Jackson Free Press

It's the grocery store for hippies, no doubt. Rainbow Co-op bumper stickers often find themselves on cars next to such declarations as "People Over Profit" and "Meat is Murder." But the Co-op is more than just a hippie grocery store, workers and Jacksonians say. It's a community outreach program, in place since May 1980, that offers good food—even meat!

Back then, Rainbow was really radical for Jackson. Former General Manager Blue King Robinson fondly remembers the culture explosion the store saw in its beginnings. "The view from the co-op showed quite a cultural mixture of people for Jackson," she explains. "We were gaining credibility and started seeing people from all walks of life, regardless of background or knowledge of natural foods."

The co-op originally started as just a buying club. Along with the Strickland and Webber families, Blue's family began preparing "healthy fast food alternatives" through the Alexandrian Center. When the prices of organic foods became too steep, the families began buying organic foods in bulk. The group rapidly grew to 150 families, which eventually warranted the construction of an actual store.

Today, for some shoppers, it's the best grocery store in all of Mississippi. Daniel Johnson, a student at Copiah Community College, often makes a 45-minute commute to Jackson just to shop at Rainbow. "It's about the only place I can shop for groceries and not feel bad that I am subjugating a third-world country for cheaper prices and a lower quality food," he says. "I have been shopping at Rainbow for hard-to-find organic foods and produce for about three years, and the difference amazes me. Everything, especially their local produce, tastes better and makes me feel so much more alive."

Many Mississippians rely on Rainbow for food they can't find anywhere else. "The groceries we carry are natural, free-range and organic. All of our produce is organic, and we offer lots of things from local growers. Our turnip greens come from the only certified organic turnip green grower in the country; he happens to be in Mississippi," says Bexx Hale, a Rainbow employee.

This abundance of organic products is what first drew Millsaps College student Brian Wallace to Rainbow. Says the student who eats no animal products: "Moving to Jackson as a vegan three years ago, I was very happy to see the amazing variety of organic and vegetarian products that Rainbow carries." The store also has a wide bulk selection of spices, seeds, nuts, flours, granolas, pasta, etc.—all cheaper than the packaged stuff on the shelf, and you can buy as little or as much as you need.

Despite a marketing push to expand its customer base over the last two years, Rainbow has actually been in danger of closing recently. King Robinson wrote in a member letter, "Misinformation, incompetence and dishonesty on the part of some Rainbow managers took us quickly down a road approaching destruction before we even realized what was happening. ... The only way for us to continue to grow is to increase our sales. So please buy as much as you can at your co-op."

Since the co-op's prices tend to be higher than area grocery stores, getting people to increase their shopping at Rainbow has been difficult. "It is quite difficult to serve the kind of food we do at a reasonable price and break even," Hale admits. "Even though the café gets things at cost, organic is usually more expensive than regular stuff."

To save Rainbow, employees and board members have begun working on two projects. High Noon Café is reopening for Friday lunches. The café is averaging $450 in profit every Friday, while the grocery store has seen a large increase in sales on Friday's as well.

The co-op is open seven days, and to-go meals are available every day except for Sunday, through the deli. In addition to baked tofu and hummus, the deli offers a variety of other meals, some of which include meat. Head chef Tahirah Abubakr believes that the meals served through the café and the deli are more than just food. "When I cook vegetarian food, I don't just cook it," Abubakr explains. "I'm educating my community about a healthy lifestyle. I consider myself a spiritual advisor as well as a cook." In an effort to keep her customers informed, Abubakr includes listings of all the ingredients of her creations. And the grocery store has increased its inventory, so customers can buy any of the ingredients found in Abubakr's meals.

Rainbow held a fund raiser in conjunction with Fondren's Arts, Eats, Beats & Feats on April 15, in which they raised about $2,500. Local bands provided entertainment to back a silent auction which offered works from local artists, gift certificates and vacation packages. On Earth Day, April 22, a variety of musicians will perform at Rainbow from 6 to 10 p.m., this time to raise money to plant more trees in Jackson.

See rainbowcoop.org for more details.