Olympia Food Co-op - Westside

To be: Vegan cheese, marshmellows, icecream, butter, cereal, desserts, milks, etc. Plenty of organic produce, but EXPENSIVE! And sometimes the volunteers aren't very friendly. They might check your stuff out, but not even say "hello" or "have a nice day".
Not to be: They could work on finding more breads suitable for vegans, as well as finding breads that don't have mold on them. Same with the granola, most of them have honey or dairy in them :(

Updated from previous review on 2016-08-18

Love love LOVE the westside coop. I used to live a few blocks away, and having a place I could get vegan, organic food in my neighborhood was a godsend. Being a neighborhood store I always felt a sense of community there. Staff is friendly and knowledgeable, and yes, some of the volunteer staff don't know the plu #'s for some of the produce off the top of their heads, but if it's really a problem for you to write a few numbers down maybe you'd be better off at Safeway. Membership is cheap and they provide discounts for low income/disabled/homeless members, and a bigger discount for volunteers. Can be pricey, especially specialty items, but most bulk foods and produce are affordable. Without the coop it would have been a lot harder for me to maintain a vegan diet.

I love this funky little co-op. It reminds me of PCC in Seattle back before PCC became huge. Decent bulk section, baked goods from Blue Heron Bakery, great tahini. Staffed largely by volunteers who get a deal on their groceries as their only payment. My only complaint here is the same one I have for every grocery store...the pollsters and survey takers and electioneers who hang out next to the door and bother people.
Updated from previous review on Friday October 26, 2012

Has a lot of good vegan foods. The staff is usually REALLY bad and do not know anything. I do not care if they are volunteers train them. I also think having to write down the PLU# is fairly ridiculous. They should know or have a guide and figure it out. I am paying to shop here! They DO NOT have a salad bar at this one. But they see to have more vegan chocolates and better selection of Hillside Quickies to go sandwiches. Once I found a WONDERFUL Hillside Quickies pizza here but not since then.

The entire feel of the Olympia Food Co-op is amazing. Very welcoming and open. Has a great selection of bulk and local foods. Almost all of the produce is organic and during the summer and fall is locally farmed. It may be some of the best tasting produce as well, I might add. There is a free store in front of the building where you will find an array of things you can take for free. Lots of fun housewares and clothing :)There is an other location of the east side of Olympia, a much larger store with a more inclusive bulk, produce and packaged section.