Neighborhood grocery store Mariposa Food Co-op with over 1,500 local members began accepting youth member applications last week. If you or some of your family members are between ages 14 and 17, this is a great opportunity for you/them to become a member-owner of a community-run business and to learn about the cooperative economy. By becoming a Mariposa member, our young neighbors, just like adult members, can participating in decision-making about the co-op through voting, earn a 5 percent shopping discount and receive other member benefits.

Interested youth or parents/guardians are asked to stop by the store located at 49th and Baltimore Avenue to pick up a membership application. By the way, youth member equity is only $5. For more information please visit: https://www.mariposa.coop/

Community members are invited to attend a groundbreaking ceremony and reception to mark the start of renovation and construction of Mariposa Food Co-op‘s new location today at 3 p.m. at 4824 Baltimore Avenue.

The co-op has raised over $2.37 million and is ready to start the construction in the first week of July. If all goes well, the new store is scheduled to open in October.

Mayor Michael Nutter is expected to attend the event, along with representatives of the project’s major supporters, and other honored guests. Food and refreshments will be served.

Correction: The Saturday meeting is 10 a.m. to Noon.

The Mariposa Food Co-op is hosting two community meetings this week to allow residents in West Philly to get a look at its new location on Baltimore Avenue and hear more about the progress of its expansion plans.

The first meeting is Tuesday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the soon-to-be Mariposa location at 4824 Baltimore Ave. Residents will have the chance to tour the new building, which is a five-fold increase in size over the old space, and talk to Mariposa staff and members about expansion plans. The new building is scheduled to open in October and rennovations will begin in earnest this summer.

Another open house will be held on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.10 a.m. to Noon and follow a similar format. State Rep. James R. Roebuck Jr. is scheduled to attend this open house as well to talk about the expansion.

Mariposa continues to seek support for the expansion and there are a couple of ways you can help out. A membership drive is currently under way for the new store. A loan campaign is also ongoing and donations are always accepted.

There aren’t too many chances these days to have a say in where you buy your food in West Philly. Actually, there may be only one chance. Mariposa Food Co-op launched a new membership campaign today that will provide that chance.

Mariposa will move to a new building next fall that increases its size five-fold, making it the only community-owned grocery store in West Philly. We’re talking fresh produce, fresh fruit and staples we all need – all on Baltimore Avenue near 49th Street. West Philly needs to step up ownership – that means becoming a member. Just to be clear, folks who aren’t members can shop at the new store too. But membership, as they say, has its priveleges. Here they are:

• Members get a discount and members who chip in to help run the store get an even bigger discount.

• As a member you get a voice in how things are run.

• Finally, and maybe most importantly, becoming a member means that you are helping to create a business that we all have a stake in.

Peter Collopy, a Mariposa member explains: “Membership in Mariposa is about more than getting a discount,” said Collopy. “It’s an opportunity to share ownership of an important resource for our community.”

You can join online here.

Mariposa Food Co-op is on target to move into its new building at 4824 Baltimore Ave by July 2011. Members got a sneak peak inside the new building during the general membership meeting on Sunday.

Originally built as a bank, the new space will increase Mariposa’s space five-fold and include community classrooms, offices and more storage. The bulk of the renovation will be to the main selling space and will begin in early spring. The entire project cost $2 million, including the purchase of the former bank building, and although the co-op has raised most of the money through loans and grants – about $1.5 million – it is still seeking investors for the remaining costs, said project manager Bull Gervasi. A number of fundraisers are being planned to help offset costs.

Members have already done some light renovation and have found some interesting design features in the 90-year-old building, including the solid marble entrance to the former vault and glazed brick in the basement, which used to serve as a fallout shelter.

The Mariposa membership has decided to offer a new shopping scheme along with the new location. The added space will make it feasible for non-members to shop as well, though members will still be the lifeblood of the organization.

An interview with Bull Gervasi and a quick tour of the main space: