Mariposa Food Co-op celebrates its new store at 4824 Baltimore Avenue with a Grand Opening ceremony, and a day of food, special sales & sampling, and fun for the whole family this Saturday, April 21. The ceremony will feature Congressman Chaka Fattah and other special guests.

Mariposa has been open to the public for shopping in its new location at 4824 Baltimore Avenue since March 17, and the response has been great. “Since our initial opening, we’ve had 151 new members join, bringing our member count to over 1,300,” says Mariposa’s Marketing and Outreach Coordinator Chakka Reeves. “This event is our way of thanking the many people and organizations who made our expansion possible.”

During the ceremony, Fattah will talk about the National Cooperative Development Act, legislation that calls for increased support for cooperative businesses to encourage economic growth and job creation. Mariposa expansion, Reeves says, “has created eight new jobs and leveraged $2.5 million into the local economy.”

The Grand Opening ceremony will take place from 11-11:45 a.m. The special sales and samples will be throughout the day and there will also be an opportunity to sign up to become Mariposa Food Co-op members. For more information on how to join Mariposa, call 215-729-2121 or go to http://www.mariposa.coop/join.

Mariposa Food Co-op is seeking a new Membership Coordinator to join their staff collective. They have recently expanded their operations and their membership is quickly increasing in size. They are interested in applicants who have previous experience managing large numbers of individuals, especially coordinating people in a volunteer organization and/or working within a cooperative model. A major part of this job is interacting with people, so Mariposa is asking that only candidates with exceptional communication and interpersonal skills apply for this position.

Compensation is $12.25/hour with a yearly raise. Benefits include health savings account, paid vacation and sick/personal days and monthly $25 in-store shopping credit.

Deadline for applications is April 14, 2012. Ideal start date is June 1, 2012. For the full job description and to apply, visit this page.

The construction of Mariposa Food Co-op‘s new store is complete. The new store at 4824 Baltimore Avenue is officially opening this Saturday, March 17 at 10 a.m. There were a few bumps on the road, but the final result looks to be worth it. The new store includes a beautiful produce section, meats, cheeses and lots of packaged and bulk foods. For the first time in the Co-op’s 40-year history it will also be open to non-members, though members (working and non-working) get a nice discount on everything they buy and some other sweet perks.

Project manager Bull Gervasi was kind enough to accompany us on a video tour of the new digs so that you can see for yourself what has been achieved by a group of dedicated Mariposa staff, members and volunteers. To join Mariposa, visit: http://www.mariposa.coop/?page_id=27.

Exciting news is coming from Mariposa Food Co-op. Mariposa has announced that the new store at 4824 Baltimore Ave. will open on Saturday, March 17 at 10:00 a.m. The last day you can shop at their old location at 4726 Baltimore Avenue is this Wednesday, March 7.

Mariposa is also going to reveal a new official logo to go with their new store. The logo was designed by their member-worker Cecily Anderson of Anagramist Design. Look for it this week on Mariposa’s Facebook and Twitter pages and on their website later this week.

Stay tuned for more news about the new store opening.

Yoga instructor and Mariposa Food Co-op member Michal Waldfogel will be teaching a donation Vinyasa yoga class at Wake Up Yoga (4916 Baltimore Ave) to raise funds for the Mariposa Co-op expansion. The class will be held on Saturday, March 31, 1-2:30 p.m. Bring a monetary donation, or sign up on this afternoon to become a member of Mariposa. No pre-registration is required.

This is an open level vinyasa class, appropriate for all levels of practitioners. For more information on the class, visit this page. To read more about the Mariposa Expansion Project, click here.

Update (6:05 p.m.): Bull Gervasi of Mariposa Food Co-op has just sent us some bad refrigeration news. There was a manufacturer error that is going to set Mariposa opening back a few weeks. They are now going to stay open at the old store for a few more weeks before closing and moving into the new one. We’ll keep you updated on this.

A few days ago Mariposa Food Co-op posted an announcement on their Facebook page that Sunday, Jan. 22 would be their last day open at the old location at 4726 Baltimore Ave. The new store was scheduled to open in the first week of February at 4824 Baltimore Avenue.

Mariposa also announced that they have just received a $5,000 check from their neighbors, the Philadelphia Federal Credit Union whose branch at 5000 Baltimore Ave. is located just a block away from the coop’s new location. The $5,000 donation from PFCU will be used to support Mariposa’s Revolving Equity Fund. This fund is used to subsidize the $200 member capital requirement, offering the benefits of co-op membership to those who cannot otherwise afford it. For more information about the program go here. To join the coop, visit this page.