Donations Program

CO-OPS: GIVING BACK TO OUR COMMUNTY

For a complete report on the co-op’s 2008-09 community contributions and sponsorships, click here.

Green Patches
The Green Patch program encourages shoppers to reduce waste and reuse canvas, cloth, or other durable shopping bags—and supports two “green groups” chosen by member vote each year. Every time a shopper uses their own cloth or canvas grocery bag, they receive a Green Patch worth five cents. By shoppers donating their Green Patches, the co-op generates an average of $2,000 to $3,000 for local environmental nonprofits each year.

Green Patch organizations are chosen by member vote at our Annual Meeting, held in October. Green Patch nominations for the 2010-2011 fiscal year are due by August 15th. Click to download a pdf of the Green Patch Nomination Form.

The current year’s Green Patch groups are the Youth Farm and Market Project and the Midwest Food Connection

Kids Learning about Food and Farming

Linden Hills Co-op and Linden Hills Natural Home were founded by people who wanted to give back to their community, and we are pleased to continue that thirty-year tradition. We are a contributing co-op to the Midwest Food Connection, a program that provides free lessons about food and agriculture to elementary students in schools around the Twin Cities. For more information on the program, visit their website,

Our Food Shelf Partner
We contribute 15 to 20 thousand pounds of food and dollars to Joyce Emergency Food Shelf every year, through donations from shoppers and periodic fundraising events. Joyce Food Shelf is located in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis at 1219 West 31st Street; for food shelf hours and information, call 612-825-4431.

Community Contributions Fund
We also offer modest donations to local nonprofit organizations through our Community Contributions Fund. Organizations may request a donation voucher, which can be used to purchase goods from the co-op or Linden Hills Natural Home, or gift cards, which may be used as door prizes or silent auction items. Download a Word copy of our application form and program requirements if you’d like to learn more about the program and submit an application.