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Renaissance Community Co-op Receives Major Gift

Renaissance Community Co-op
The site of the future Renaissance Community Co-op at Phillips Avenue Plaza in Northeast Greensboro.

A planned grocery cooperative in Greensboro received a major gift Wednesday. When Renaissance Community Co-op opens, it'll be the first grocery store in the northeast part of the city since 1998.

The co-op is set to begin operating this fall in an area in Greensboro described as a food desert. The $50,000 gift from Starmount Presbyterian Church will go towards training new employees and to help cover the start-up costs. Board member Mo Kessler says Renaissance will be different from other co-op models.

“Our focus will be on affordability, and fresh and local," Kessler says. "Many of the co-ops that exist right now, their focus is on natural and organic.”

Kessler adds that Renaissance will carry these items as well, but their mission is to provide access to inexpensive fresh produce at a full-service, community-owned shop. The co-op will employ 13 people full-time and a handful of others part-time. Wages will start at $10 an hour.  

Bethany joined the staff of WFDD in the fall of 2012. She received her B.A. and M.A. in English Literature from Wake Forest University and focused on Anglo-Irish writing. Between undergraduate studies and graduate school, Bethany served as the intern to Talk of the Nation at NPR in D.C., participating in live NPR Election Night Coverage, Presidential debate broadcasts, regular Talk of the Nation shows, and helping to plan the inaugural broadcast of ‘Talk of the World.' She enjoys engaging with her interests in books, politics, and art in the interdisciplinary world of public radio. Before becoming Assistant News Director, Bethany was a reporter and Associate Producer for WFDD's Triad Arts and Triad Arts Weekend. Originally from Jacksonville, Florida, Bethany enjoys calling the Piedmont home.

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