membership or purchased stock yet?

No. It is a for-profit business, just a very special kind: one that puts people and planet ahead of profit, though we will be sustainable economically. Learn more about food co-ops here.

No one person is going to profit off this market. Most of the profit will be reinvested in the store, to the benefit of co-op members, local producers, and the community.

No other co-ops in the state are nonprofits, as far as we're aware of, not the other food co-ops, and not the rural electric or grain elevators. Just because we're trying to be about more than profit doesn't mean the market shouldn't be a self-sustaining business.

The Coteau des Prairies is a geologic formation in northeast South Dakota. We wanted a name that was regionally inclusive, and not just focused on one town. Watertown, where the market is located, is one of a number of towns located on the coteau.

That's a long topic, and you can find more information here.

Get the membership application here.

We'll have the market! All the other benefits are just bonuses. 🙂 You can find more information about them here.

No! Everyone is welcome to shop at Coteau Community Market. However, without members, there will be no market.

It depends on the type of membership (we have three different levels). We also have limited-income memberships that will be available once the market is open.

Because of all the uncertainty going on in the world right now, the board of directors has established a payment agreement allowing new members to spread the payment of their membership equity over four consecutive months. Visit the membership page for more information.

No. Unlike Costco or other big box store buying clubs, our membership is not a fee (taxable as corporate income) that you'll be charged every year, it's an equity investment in the co-op (nontaxable, because it's owner investment), and it is a one-time payment. We have limited-income memberships that will be available once the market is open for those who can't make the whole membership equity payment at once.

Because of all the uncertainty going on in the world right now, the board of directors has established a payment agreement allowing new members to spread the payment of their membership equity over four consecutive months. Visit the membership page for more information.

Without members, the market won't open. We need to raise a lot of money to make the market a reality, plus buying a membership shows tangible proof that you're supporting the market and will shop there, which we can use to document community support.

To keep the membership equity at a reasonable level and to simplify recordkeeping.

If you have multiple adults in your household and can afford it, the expectation is for everyone to have their own individual membership. We need all the support we can get to make the market a reality.

If you can't afford more than one membership, your individual membership essentially functions as a membership for your family/household, since the person doing the shopping is the one who should have a membership. Limited-income memberships will be available once the market is open.

Because of all the uncertainty going on in the world right now, the board of directors has established a payment agreement allowing new members to spread the payment of their membership equity over four consecutive months. Visit the membership page for more information.

Nope! We will have paid staff who work at the market, though we will have volunteer projects to help out with as we get started.

Without members, there will be no market. And there are other benefits to being a member.

Because of all the uncertainty going on in the world right now, the board of directors has established a payment agreement allowing new members to spread the payment of their membership equity over four consecutive months. Visit the membership page for more information.

If you can't make the full membership payment all at once, take a look at our Limited-Income Membership (LIME) Program, which will become available once the market is open.

We need to raise money in order to make Coteau Community Market happen. We can't raise all of the start-up costs from memberships, so we need another way for members to contribute additional equity to help raise enough to make the market a reality.

More information about this socially responsible investment opportunity is available here.

Stock is a way for members to be able to invest more than just the price of their membership in the co-op. There is no requirement to buy stock if you're a member. But if you can, doing so will help us get that much closer to the funds we need to open the market.

Stock has the potential to earn dividends.

Part of what makes co-ops different from traditional companies is that members invest their own equity in the co-op to make its goals a reality (in this case, a market that focuses on local, sustainable food), which wouldn't otherwise happen.

In other words, if we were letting just anyone buy stock in the market, we wouldn't be a co-op, we'd just be one of a million public companies.

It is also a requirement of South Dakota state law that a co-op only sell to its members in order to be exempt from state securities regulation.

Because stock in the market is only available to members who are residents of (individual members) or headquartered in (institutional members) South Dakota, the market doesn't have to register with the SEC or the State of South Dakota, both of which would mean significant additional expense and paperwork.

Because stock in the market is only available to members who are residents of (individual members) or headquartered in (institutional members) South Dakota, the market doesn't have to register with the SEC or the State of South Dakota, both of which would mean significant additional expense and paperwork.

No. But you could buy them a membership. Or you could give them a market gift certificate and they could buy their own stock, if they're a South Dakota member.

Become a member, read the product and producer policy, then fill out the producer application.

Tell them about Coteau Community Market and encourage them to fill out the producer application. You're also welcome to drop us a note with their information and we'll take a look.

Read the product and producer policy.

If you're a producer and you're doing well enough to afford the institutional membership, that's great! If you're a producer that plans on selling to the market (and you meet our product and producer guidelines), you're fine with an individual membership. If you're buying food to feed more than a family (utilizing our food hub services as a restaurant, coffee shop, cafeteria, etc.), you'll need to have an institutional membership.

Because of all the uncertainty going on in the world right now, the board of directors has established a payment agreement allowing new members to spread the payment of their membership equity over four consecutive months. Visit the membership page for more information.

Read the product and producer policy.

Read the product and producer policy to see if it meets the market's guidelines. Then send us a note with your recommendation and we'll look into it.

The most likely reason is that it doesn't meet the guidelines detailed in the product and producer policy. But we may not have heard of it, so you're welcome to send a note with the information and we'll look into it.

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