New Melle Food Co-op | Farm, CSA, Market

The New Melle Country Market, also established by our founder Wyatt Gober, was the first successful farmers market in New Melle. Alongside its co-founder, Leslie Limberg, Wyatt and Leslie saw a great deal of success and continued demand for more local food at the market. It became clear that the community wanted something more permanent. People weren’t just looking for a place to shop—they were seeking a deeper connection to their food, a reliable source of nutrient-dense, locally grown produce. The farmers market had laid the foundation, but the next step was to turn it into something lasting. In the spring of 2022, the idea of the New Melle Food Co-op was born.

At the time, Wyatt was attending St. Charles Community College, pursuing a degree in Agricultural Sciences. There, he met the future co-founder of the New Melle Food Co-op, Noah Sutton. Wyatt shared his idea with Noah, and the two began meeting for coffee. As Leslie began to step down from managing the farmers market, Noah took on a larger role in its operations. Meanwhile, Wyatt and Noah started planning the Food Co-op. They spent time researching cooperative models, connecting with local producers, studying best grocery practices, and furthering their knowledge of regenerative agriculture through both formal and informal education. The two connected over the necessity of a new model that in the wake of a national pandemic, could support both the consumers and producers of the something so essential to life-food.

With the core documents of the New Melle Food Co-op set in stone and the organization taking shape before their eyes, Wyatt and Noah began actively promoting the idea at the Summer Market in 2022. They decided to structure the Co-op as a Private Member Association so that they could offer food items to their members not otherwise permitted in public establishments (items like RAW milk). They sold T-shirts and pre-sold memberships to the co-op, educating the community on how a co-op works and sharing the vision for what the New Melle Food Co-op would become. As excitement grew, they continued searching for a stable location that could serve as the storefront for their vision—one that was already being embraced by hundreds.

As the Summer Market season of 2022 came to an end, Wyatt and Noah knew they needed to expand their outreach in a bigger way. They decided to host a fundraiser dinner at Sunflower Hill Farm, which graciously supported their efforts. The dinner featured an entirely local meal—a foreshadowing of what was to come and a tangible example of the values behind their mission for potential donors to experience firsthand. During the event, Noah and Wyatt unveiled their mini-documentary, shot, produced, and edited by Blazing Trails Production. The fundraiser was a success, and the short documentary quickly amassed over a thousand views on streaming platforms after its launch. Around this same time, an agreement was made with a church in New Melle to rent its walk-out basement as the storefront for the co-op.

Now with a space to bring their vision to life, Noah and Wyatt began renovating the basement. As costs rose and revenue from T-shirt sales and pre-sold memberships began to dwindle, they knew additional funding was still needed. However, they were reluctant to take out a loan, believing that since they were building this for the community, it should be sustained by the community. If the community couldn’t support it, they reasoned, then perhaps it wasn’t meant to be. By the grace of excited supporters and dedicated members, they managed to connect with a number of investors who generously offered no-interest, no-time-commitment loans to support the grassroots project. With these funds in hand, Noah and Wyatt placed their first purchase orders, forging connections with their newly established network of local producers.

Only a couple of all-nighters and a few tech support calls to the inventory software provider stood between Noah and Wyatt as opening day approached. While landscaping one day, they spontaneously decided to set April 28th, 2023—just a month away—as their official opening date. With one final push the night before, and the help of a few gracious hands, they tagged and displayed their local inventory, finalized their membership website integration, created educational content for the store, and ensured everything was clean and ready. On April 28th, they opened to a nonstop crowd that filled the store throughout the day. On their shelves they had local: honey, meat, produce, oils, coffee, milk, eggs, and more. Any lingering nervous jitters about success vanished—the road ahead was now clear.

Success continued over the next few weeks. Noah and Wyatt, working entirely on a volunteer basis, dedicated an incredible number of hours not only to managing daily operations but also to expanding the network of producers and offerings for members. After some hard and heartfelt conversations, Noah decided to step down to pursue his calling in native plants, land restoration, and prairie conservation. Wyatt carried on and hired Jamie, who would go on to work at the co-op for nearly a year. The offerings of the Co-op expanded into prepared foods, and RAW milk. That first summer brought both incredible challenges and remarkable successes. Learning the ropes of inventory management, proper accounting, and effective marketing demanded a great deal from the team, but they persevered—and foot traffic remained strong.

Until the end of summer, the co-op maintained a steady flow of traffic. Once fall arrived, however, gaps in foot traffic began to emerge. Despite having over 1,000 members, many people were either too busy, simply forgot to visit, or were not fully satisfied with the co-op’s offerings. After returning from a trip, Wyatt and Jamie launched a CSA program hosted by the co-op to help generate more traffic. The CSA took off quickly, bringing renewed energy and engagement. However, in the middle of its first few weeks, the co-op received an unexpected visit from the St. Charles County Health Department—someone had reported them. Wyatt and Noah had structured the co-op specifically to serve only members, requiring membership for any purchase, in order to operate outside of public regulations imposed on conventional retailers. They had no interest in hiding anything; they simply refused to compromise on their belief that everyone should have free access to farm-fresh foods of any kind. When the inspector arrived, Wyatt did not allow him to enter the co-op and politely explained that it was a private establishment. The inspector left—but this was only the beginning.

