Dear Co-op community,
You may be aware of a call for a national strike against ICE today, Friday, 1/30. Many local businesses are closing for the day in support of the National Shutdown.
We stand in solidarity with the immigrant community, Minnesota, and the call for a strike against ICE today. As stated in our Board's statement of solidarity, "Every person, no matter their language or country of origin, deserves to live and thrive in a welcoming community." ICE raids, family separations, and detention practices are fundamentally at odds with our cooperative values of human rights and social justice.
As an essential business, an ethical alternative to the big box grocery stores, and a resource to those who need access to food, we will remain open for business today, Friday, 1/30. We are one of a handful of grocery stores that offer the Double Up program, which provides financial assistance to low-income community members who use SNAP benefits.
From today, 1/30, to Tuesday, 2/3, we will be fundraising for the Minneapolis-based Immigrant Rapid Response Fund (IRRF), a fund that provides rapid, community-informed funding to organizations on the frontlines of response, care, and protection. Customers can choose to Round Up to the nearest dollar (or make a donation) at our registers to support IRRF. In addition to rounding up, we will donate 10% of today’s sales to IRRF.
We chose to support Minneapolis-based organizations because of our deep connection to the cooperative movement there. National Cooperative Grocers, our cooperative compass, is headquartered in Minneapolis, and local co-ops like Seward, Eastside, and the Wedge have been invaluable sources of help and inspiration to People's over the years.
Starting Wednesday, Feb. 4th, we will fundraise through register roundups for Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition until the end of February.
How you spend your dollars matters. We recommend:
Supporting local immigrant and refugee-owned businesses.
Paying in cash when possible to reduce corporate card processing fees and keep more resources in our community and out of the pockets of big banks.
Supporting neighbors and community members who may be vulnerable right now.
For additional opportunities to support mutual aid organizations and immigration legal defense funds, check out Stand with Minnesota, a directory of organizations supporting Minnesota's immigrant community.
