PCC Community Markets sign in Seattle, WA.
“I’ve been a loyal PCC member since I moved to Seattle almost 20 years ago,” says Anita Lavine, Vice President at Porter Novelli and regular PCC shopper. PCC is a large member-owned co-op, she explains, so when her neighborhood co-op was closed for rebuilding, Lavine and her family were able to shop at other nearby PCC locations.
“PCC is also walkable to our house, so it’s the first store that my kids were able to go to on a solo shopping outing—and of course they came back with bakery treats and freeze dried strawberries,” she shares. “We often go on foot or by bike. Not only do we get to support the co-op, but we get the secondary satisfaction of knowing that the produce, dairy, meat, fish and many other products come from local farms and families as well.”
PCC started as a 15 member food-buying club in 1953, and became a consumer cooperative called Puget Consumers Co-op, or PCC, in 1961. Today, there are 13 locations in Seattle, and four on the way. The co-op has plans to open new stores in Bellevue, Madison Valley, Seattle’s Central District, and Downtown Seattle. While the store offers traditional benefits of a co-op, PCC also offers 21st century perks consumers are looking for.
“PCC has been able to bridge the need to modernize and offer shoppers more convenience with things like grain bowl and taqueria bars or delivery through Instacart, while staying true to their roots and the beliefs on which the co-op was founded working with local purveyors and offering the best in organic goods,” says Lavine. “It’s a win-win for customers who want to feel connected to the store and good about what they’re buying and supporting.”
PCC also invests in the local community, which is important to Lavine. The large-scale co-op sponsors plenty of organizations and events, from packing parties at our local foodbank to an organization called Neighborhood House’s culinary fundraisers to summer festivals across Seattle neighborhoods, she says. “Being able to support local shopping is something I feel pretty passionate about.”
