Weavers Way is a cooperatively owned food market open to the public. Thanks to the dedication of our members and neighbors throughout the years, a tiny buying club started by a few Mt. Airy neighbors in 1973 has evolved into a multi-store co-op serving more than 12,000 member households.
As a cooperative, we ground our efforts in the Seven International Co-op Principles. As a not-for-profit, our organization can put people and planet before profit, focus on issues such as sustainability and community, and make an extra effort to leverage local, sustainable, and ethical food producers.
At Weavers Way, we own the stores where we shop. We work cooperatively to take control of what we eat and where it comes from. Our food represents our values, as well as our hopes and aspirations for our community and our region. By the simple act of buying food, we’re supporting local farmers, local purveyors and the local economy. That’s why being a member of Weavers Way is so gratifying.
Weavers Way is not a health-food store — although we have a wonderful selection of healthy food.
We have fresh local fruit and vegetables — including the truly local, from our farms. Our cheese selection is phenomenal, and our cheesemongers work closely with local cheesemakers. The dried fruits, nuts and grains in our bulk sections are a great value, weighted heavily toward organic and sustainable products that are hard to find anywhere else. The coffee is organic and Fair Trade, much of it locally roasted. We have incredible bread and other baked goods from local bakers.
The Mt. Airy flagship store and Weavers Way Across the Way, home to Wellness and Pet Supply departments, are located in the heart of Mt. Airy Village, at the intersection of Carpenter Lane and Greene Street. Mt. Airy Village is a wonderful retail and cultural center, home to High Point Café, Big Blue Marble bookstore, the Nesting House, Philadelphia Salvage and other local businesses.
In the Chestnut Hill store, we have all your grocery needs, including fresh produce and local baked goods. Our prepared foods department offers extensive freshly made entrees, sides, salads, and soups, as well plenty of sandwich options. Next door to the main store is the store we call “Next Door.” (Clever, right?) It’s the area’s premiere resource for wellness and sustainable health and beauty products. Shopping along Germantown Avenue in Chestnut Hill is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon!
In the nearby Montgomery County borough of Ambler, our third store is the culmination of years of hard work by folks determined to bring a co-op to their town. This kind of community activism is what makes co-ops great. Weavers Way Ambler is our largest store, with all the great products you'll find in our other stores — just more, and with parking to boot! Check out our expanded prepared foods department and a sit-down café to go with it when you're in town.
Anyone can shop at Weavers Way, but members get special discounts and have access to member-only services like pre-ordering and home delivery. More importantly, members are owners: What goes on at Weavers Way is your business. Members are part of a community that works to support the local economy, that affirms sustainability is a central value, that advocates for human values and not just the bottom line.
Come visit the stores. Look at our Membership info, and peruse our website to learn a more about what we carry, what we stand for, and what's going on!
(Excerpted from the Weavers Way Board Policy Manual, Page 3. Adopted 3/2/04, last revised 5/1/12.)
Weavers Way Cooperative Association exists to provide commercial and community services for the greater good of its members and community, to champion the cooperative model and to strengthen the local economy. As a result of all we do:
End 1. There will be a thriving and sustainable local economy providing meaningful jobs, goods and services to our members and the community.
End 2. Our community will have access to high quality, reasonably priced food, with an emphasis on local, minimally processed and ethically produced goods.
End 3.There will be active collaborative relationships with a wide variety of organizations in the community to achieve common goals.
End 4. Members and shoppers will be informed about cooperative principles and values, relevant environmental, food and consumer issues, and the Co-op’s long-term vision.
End 5. Members and shoppers will actively participate in the life of the Co-op and community.
End 6. The local environment will be protected and restored.
End 7. Weavers Way will have a welcoming culture that values diversity, openness, inclusiveness and respect in all that we do.
It is the mission of Weavers Way Cooperative Association to operate a grocery-based consumer organization that is owned and governed by its members, and to build community, both within its membership and in the communities it serves.
We do things cooperatively. We encourage each member to contribute to and participate in all activities we undertake as a cooperative. We follow and promote the International Cooperative Principles, support other co-ops and cooperative efforts, and educate our members and our community about consumer issues and the cooperative movement.
We’re committed to each other as members. We maintain a welcoming store which operates in an atmosphere of trust and respect. We provide an equitable and rewarding workplace for our member-employees. We offer products and services that both reflect our members’ needs and balance quality and cost.
We’re committed to the community. We support local businesses, wholesalers, community groups, and institutions in ways that strengthen our community and benefit our members. We embrace diversity and seek to reflect that diversity in our membership.
We’re committed to the environment. We work to sustain a healthy planet, promote environmentally sound products and practices, encourage and support local and organic farming, and try to act with environmental consciousness in all our endeavors.
