consumer food cooperative

Community Food Co-op Bellingham

Industry Food

A Bellingham community-owned natural-foods grocer with downtown, Cordata, and bakery locations. It scores this way because consumer cooperative ownership, local sourcing, and public grocery access are materially better aligned than ordinary investor-owned grocery retail.

Why this matters: Community Food Co-op fills a Northwest Washington grocery-cooperative gap with multiple exact public locations.

Letter grade A Good Medium confidence (AI) Rubric gcd-rubric-v1 Last reviewed May 15, 2026

Final Score 55* A - Good

AGOOD55 pts

* Tentative scaffolding score. Not human-checked or final.

Base Material54

Bonus+1

Cap66No structure cap

After Cap55

Penalties0

!Not Verified

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Evaluation Overview

A - Good

The score turns mainly on Ownership; no penalty currently dominates the evaluation.

Strengths

Ownership8/10
Governance8/10
Extraction8/10

Penalties

No penalties applied in this version.

Evidence state

ConfidenceMedium confidence (AI)
ThoroughnessDeveloped (AI)
Linked claims5
Direct axis claims5
Coverage5/10

Scoring Axes

Axis	Score	Why this score
Ownership ? Control rights: shareholder-dominated at 0, worker cooperative control at 10.	8 / 10	Community Food Co-op is described as a community-owned and member-owned full-service natural foods grocer. Community Food Co-op is described as a community-owned and member-owned full-service natural foods grocer. This places Community Food Co-op Bellingham high on Ownership compared with ordinary private competitors because the source-backed model is cooperative, nonprofit, reuse-oriented, or directly accountable to affected communities. It remains below the top tier where evidence does not show full worker/member control or universal public accountability. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: WA/OR/IL A/B expansion calibrated against existing co-ops, nonprofit reuse stores, environmental-justice organizations, credit unions, and conventional retail/service comparators. Linked evidence Community Food Co-op is described as a community-owned and member-owned full-service natural foods grocer. [1] context Community Food Co-op publishes public store locations in downtown Bellingham and Cordata, plus a bakery location, with ordinary public shopping access. [2] context Community Food Co-op prioritizes locally sourced and organic products from Whatcom County farms and artisan makers. [3]
Governance ? Binding decision authority: centralized control at 0, democratic stakeholder control at 10.	8 / 10	Community Food Co-op sells co-op memberships and presents itself as a cooperative serving member and community participation rather than an investor-owned grocery chain. Community Food Co-op sells co-op memberships and presents itself as a cooperative serving member and community participation rather than an investor-owned grocery chain. This places Community Food Co-op Bellingham high on Governance compared with ordinary private competitors because the source-backed model is cooperative, nonprofit, reuse-oriented, or directly accountable to affected communities. It remains below the top tier where evidence does not show full worker/member control or universal public accountability. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: WA/OR/IL A/B expansion calibrated against existing co-ops, nonprofit reuse stores, environmental-justice organizations, credit unions, and conventional retail/service comparators. Linked evidence context Community Food Co-op is described as a community-owned and member-owned full-service natural foods grocer. [1] Community Food Co-op sells co-op memberships and presents itself as a cooperative serving member and community participation rather than an investor-owned grocery chain. [4] context Community Food Co-op publishes public store locations in downtown Bellingham and Cordata, plus a bakery location, with ordinary public shopping access. [2] context Community Food Co-op prioritizes locally sourced and organic products from Whatcom County farms and artisan makers. [3]
Extraction ? Surplus allocation, wage share, CEO pay ratio, margins, and structured extraction judgment.	8 / 10	Community Food Co-op prioritizes locally sourced and organic products from Whatcom County farms and artisan makers. Community Food Co-op prioritizes locally sourced and organic products from Whatcom County farms and artisan makers. This places Community Food Co-op Bellingham high on Extraction compared with ordinary private competitors because the source-backed model is cooperative, nonprofit, reuse-oriented, or directly accountable to affected communities. It remains below the top tier where evidence does not show full worker/member control or universal public accountability. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: WA/OR/IL A/B expansion calibrated against existing co-ops, nonprofit reuse stores, environmental-justice organizations, credit unions, and conventional retail/service comparators. Linked evidence context Community Food Co-op is described as a community-owned and member-owned full-service natural foods grocer. [1] context Community Food Co-op publishes public store locations in downtown Bellingham and Cordata, plus a bakery location, with ordinary public shopping access. [2] context Community Food Co-op prioritizes locally sourced and organic products from Whatcom County farms and artisan makers. [3]
