Isla Vista Community Services District purchased $50,000 in shares of the Isla Vista Food Cooperative, which is currently at risk of closure, in an attempt to reduce parking congestion in Isla Vista. The money will be used to give Co-op memberships to residences in hopes of reducing the necessity for cars.
IVCSD purchased half of the memberships on March 11 and will purchase the second half in June. Nina Timofeyeva / Daily Nexus
The purchase was approved through a Memorandum of Understanding, an agreement on a course of action between two parties. The Isla Vista Community Services District (IVCSD) board believes that if there’s more accessible grocery stores in Isla Vista, there would be less cars and therefore reduce parking congestion.
General Manager of IVCSD Johnathan Abboud said that in a parking survey conducted by IVCSD, an “overwhelming” number of people said businesses with affordable groceries in Isla Vista would reduce car ownership, with 35% of respondents saying they only have a vehicle to buy groceries.
“[We’ve been] internally working out what we wanted to do in our committee, and working with the I.V. Food Co-op, so this is the best way we could package it all together to meet all the different ideas and points everybody had,” Abboud said.
Isla Vista is currently a food desert, meaning there’s a lack of affordable and healthy food. The Co-op is currently the only grocery store in I.V., and is currently at risk of shutting down. A Co-op membership, which is normally $150, gives customers access to a reward system, biweekly promotions, coupons, 15% off special orders and more.
IVCSD purchased half of the memberships on March 11 and will purchase the second half in June. Households selected by the IVCSD will have to claim their membership in person at the Co-op and provide proof of residence. Memberships will be assigned at pre-approved addresses, and IVCSD plans to finalize the list of addresses by their March 25 meeting, prioritizing dense areas with the highest parking congestion.
Each residence will have a designated point of contact, which can be updated, and IVCSD and the Co-op will establish an annual process to ensure each address’s contact is updated as needed. IVCSD Board Members and staff will be excluded from this program.
IVCSD plans to assist the Co-op in conducting a community outreach campaign through spring in order to promote this membership program. Both IVCSD and the Co-op’s board will discuss the program’s long-term sustainability, financial logistics and resident participation throughout spring and will base the second payment in June on the results.
Abboud stated that the funding is broken up into two parts to market-test the program, as well as to allow residents to share feedback before more money is allocated, ensuring more people are “a part of the conversation.”
Since the $50,000 in funding is for a purchase of shares of the Co-op, it doesn’t represent a reduction in assets for IVCSD. This means IVCSD could ask for their money back if there were issues with the program.
“We still need to do it in line with the Co-op bylaws. There’s a process in there for how you retrieve your memberships and your equity,” Abboud said. “Let’s say it wasn’t working at all and we needed the cash, let’s say we lost our cash and we are having issues, we could retrieve the cash.”
IVCSD Director Kirsten Deshler expressed concern regarding the closure of the Co-op, wanting clarification that IVCSD will be guaranteed to receive the money if they need it back.
“I just want to make sure that if in-fact the IVCSD does want this money back, the money will be there. And because the Co-op is signing this [Memorandum of Understanding], they are agreeing to fund the money should we need it back?” Deshler said.
Co-op board director and president Lisa Oglesby said that while the Co-op board has temporarily frozen equity refunds for shareholders until Sept. 30 to ensure financial stability, as of Oct. 1, members who have submitted equity reimbursement requests will be refunded. Only two people have requested to withdraw their equity in the last few months.
Oglesby also mentioned the Co-op has appreciated in value, but they don’t have liquidity, meaning they don’t have enough on-hand cash for expenses. IVCSD’s funding would give them cash flow, meaning that if the co-op had to be closed, selling the building would help cover any debts and repay equity deposits.
“We just try and maintain a space that is comfortable and meets the needs of the community,” Oglesby said. “As a part of the working group, I would love to get some information about what people are leaving Isla Vista for, what’s the thing that’s making them get in the car and go to Costco.”
