Ellery Richardson has long said Nashville needs an alternative — a community-owned, community-run grocery store. She’s been saying it since 2015, to be exact. Richardson is the president of the Nashville Food Co-op, leading the effort to open a food co-op in Music City. She shopped at a co-op in the Vermont town where she attended law school, and when she returned to Nashville, she missed the easy access to high-quality, healthy local foods. She missed the feeling of shopping somewhere managed by folks who had the community’s best interests at heart. After some prodding by her husband, Richardson decided to build a team to make it happen.

Starting a co-op is a slow process, but not a futile one. Read article here