Labor Sovereignty ? Worker power: coercive conditions at 0, co-determination or ownership at 7. Employee dissatisfaction matters only when source-backed evidence shows concrete limits on worker agency, such as coercive scheduling, retaliation, wage theft, harassment, unsafe conditions, suppression of worker voice, or extreme turnover.	5 / 7	Community Food Co-op prioritizes locally sourced and organic products from Whatcom County farms and artisan makers. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: WA/OR/IL A/B expansion calibrated against existing co-ops, nonprofit reuse stores, environmental-justice organizations, credit unions, and conventional retail/service comparators. Linked evidence context Community Food Co-op is described as a community-owned and member-owned full-service natural foods grocer. [1] context Community Food Co-op publishes public store locations in downtown Bellingham and Cordata, plus a bakery location, with ordinary public shopping access. [2] context Community Food Co-op prioritizes locally sourced and organic products from Whatcom County farms and artisan makers. [3]
Solidarity with the Unemployed ? Treatment of exits and nonworkers, including severance, redeployment, and non-competes.	5 / 7	Community Food Co-op prioritizes locally sourced and organic products from Whatcom County farms and artisan makers. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: WA/OR/IL A/B expansion calibrated against existing co-ops, nonprofit reuse stores, environmental-justice organizations, credit unions, and conventional retail/service comparators. Linked evidence context Community Food Co-op is described as a community-owned and member-owned full-service natural foods grocer. [1] context Community Food Co-op publishes public store locations in downtown Bellingham and Cordata, plus a bakery location, with ordinary public shopping access. [2] context Community Food Co-op prioritizes locally sourced and organic products from Whatcom County farms and artisan makers. [3]
Loss-Bearing Fidelity ? Willingness to absorb costs to preserve values, workers, users, and public obligations.	6 / 7	Community Food Co-op prioritizes locally sourced and organic products from Whatcom County farms and artisan makers. Community Food Co-op prioritizes locally sourced and organic products from Whatcom County farms and artisan makers. This places Community Food Co-op Bellingham high on Loss-Bearing Fidelity compared with ordinary private competitors because the source-backed model is cooperative, nonprofit, reuse-oriented, or directly accountable to affected communities. It remains below the top tier where evidence does not show full worker/member control or universal public accountability. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: WA/OR/IL A/B expansion calibrated against existing co-ops, nonprofit reuse stores, environmental-justice organizations, credit unions, and conventional retail/service comparators. Linked evidence context Community Food Co-op is described as a community-owned and member-owned full-service natural foods grocer. [1] context Community Food Co-op publishes public store locations in downtown Bellingham and Cordata, plus a bakery location, with ordinary public shopping access. [2] context Community Food Co-op prioritizes locally sourced and organic products from Whatcom County farms and artisan makers. [3]
Market Conduct ? Pricing fairness, switching costs, lock-in, and rent extraction.	5 / 5	Community Food Co-op publishes public store locations in downtown Bellingham and Cordata, plus a bakery location, with ordinary public shopping access. Community Food Co-op publishes public store locations in downtown Bellingham and Cordata, plus a bakery location, with ordinary public shopping access. This keeps Community Food Co-op Bellingham positive but not maximal on Market Conduct: the reviewed record is better aligned than conventional retail or advocacy comparators, but narrower than the strongest democratic, public, or worker-controlled institutions. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: WA/OR/IL A/B expansion calibrated against existing co-ops, nonprofit reuse stores, environmental-justice organizations, credit unions, and conventional retail/service comparators. Linked evidence context Community Food Co-op is described as a community-owned and member-owned full-service natural foods grocer. [1] Community Food Co-op publishes public store locations in downtown Bellingham and Cordata, plus a bakery location, with ordinary public shopping access. [2] context Community Food Co-op prioritizes locally sourced and organic products from Whatcom County farms and artisan makers. [3]
Product Integrity ? Preservation of quality rather than degradation for monetization.	5 / 5	Community Food Co-op prioritizes locally sourced and organic products from Whatcom County farms and artisan makers. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: WA/OR/IL A/B expansion calibrated against existing co-ops, nonprofit reuse stores, environmental-justice organizations, credit unions, and conventional retail/service comparators. Linked evidence context Community Food Co-op is described as a community-owned and member-owned full-service natural foods grocer. [1] context Community Food Co-op publishes public store locations in downtown Bellingham and Cordata, plus a bakery location, with ordinary public shopping access. [2] Community Food Co-op prioritizes locally sourced and organic products from Whatcom County farms and artisan makers. [3]
Scale Integrity ? Whether growth improves or degrades fairness and accountability.	4 / 5	Community Food Co-op prioritizes locally sourced and organic products from Whatcom County farms and artisan makers. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: WA/OR/IL A/B expansion calibrated against existing co-ops, nonprofit reuse stores, environmental-justice organizations, credit unions, and conventional retail/service comparators. Linked evidence context Community Food Co-op is described as a community-owned and member-owned full-service natural foods grocer. [1] context Community Food Co-op publishes public store locations in downtown Bellingham and Cordata, plus a bakery location, with ordinary public shopping access. [2] context Community Food Co-op prioritizes locally sourced and organic products from Whatcom County farms and artisan makers. [3]

Penalties

No penalties applied in this version.

