Frequently Asked Questions

What is Gem City Market?

The Gem City Market is a vibrant, community-centered, full-service grocery store located along lower Salem Avenue, near downtown Dayton.

Our mission is to serve, engage, and empower our neighborhoods by providing affordable, high-quality food in a clean and welcoming environment that is worker and community owned.

The store features quality, kitchen staples, including well-stocked fresh produce and meat departments, as well as specialty, local and organic products that make the store a unique draw. Monthly and weekly discounts and sales are available for budget shoppers, and every dollar spent stays in our community!

Well-trained and friendly workers and worker-owners ensure exceptional service, and a community space is available for meetings and events. Our partners also offer healthy food, nutrition classes, and programing accessible to all.

More than a grocery store, Gem City Market also houses a café and a teaching kitchen.
What do you sell?

Our goal is to meet the diverse needs of customers in the trade area (trade area boundaries detailed below) and beyond.

GMC sells about 70% conventional products and 30% organic/specialty goods using a hybrid pricing strategy. Pantry essentials, produce, and fresh meat are selected are available at different price points, and we stock familiar brands, private label products, and specialty goods.

We also offer many local products, including produce, meat, dairy, bakery, beer and coffee.
How can I support Gem City Market?

Most importantly, shop at the store, voting with your dollars for our local economy. By shopping weekly at the co-op, you help us become a sustainable store for all Daytonians. You can also become a member-owner by purchasing your share today! We have a one-person, one-share, one-vote policy, but you can contribute more than the cost of your membership by gifting shares or donating directly to Gem City Market. Donations will support sustainability for the Market. Donations made directly to the cooperative are not tax deductible, but you can make a tax-deductible donation at our donate page by scrolling down to the link to the Dayton Foundation.

We also need the engagement of our members: ideas, skills, expertise, and passion from the community to ensure GCM’s success. Regular engagement meetings are held at the GCM, and you can find the schedule on our Facebook page or sign up for our mailing list.
Why did the community create the GCM?

The primary trade area for the Gem City Market was considered a “food desert” based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service’s definition (an area where more than 40 percent of the population has an income less than or equal to 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Threshold and lives more than a mile from a supermarket or large grocery store).

According to the Food Research and Action Center’s (FRAC) recent Food Hardship studies, Dayton had the unfortunate distinction of ranking in the bottom quartile of cities in the nation for food hardship for families with children.

The report tagged Dayton with a “food hardship rate” of 29.4, meaning 29.4 percent of households with children surveyed by Gallup reported having trouble obtaining enough healthy food. The community came together to build the store in order to bring access to groceries into the impacted neighborhood.
How did you pick your location?

The Gem City Market steering committee chose the Salem Avenue location after commissioning a market study by a national wholesaler. Following the study, it was determined that this location was both a low food-access area while also having the population density and market potential necessary for a sustainable business.

A survey of 1100 Daytonians indicated that more than half supported locating a grocery store on lower Salem Avenue. When asked directly how likely they were to shop there, 67 percent of those surveyed indicated they were likely or very likely to shop there. Two thirds of survey respondents prefer to travel less than 2 miles to do their grocery shopping, but currently only 27 percent can do so because of the limited number of full-service grocery stores in West Dayton.

The steering committee considered many locations, including several locations on West Third, and the site of the now-closed Kroger on Gettysburg. These locations were found to lack the population density to support an anchor store of significant size. However, the Gem City Market Board would like to be able to serve residents further West and are committed to exploring how to meet this need with a satellite location, grocery delivery, or other options.

Anyone will be able to shop at the Gem City Market, yet according to our market study, the primary area that will be served by the Market includes the near west side of the City of Dayton bounded on the north by Hillcrest Avenue, on the east by the Stillwater and Great Miami Rivers, on the south by U.S. 35, and on the west by Philadelphia Drive and N and S Kilmer Street. This encompasses Roosevelt, McFarlane, Wolf Creek and Wright-Dunbar, Southern Dayton View, Old Dayton View, Five Oaks, Grafton Hill, McPherson, University Row, Princeton Heights, Dayton View Triangle, Fairview, Mt Vernon, Santa Clara, Riverdale, and portions of Hillcrest and North Riverdale. At its widest points, the trade area extends 3 miles north to south and 2.5 miles east to west.
What is a co-op? What is a multi-stakeholder co-op?

A cooperative (co-op) is a business or organization owned by and operated for the benefit of those using its services.

An elected board of directors runs the co-op and hires day-to-day management, while members control the direction of the co-op through their voting power.

Profits and earnings generated by the co-op are distributed amongst the members, and people can become a member of the co-op by purchasing a share.

The Gem City Market is a multi-stakeholder co-op. Multi-stakeholder cooperatives are co-ops that allow for governance by two or more “stakeholder” groups within the same organization, which could include consumers, producers, workers, volunteers, or general community supporters. Gem City is owned and governed by workers-owners (70%) and community member-owners (30%).
Who developed Gem City Market?

The Gem City Market development was a community-led initiative coordinated by Co-op Dayton. Co-op Dayton was founded in 2015 by members of the Dayton community committed to the twin missions of addressing Dayton’s food crisis and incubating cooperative businesses to bring sustainable jobs to Dayton.

The Co-op Dayton steering committee included residents of the neighborhoods where the store will be located, as well as a diverse set of representatives from Dayton anchor organizations, including universities, healthcare and faith institutions.

In 2017, members from the Co-op Dayton steering committee were appointed to the 7-seat Gem City Market Board of Directors.

In 2018, at the first annual members meeting, the membership of community-owners in attendance elected two additional board members from the Trade Area.

In 2019, one of the appointed board members stepped down to allow for our 3rd community elected board member to join the 9-seat board.

GCM employee-owners who are eligible to run for board seats will fill the remaining 5 seats. In November 2024, the first class of worker-owners bought their shares, and we are transitioning over time to have 5 employee-elected seats.
In part for continuity of vision and mission, one seat on the board will always be held by a Co-op Dayton representative, referred to as the "Founder's Seat."
How does the community have a voice?

Individuals from the community who become member-owners have a formal voice in the governance of the cooperative.

Annual member meetings (General Assemblies) set the course of the business, and member-owners vote in these meetings on a one-member/one-vote basis. General Assemblies can be called more frequently by the GCM Board or by a petition from a majority of member-owners.

Member-owners also elect three representatives to the Board of Directors, which is responsible for implementing the General Assembly’s vision for the store and overseeing its operations. The Board hires and supervises the General Manager, who in turn oversees the management team, who are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the grocery store.

Daytonians who are not member-owners can still participate by coming to community meetings, engaging on our Facebook page, emailing or calling us, or connecting with us at events.
What is a member-owner?

A member-owner is an individual who chooses to purchase a community-owner membership share of the store.

Employees are also able to buy-in as employee-owners once they’ve been at the Market for a year. Employee-owners have different requirements and benefits than community-owners.

Community-owners will co-own the store with employee-owners. Each will receive a patronage dividend as determined by the Board in years of profitability according to how much they used the co-op.
Why should I become a member-owner?

Anyone can shop at the Gem City Market, but only member-owners will be able to vote in annual meetings, elect and serve as members of the board of directors, and have access to member-only discounts.
How much is a membership?

Memberships can be purchased for $100 per share, paid in one lump sum or on a payment plan ($10 per month for 10 months).

Those who are eligible for any type of government assistance or are self-identified limited/low/fixed income can purchase a community-owner share for a one-time payment of $10.
Who can become a member-owner?

Any individual can become a community-owner of Gem City Market, whether you live in Dayton or beyond!

If you don’t think you’ll shop at the store but still want to support us, you can become a Supporter member.
Is there an age requirement for membership?

Member-owners can be any age, but voting rights will only be granted to those who are 18 years or older.

Feel free to purchase a gift membership for your children, or grandchildren!
Who can shop at GCM?

Everyone can shop at Gem City Market! We will be open to the public. Member-owners will benefit from owner-only promotions and sales.
What is the Mondragón model?

The Mondragón Cooperative Corporation is the world’s single largest worker cooperative network and a leading source of inspiration for efforts to build worker cooperatives to scale in the United States. Mondragón is a network of 110 cooperative businesses, mostly located in the Basque region of Spain. Eroski, part of the Mondragón network of cooperatives, is a consumer and worker-owned chain of over 1000 supermarkets operating in Spain and France. The Gem City Market’s principles and structure are inspired by Mondragón’s resilient model.
What happens if the grocery store doesn't succeed?

If the Gem City Market does not become sustainable, the co-op would be dissolved and forced to liquidate. If that happened, assets left after payment of debts would be paid to member-owners in proportion to their patronage (or how much they shop in the store).

Add Your Voice Become A Member Today!

What is Gem City Market?

What do you sell?

How can I support Gem City Market?

Why did the community create the GCM?

How did you pick your location?

What is a co-op? What is a multi-stakeholder co-op?

Who developed Gem City Market?

How does the community have a voice?

What is a member-owner?

Why should I become a member-owner?

How much is a membership?

Who can become a member-owner?

Is there an age requirement for membership?

Who can shop at GCM?

What is the Mondragón model?

What happens if the grocery store doesn't succeed?

Open 7-Days a week 7AM - 9PM 324 Salem Avenue

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