The Isla Vista Food Co-op sent out an SOS on May 6, asking for donations to make up an impending $50,000 shortfall in mid-May. The community-owned grocery store has operated in I.V. since the 1970s and recently took over the Cantwell’s Market & Deli space at State and Arrellaga streets. Both markets are open to all customers — and Co-op members enjoy discounts — providing farm-fresh produce and both organic and non-organic products on the shelves.
Co-op Board President Lisa Oglesby explained that they had never really recovered from the pandemic, their I.V. sales were half of what they had been, and, like so many businesses, they faced increased utility, insurance, and product costs. “The board had been seeing declining sales,” she said, “but we didn’t really understand where the cliff was until recently.”…