In light of the sixth anniversary of the closure of Prairie Roots Food Co-op near downtown Fargo, here’s somewhat of a shaggy-dog story—with a moral at the end.
Back in the late 1980s, I was an at-large member of the Lake Agassiz Arts Council (now the Arts Partnership). During that time, I was tasked with representing the Council on a committee aimed at promoting the Fargo-Moorhead (F-M) area, with the goal of attracting professionals to our communities.
Besides the arts group, the committee included representatives from the medical field, real estate, and the F-M Chamber, to name a few. This collective effort resulted in a video businesses could use to showcase the area to potential job candidates. The video premiered at the Holiday Inn before a packed room filled with the region’s professional community. TV cameras were present, and I was interviewed after the event. Perhaps it wasn’t earthshaking, but it was nonetheless newsworthy.
During the meetings leading up to the project’s completion, I repeatedly heard the same sentiment: “The F-M area is really just a little Twin Cities.” Many local residents would no doubt cringe at the thought of being compared to Minneapolis and St. Paul. However, the members of that joint committee believed the comparison helped their goals.
So, the question is begged: Is the F-M area really just a little Twin Cities?
When the comparison centers on food co-ops, the answer is a decided “no.”
Consider this: Minneapolis and St. Paul, with a combined population of 712,000, have nine food co-ops. That’s roughly one co-op for every 79,000 residents. In contrast, the F-M area, with 221,000 residents, currently has none. Zero.
Before Prairie Roots Food Co-op opened (an effort I was quite involved in), my wife and I would drive to Minneapolis during the holiday season to shop at the Wedge on Lyndale. We were stunned by what we saw: a Minneapolis police officer directing traffic off Lyndale into the Wedge. Why? Because the parking lot was full. As one car left, the officer waved another in.
Certainly, many factors led to the closure of Prairie Roots Food Co-op, but F-M shoppers can at least shoulder part of the blame.
Going forward, I think F-M promoters should be a bit more circumspect about comparisons with the Twin Cities—especially when it comes to food co-ops.
https://www.inforum.com/opinion/letters/letter-lets-be-realistic-with-our-expectations
