About Wild Oats Market

Fresh and Local

Wild Oats Market is a cooperatively owned natural foods market that buys extensively from local and organic food producers.

Surrounded by the beautiful Berkshire, Taconic and Green Mountain Ranges in the northwest corner of Massachusetts, Wild Oats Market is fortunate to be located near many local farmers and food producers. We are able to offer locally grown produce on a regular basis, in addition to locally made cheeses, yogurt, milk and other dairy items. We also stock locally produced grass-fed beef; local, naturally raised poultry; and locally produced fresh eggs.

The Wild Oats Bakery sells fresh-baked breads and pastries daily. Our breads include rustic breads, French breads, sourdough breads, challah, and many other varieties, which change daily. We also offer freshly baked cookies and pastries, and Fair Trade coffee and a variety of teas.

Our hot foods and salad bars are open daily for lunch and dinner. The hot bar menu, which changes daily, features international dishes, favorite comfort foods such as roast chicken and lasagna, and interesting vegan options such as stuffed cabbage rolls and Kung pao tofu.

We also carry a variety of fresh and healthy options in our grab n' go deli. These include sandwiches, salads, heat n' serve items, hot and chilled soups, along with cold drinks and snacks.

Want to try an item, but concerned about the ingredients? We are happy to tell you the ingredients used to make any of the items in our Prepared Foods section. Whenever possible, we list the ingredients on the item's packaging. Our vegan items are clearly marked. If you have any questions, please ask!

For a list of the ingredients in our breads, cookies, and muffins and scones, please click here. 

How to Become a Member

There are many ways to join Wild Oats --
In person, visit our Customer Service Center or ask a cashier for a membership application. When you have completed the application, just go through any check-out line, and the cashier will collect your equity payment and enter you into our system as a member.

You can also join Wild Oats by calling the store at (413) 458-8060. When you call, just let us know the purpose of your call and you will be transferred to someone who can add you as a member.

You can also pick up an application at the store, print one out here, or ask us to email you one -- just call or email us at customers@wildoats.coop. Please return your application with a check for $20 (your first of 10 equity payments) to Wild Oats Market, 320 Main Street, Williamstown, MA 01267. Please include the names that should be on your member account (your name plus the names of other adults living in your household), your address, phone and email address. As a new member, you will receive valuable coupons to use in the store and offset the cost of membership.

Benefits of Membership

When you shop, the cashier will ask if you are a member before he or she rings up your purchase. As a co-op member, all of your store purchases are recorded. If the store has a profitable year (our fiscal year runs from July 1-June 30), you will receive a patronage rebate based on the amount you have spent in the store over the course of the year. As a member-owner of Wild Oats, you share in the risks of the business, so if we are not profitable, we cannot issue a rebate.

On Wild Oats quarterly Member Appreciation Days, as a Wild Oats member you will receive a 5 percent discount on your purchases store-wide, excluding consignment items, beer and wine purchases, and special orders. Member Appreciation Days are advertised in the newsletter and through in-store signage and are scheduled on different days of the week, to give every member a chance to participate in at least one Member Appreciation Day during the year, regardless of his or her schedule. Member Appreciation Day discounts cannot be combined with other discounts, such as low income or weekly worker discounts. We also issue discount coupons in our newsletter, giving you another way to save on your shopping at Wild Oats.

Wild Oats members also receive a 15 percent discount on special orders of non-sale items and a subscription to our bi-monthly newsletter, which sometimes includes coupons. What you save through coupons, Member Appreciation Days, and special orders will more than cover your $20 yearly investment in the cooperative.

Beyond the financial benefits of membership, by becoming a member you ensure Wild Oats' future existence as a cooperatively owned store. A healthy, growing membership base also enables us to continue to build a healthy, vibrant community by supporting and buying from local farmers and donating to community organizations.

As a Wild Oats member, you will have an ownership stake in the co-op and an opportunity to meet and be a part of a cooperative community. You will be supporting the vitality of your community and the local economy, including local farmers and food producers.

Wild Oats welcomes new members. If you are not a member of Wild Oats already, we hope you will consider joining our thriving cooperative community.

What is a Co-op?

A cooperative is a business. Co-ops range in size from small store-fronts to large Fortune 500 companies. In many ways, they're like any other business; but in several important ways they're unique and different.

Cooperatives —

• Are owned and democratically controlled by their members — the people who use the co-op's services or buy its goods — not by outside investors. Co-op members elect their board of directors from within the membership.
• Return surplus revenues (income over expenses and investment) to members proportionate to their use of the cooperative, not proportionate to their "investment" or ownership share. (Wild Oats has a patronage rebate policy in place for members).
• Are motivated not by profit, but by service — to meet their members' needs for affordable and high quality goods and services.
• Exist solely to serve their members.

Member and customer needs determine the products and services that a cooperative such as Wild Oats offers. Our focus on service to members distinguishes us from privately owned stores (the suggestion box in the front of the store is one of several ways we seek to gather input from members). We are proud to be a part of the long tradition of cooperatives.

History of Wild Oats Cooperative Market

Wild Oats started life in 1975 as a buying club in a church basement in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and opened as a retail store in a Williamstown shopping center in 1982. Our storefront operation was started with a small membership and small investment (only 100 members and $5,000!) by people who wanted unrefined, additive-free foods and products with minimal packaging. As we grew, we attracted individuals interested in health and the environment, as well as natural foods. The cooperative business model enabled our members to be sure that their growing business reflected their commitment to these and other important issues. That commitment continues to be an integral part of Wild Oats Co-op Market to this day.

Wild Oats moved to its present location at 320 Main Street in 2005. Our new location, just outside of downtown Williamstown, Massachusetts on Rte. 2, not only gives us more room to offer members and customers a greater variety of healthy, delicious food, but also more options on how to use our space, since we own our building. For example, we were able to create a cafe in front of our store, where customers can enjoy a cup of tea and pastry from our bakery, or a meal from our grab n' go deli, hot bar or salad bar.

Wild Oats is conveniently located on Rte. 2 in Williamstown not far from Williams College, Mass MOCA and the Clark Art Institute. Click here for directions to Wild Oats.

Mission of Wild Oats Cooperative Market

WILD OATS MISSION: Wild Oats Cooperative exists to meet the needs of its members, customers, and the local community according to cooperative principles.

The Wild Oats board operates under a system called Policy Governance, which provides a framework for its supervisory and decision-making functions. One of the requirements under a Policy Governance system is an Ends Policy, rather like a mission statement, against which all of Wild Oats' decisions can be measured. 

The Wild Oats Ends Policy is as follows:
Wild Oats Cooperative exists to meet the needs of its members, customers and the local community according to cooperative principles. Wild Oats Cooperative offers and supports: