My family attended a Quaker meeting in Frederick, Maryland when I was
growing up, and many of its members were closely associated with a
food co-op there. We would volunteer to run the register or stock
shelves and do other admin jobs. I remember the strange smell of bulk
food items like spices and grains mixing together. I remember the
"weird" items that were like items you'd get in regular grocery
stores, but were weird because instead of chocolate the candy bars
were made with carob. I remember that the co-op was a strong component
of the identity of the people who worked, volunteered, and shopped
there, including the Quakers and my family.