Kent Natural Foods Co-op History

   Kent Natural Foods has experienced many incarnations over its forty year history. Formed as a buying club in the early seventies, members picked up their special orders at locations including the Unitarian Universalist church on Gougler St. Kent Natural Foods joined the downtown Kent Community Project, which included a co-op record store and clothing recyclery, eventually moving into the old Kent hotel. After a fire, the store was forced to shrink its inventory and move to North Water Street. Eventually in the eighties, the store moved to Main Street, replacing a jewelry store. Co-op workers knocked out a wall, and combined two store spaces to form the current store.