The Sussex County Food Co-op is open to the public 7 days a week. You don't have to be a member to shop here.

The co-op buys in bulk so you don't have to.

Purchasing grains, flour, nuts, pasta, dried fruit and other foods in bulk amounts of, say, 25 pounds, enables the co-op to obtain products not usually found in conventional supermarkets -- as well as to pass along cost savings.

If you only need a cup of sugar or a couple of teaspoons of spices, we'll be happy to sell you that much. On the other hand, if you use lots of something like soy milk, we'll gladly special order your favorite brand by the case.

Talk about economical! You can buy the amount you need, when you need it. Try doing that at a supermarket or wholesale club.

On an ecologically virtuous note, purchasing in bulk cuts down on the amount of cardboard and shrink-wrap packaging that ultimately winds up in a landfill (if consumers don't recycle it).

Not any longer. It started out as a buying club in the 1970s. In 1980 the present co-op was established as a not-for-profit natural foods consumer cooperative with a retail store open to the public.

We're located one block east of Route 206, just down the hill a bit from the Sussex County Court House. Turn onto Trinity Street and make your first left onto Moran Street -- there's a branch of the Newton Trust bank on the corner. On the right side after the bank and its drive-thru and parking lot driveways is the parking area for 30 Moran Street.

The co-op's front door faces the street, as does the Next to New kids' consignments shop and The Fabric Tree yard goods store. If you're looking downhill from Trinity Street, a cherry tree obscures our front door.

You can also reach us from Route 206 via East Clinton Street. Go in one block to the stop sign. Turn right (uphill), and you'll see The Fabric Tree. To get to the parking lot, pass the front of the building and turn into the second driveway on the left.

Not at this time.

FYI, there's an indoor cash machine at the Exxon Tiger Mart on the corner of Route 206 and East Clinton Street.

We do accept VISA, MasterCard, and Discover credit cards.  At this time we are unable to accept American Express.

We do not accept coupons because of the additional administrative overhead that would increase our cost of doing business. (Translation: It saves our managers the horrors of even more paperwork.)

The co-op is committed to supplying the freshest, most healthful food to our members and patrons at the best possible prices. Our managers take advantage of our distributors' and suppliers' special promotions and automatically pass along the savings -- which is why you will sometimes see different prices on two packages of the same product.

Rest assured: You don't need to clip coupons to get a "bargain" at the co-op.

Besides, when was the last time you saw a coupon for organic teff?!

We moved to our present home at 30 Moran Street in 1996. Why not drop by and check out our "new" store?

At the Exxon Tiger Mart at the corner of Route 206 northbound and East Clinton Street, directly opposite The County Seat restaurant. The ATM is indoors.

We do! The co-op is open from 9 AM until 9 PM on Fridays.

Everything we sell carries a Member Price and a Public Price. (Guess who pays the lower price?!)

You'll have to decide that for yourself. Aside from the purely monetary benefits of shopping at reduced member prices, you have to determine whether you have the time and energy to fulfill the work commitment. If you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, or are philosophically supportive of organic agriculture, for instance, then you might enjoy meeting kindred spirits -- but you can certainly do that as a shopper!

If you have special dietary needs, it may be to your advantage to join the co-op, even as a Non-Working Member... 

In any case, we suggest you do some comparison shopping with a typical week's shopping list, then do the math and figure the logistics for your lifestyle and circumstances.

Please phone the store at (973) 579-1882 during business hours and tell the manager on duty that you cannot make it. If you know in advance that you have to reschedule, please alert us as soon as possible so we can call in reinforcements if we need to -- when we are scheduled to receive a big delivery, for instance. Thanks for your consideration!

Only if they are not minors (who are legally prohibited from handling food). If you have any questions, please speak with a manager before sending offspring over to work your hours.

Consider joining the co-op as a Non-Working Member. Instead of working 2 hours per month (24 hours per year), you pay $10 per month plus the annual membership fee; in return, you pay member prices.

An even simpler alternative is to shop at the co-op on Tuesdays, when we discount all sales to non-members by 10%. Remember, this discount applies to special orders, too.

By all means come in and shop when it's convenient. (For some, "convenient" might mean shopping on Tuesdays to take advantage of the 10% discount to the public.)

If you need an item we don't usually stock, or if you need a large quantity of something, come to the store and fill out a special order card with your name and phone number, along with the product info. Place it in the appropriate box atop the filing cabinet.

We'll phone you when your order comes in.

Of course, you can always speak with a manager to find out if the item is available from our suppliers and when we expect delivery.