Bonus Credits

Bonus	Credit	Why this credit
Good Deal ? Credit for unusually fair value: durable quality, fair pricing, low lock-in, and clear customer surplus.	1 / 3	Community Food Co-op is open to all shoppers, does not require membership to shop, and supports EBT/Food Stamps access. Community Food Co-op is open to all shoppers, does not require membership to shop, and supports EBT/Food Stamps access. This supports a limited Good Deal bonus because the organization provides unusually accessible, community-benefit, reuse, or anti-poverty value compared with baseline private competitors. The credit is capped because the record does not prove a comprehensive guarantee for every user. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: WA/OR/IL A/B expansion calibrated against existing co-ops, nonprofit reuse stores, environmental-justice organizations, credit unions, and conventional retail/service comparators. Linked evidence Community Food Co-op is open to all shoppers, does not require membership to shop, and supports EBT/Food Stamps access. [5]

Confidence Basis

Confidence is computed from the evidence trail and review state, not typed into the profile by hand.

Medium 73/100

5 verified linked claims 5 direct axis claims 0 disputed claims 5/10 components covered

This confidence label measures the source-backed evidence trail. AI-scaffolded scores remain tentative until human review.

Claim confidence 20/20

5 verified linked claims

Source quality 10/18

Best source per verified claim, weighted by institutional reliability

Direct axis-specific claims 9/18

5 direct claims across 10 active components

Dispute load 12/12

0 disputed claims on this entity

Recency 10/10

Newest accepted timestamp: May 15, 2026

Reviewer status 7/12

Human-reviewed components score higher than AI scaffolding

Component coverage 5/10

5/10 evidence-bearing components have direct support

Evidence State

Profile stateAI draft / human-pending

VerificationUnverified

ConfidenceMedium confidence (AI)

ThoroughnessDeveloped (AI)

Correction routeUse “Challenge this rating” for factual errors, missing counterevidence, source problems, or calculation mistakes.

Company responseCompany representatives can submit source-backed corrections; payment never changes scores or reviewer authority.

Claims and Sources

Claims are the evidence record. Each claim needs a source link, axis category, status, confidence level, and timestamp before it can support a score.

* Tentative scaffolding score. Not human-checked or final.

1Community Food Co-op is described as a community-owned and member-owned full-service natural foods grocer.

Ownership Verified High confidence Human-reviewed May 15, 2026

Community Food Co-op shop and locationsGeneral web source · 58%

2Community Food Co-op publishes public store locations in downtown Bellingham and Cordata, plus a bakery location, with ordinary public shopping access.

Market Conduct Verified High confidence Human-reviewed May 15, 2026

Community Food Co-op Sustainable Connections profileGeneral web source · 58%

3Community Food Co-op prioritizes locally sourced and organic products from Whatcom County farms and artisan makers.

Product Integrity Verified High confidence Human-reviewed May 15, 2026

Community Food Co-op Sustainable Connections profileGeneral web source · 58%

4Community Food Co-op sells co-op memberships and presents itself as a cooperative serving member and community participation rather than an investor-owned grocery chain.

Governance Verified High confidence Human-reviewed May 15, 2026

Community Food Co-op shop and locationsGeneral web source · 58%

5Community Food Co-op is open to all shoppers, does not require membership to shop, and supports EBT/Food Stamps access.

Good Deal Verified High confidence Human-reviewed May 15, 2026

Community Food Co-op Sustainable Connections profileGeneral web source · 58%

Alternatives

Competitors

AGOOD59 Northwest Harvest statewide food-justice and hunger-relief organization · same market AGOOD58 FareStart food-service social enterprise and workforce nonprofit · same market AGOOD56 Tilth Alliance sustainable food and agriculture nonprofit · same market AGOOD54 Main Market Co-op consumer food cooperative · same market AGOOD54 Olympia Food Co-op consumer food cooperative · same market AGOOD54 Skagit Valley Food Co-op consumer food cooperative · same market AGOOD54 Sno-Isle Food Co-op consumer food cooperative · same market AGOOD61 Three Stone Hearth worker-owned community-supported kitchen · United States

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