Harmony Co-op Gives Back

Thanks to the continued support and patronage of our shoppers each year Harmony is able to give back to our community in significant and strategic ways! As Harmony owners and shoppers we can be proud that our donations contribute to the health of our community. Harmony believes that food helps us celebrate our similarities as well as our differences and brings us – STRONGER – together.

So far we have donated $31,238 to the Bemidji Community in 2022!!!

Buy Local Give Local - $1,600

During our annual Buy Local Give Local Event, Harmony Co-op donates 10% of the day’s sales equally to 2 nonprofit organizations! With social media/print promotion and instore tabling during the event, the community gets to see firsthand the dedication, heart, and hard work that goes into these great nonprofit organizations.

This year we were able to donate $1,600 ($800 each) to our donation partners, Northwest Indian Community Development Center & Bemidji Community Table for Buy Local Give Local Event!!

Harmony Co-op Summer Fest - $1,000

Summer Fest is one of our favorite events complete with a bouncy house, family games, face painting, kid's crafts, a water game, live music, a community meal and more! We want to thank everyone again for attending our Harmony Co-op Summer Fest this past year. The free will donations totaled over $500 and Harmony is going to contribute the remaining amount to make it an even $1,000 donation to Bemidji Headwaters Science Center. We are so thankful to live in such a wonderful community and we look forward to many more successful events in the future.

Harmony Co-op 2021 Patronage Dividend - $21,921.46

Co-operatives like Harmony often use dividends as a way of financially “giving back”; Harmony has been profitable enough that we have been able to send patronage dividends (a share proportionate to the amount each person has spent at the co-op in the past year) to all of our owners for the past three years.

Harmony Co-op Patronage Dividend - $3,558.37

Any unclaimed dividends from the previous year are donated; this year, October 26th, 2022, Harmony’s General Manager Colleen Bakken presented Michael Olson, Executive Director of Bemidji Community Food Shelf , with a check in the amount of $3,558.37 (unclaimed Patronage Dividends). We are proud to partner with Bemidji Community Food Shelf and honor them for the important work they do in the community.

Community Kitchen - $400

Harmony also donates Community Kitchen space to nonprofit organizations! This year we donated $400 of kitchen use to the following organizations for local food projects that served the community:

• Sanford Medical Center

• Girl Scouts

• Beltrami County Historical Society

• St. Phillips School

• Aurora Waasakone Community of Learners (AWCL)

• School Craft Learning Community

• Bemidji Special Olympics

People like you make all this possible. When you shop at the co-op, your money makes a bigger impact in your local community than at a typical grocery store. At the co-op, your food dollars work to support a robust local economy, a vibrant community and a healthy environment.

You are the co-op difference!!!