Co-op Basics Program Takes a Big Leap Forward

by Karen Plourde, Editor, Weavers Way Shuttle

November 6, 2025

At a time of rising grocery prices, Weavers Way recently expanded the number of items in its Co-op Basics program by over 400, and is committed to holding the line on the everyday fair price of those items for as long as possible, according to Retail Director Jess Beer.

Co-op Basics, which is run in collaboration with National Cooperative Grocers, offers everyday low prices on many popular grocery and household items, including some that are natural, fair trade and organic. NCG is the purchasing co-op that helps Weavers Way negotiate prices on the groceries it buys through UNFI, its biggest distributor. 

“We are committed to paying particular attention to these items, and trying to keep them as our affordable options within the set that they’re in,” Beer said. 

The retail team added 200 items in packaged grocery, 150 in refrigerated grocery, 66 in frozen and six in bulk. Among them are Legacy free-range eggs of New Holland, Lancaster County. The Co-op has pledged to keep them at $4.99 a dozen, which as Beer noted, “are some of the most affordable eggs you can find anywhere right now, let alone local cage-free eggs, and actually cage-free eggs — not in name only.”

Another example of a high demand item that’s now part of the program is Equal Exchange coffees (packaged and bulk), whose price is now being kept at $13.99 a pound. With coffee prices currently at record highs due to volatile weather in major growing countries like Brazil and Vietnam, having a stable price should be a relief for shoppers’ pocketbooks.

Equal Exchange is a “low priced and ethical fair trade coffee option — it’s a great, great product,” Beer said.

The pull between keeping up with costs while holding the line on pricing is as real for the Co-op as it is for other grocery stores.

“Our Cost of Goods is going up, which puts pressure on our margins,” Beer said.  “We have tried our best to maintain affordable prices for our members and not raise them indiscriminately, because we know the impact higher grocery prices have on our community.”

With the recent news that SNAP payments will not be sent to recipients in Pennsylvania this month and possibly longer due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, access to food, including fairly priced grocery essentials, is under threat more than ever. 

Because Basics items are intentionally lower margin for the Co-op, further discounts are suppressed on them, such as the senior, working member or Food for All discounts. While no further discounts apply, the Co-op is committed to keeping these prices fair and affordable.

Down the line, Weavers Way may rebrand Co-op Basics as something more easily recognizable, such as an Every Day Low Price program.

“[Co-op Basics] is a good program — it just doesn’t clearly state what it is,” Beer said. “‘Basics’ implies pantry staples — it doesn’t imply low price.”