Our Mission

We Build Community Through Food

Our Values

Run a Financially Viable business for our owners 

We Adapt Intentionally and timely to the needs of the local economy. 

We commit to making timely, well-informed business decisions that respond to our community's evolving needs. 

Maintaining a healthy business ensures the livelihoods of our dedicated employees and producers while continuing to be a source of nourishment for our owners and the community.

Be a Great Place to Work 

We create a welcoming and inclusive environment for our employees. They feel valued and can authentically be themselves. We provide fair and competitive wages and benefits. 

Provide a Thriving Marketplace for Local Farmers & Producers 

We emphasize and celebrate the presence of local vendors in our store and across our marketing channels. 

We champion and actively support businesses owned by women and people of color within our local community.

We facilitate local farmers and producers becoming vendors.

Address Inequality in our Local Food System for our Broader Community: 

We are accessible to all.  Our offerings cater to a diverse range of dietary and economic needs. 

We are stewards of our knowledge. We educate ourselves and our community about the importance of healthy eating.

Be a Great Place to Shop :

We provide world-class customer service.

We provide a welcoming and clean environment for our customers.

We offer the highest quality natural and organic foods. 

We gather customer feedback and take action to address areas of opportunity.

We hold our community dear, understanding that our similarities outweigh our differences.

Be an Environmental Steward to Protect our Planet : 

Minimize our Store's Environmental footprint by composting, recycling, and reusing when possible.

Make it easy for our shoppers to reduce their environmental impact when they visit our store by focusing on our bulk section/Cafe/Prepared Foods. 

Our Story

Sugar Beet Food Co-op was founded in 2012 by a group of Oak Park residents who came together and decided that Oak Park and surrounding communities needed something new: a full-service, co-op grocery store that would provide the area with access to more local, sustainable, and healthy food options while offering more direct connections between producers and their customers.

Guided by a strong board of directors, Sugar Beet Food Co-op opened its doors in 2015. The Co-op has worked to enrich the surrounding food network by offering high-quality, natural, and organic products; Sugar Beet focuses on business with smaller, local producers to support the local economy. We have engaged our community by collaborating with and hosting neighborhood events such as seasonal artisan markets and non-profit donation programming.

Sugar Beet Food Co-op is proud to be a community-owned local grocer in the Oak Park area. As we continue to grow, we keep working to be the well-loved Chicagoland co-op known widely by our owners and customers alike!