东南罗利社区超市10月24日动工：合作社筹款过半 终结十三年“无超市”困局
10月24日，位于北卡罗来纳州韦克县的罗利市东南区居民迎来一个等了十三年的一刻：社区所有的肥沃土地食品合作社（Fertile Ground Food Cooperative）当天在 JD Lewis 中心举行新超市动工仪式，为这片自2013年以来就没有全服务超市的社区带来第一家真正属于居民自己的杂货店。这个项目源于两家克罗格超市关闭后社区居民的自发组织，从最初想开一家咖啡馆，逐渐发展成由一千多名社员共同持股的合作社，居民既是顾客也是主人，对商店的未来有投票权。合作社已筹得五百多万美元，目标为一千一百万美元；据韦克县政府公布，县政府此前已拨款一百万美元支持建店。组织者表示，筹款进度有意放慢脚步、少借债，是为了让商店开业后能更快实现盈利、长期留下来。除了卖菜卖肉，新店还计划配套社区花园和居民聚会空间，并优先从黑人农场和本地供应商进货，把更多的钱留在本地。韦克县约有十四万五千名居民面临食物短缺，这个项目的意义不只是一家店，更是社区把经济主动权握回自己手里的一次尝试。
Southeast Raleigh Community Grocery Breaks Ground on October 24: Co-op Fundraising Past Halfway Ends 13 Years Without a Supermarket
On October 24, residents of Southeast Raleigh, in Wake County, North Carolina, reached a moment thirteen years in the making: the community-owned Fertile Ground Food Cooperative held a groundbreaking ceremony at the JD Lewis Center for its new grocery store, bringing the first resident-owned full-service grocery to a neighborhood that has had none since 2013. The project grew out of neighbors organizing after two Kroger stores closed, starting as an idea for a café and growing into a cooperative owned by more than a thousand member-owners, where residents are both customers and owners with a vote in the store's future. The co-op has raised more than $5 million toward an $11 million goal; according to Wake County government, the county previously allocated $1 million to support the store. Organizers say they have deliberately paced the fundraising and limited borrowing so the store can turn profitable sooner and stay for the long term. Beyond groceries, the new store plans a community garden and gathering space and will prioritize buying from Black farmers and local suppliers to keep more money in the neighborhood. With about 145,000 Wake County residents facing food insecurity, the project's meaning goes beyond one store: it is a community taking economic initiative back into its own hands.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：罗利市中心。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons（自由授权）。 / Photo: Downtown Raleigh, via Wikimedia Commons (free license).
