Help sustain newly reopening KCFC!

After an incredible fundraising campaign in the fall, Kensington Community Food Co-op is reopening in late January with improved product selection, professional merchandising, and prices to best position us to serve our community, be more inclusive of all shoppers, and ultimately be a successful business. We also have paid all outstanding bills, have a fresh coat of paint, and are excited to share that we have a new exterior sign in progress. KCFC 2.0 is on its way!

While we will count our wins, we also need to acknowledge that KCFC has vulnerabilities and continues to be in a financially strained position. KCFC leadership did not expect to need to temporarily close the store to await the total pledged funding from the fall campaign, and, while this move was made to reduce risk and protect all assets, it (plus the delay in receiving the full pledged amount) led to a continued cash bleed without any sales to offset expenses. This has put significant stress on our reopening operation and ability to deliver on our original intentions.

Our goal is to put KCFC on a path to self-sustainability, where sales revenue sustains operating expenses. Realistically, we know that sales may not be at that level right away after reopening, and we know additional investments in the store will be needed. In addition, unexpected costs have arisen and may continue, including an unexpected need to repair our refrigeration system, estimated to cost thousands of dollars.

The good news is that thanks to a local donor, all donations on this GoFundMe will be matched 1:5, up to a $5,000 match! That means that the donor will donate $1 (up to a max of $5,000) for every $5 donated in GoFundMe. If we can hit $25,000 here in the GoFundMe, we can achieve the maximum $5,000 match from this generous donor! Can you help get us there and unlock the full potential of this match? We are hoping to achieve this by March 1, 2023, so please spread the word!

Psst: Special note for KCFC member-owners. Member-owners are always welcome to increase their equity on the website, https://kcfc.coop/ownership/equity-payoff/, up to $2,000 total. We can manually add these funds as “contributing funds” toward our GoFundMe goal, which will get us closer to our goal. If you deepen your equity, kindly email the board with the payment receipt so we can add the amount here in a timely fashion.

Thanks to everyone for the support so far and, with this matching donor, now is a great time to give if you have not already. You can add your contribution directly here, or mail or drop off a check to KCFC at 2670 Coral Street, Philadelphia, PA 19125 and we will add your contribution to this page.