Despite the CSA’s success, overall traffic to the co-op continued to decline. Jamie and Wyatt worked to broaden the inventory, aiming to turn the co-op into a true “one-stop shop” to attract more members. To support this expansion, Wyatt arranged short-term loans to purchase additional inventory. Meanwhile, the Health Department remained persistent—this time escalating matters to the state level. Wyatt continued to stand his ground, calmly asserting that the co-op was a private member association, not a commercial business. He diligently responded to every letter, CC’ing multiple officials in his replies to ensure transparency. Wanting to avoid unnecessary worry among members, he kept the situation quiet within the co-op community. Whether that was a mistake or not, tensions only escalated as 2024 arrived. Traffic had slowed to its lowest point, agency letters and demands showed no signs of stopping, and something had to give.

In late February, Wyatt appeared in Circuit Court after being summoned by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. He respectfully inquired with the judge, who received his questions peacefully. After several days, the judge ruled that Wyatt must cease operations and allow the state to inspect the co-op, something he had adamantly refused to comply with prior. Upon receiving the order to halt operations, Wyatt continued as normal—though not without inner tension. He was not about to close the co-op to the mothers coming for raw milk to nourish their babies, nor to the families seeking clean produce and meat to feed their children. When the state arrived for an inspection, they showed up with a police officer. Wyatt met the officer at the front door and informed him that he would speak with him outside. During the exchange, the officer asked Wyatt if anything was going to turn violent, to which Wyatt calmly replied. The state reaffirmed its right to inspect before both the officer and officials left, warning Wyatt that there would be consequences for his continued noncompliance. Shortly after, Wyatt received a Motion for Contempt and was summoned back to court. When presented with the choice to either comply or face jail time, Wyatt questioned the judge, asking: “Judge, how is this not a violation of my rights under color of law?” He was taken into custody.

Wyatt spent two nights in jail. After he failed to return home, his family put two and two together and managed to secure an attorney, who spoke with the judge and arranged for Wyatt’s release from contempt of court—under the condition that the inspection take place. Seeing no use in fighting any longer, Wyatt agreed. The state inspected the co-op and ultimately passed it, but not without imposing devastating requirements. All the bread had to be bleached in a trash can, and all raw milk had to be poured down the drain. Returning home, questioning everything, and feeling defeated, Wyatt reopened the co-op the very next day. He recorded a short video informing members of the changes that would take effect immediately: no more raw milk, no more homemade sourdough bread, no more prepared foods, and more restrictions overall. The changes garnered support from some, questioning from others, and ultimately led to a decline in foot traffic as members found fewer of the items they had come to associate with the co-op.

The drop in sales forced Jamie to leave in order to support herself. In her absence, volunteers like Elizabeth, Hannah, and others stepped up, consistently helping with daily operations at the co-op. Wyatt worked to recuperate and adjust to the now steady but slow traffic, remaining hopeful for the future. He introduced new items, including non-local fruits that had been requested, as well as additional packaged goods. Another round of the CSA was launched—this time with more robust features that allowed members to customize their boxes. The summer of 2024 was a mix of small successes and tense moments, with each month bringing the challenge of simply keeping the lights on. Wyatt and the volunteers leaned heavily into marketing, producing hundreds of pieces of content throughout the season in an effort to boost traffic. Despite their efforts, things continued to slow down when, based on past trends, they should have been gaining momentum.

In September, after experiencing several of the slowest weeks yet, there was no longer enough money to pay regular vendors and maintain even a minimal amount of inventory. On average the sales this Summer were around 30% less then the previous. For a small business, that was huge, especially when the margins on grocery items are lower than other industries. Wyatt made the difficult decision to close the co-op’s doors. By this time, he had established a nonprofit separate from the co-op, and the organization had purchased the building from the church the co-op had been renting. The mission of this new organization gave Wyatt the confidence to promise members that the co-op would reopen. He wasn’t quitting—but something had to change.

Almost two years of minimal sleep, 80 hour weeks, and working on a volunteer basis, Wyatt’s spirits were not high; especially for the fact of having to close. It wouldn’t be until the sudden passing of his dog in early 2025 that a flickering memory of his ‘Why’ would come back to him-the reason he chose the path of community and local food systems work. Re-inspired, Wyatt started reflecting, and praying about what he should do. While lying in the jail cell almost a year ago he felt like giving up, now he was certain he was on the right path but something had to change. Something was missing from the design.

One day he realized what he had to do. Before he closed he had planned to certify the kitchen in the Co-op to open a cafe and restaurant, but this would require money. The nonprofit organization he served on the board of who owned the building also was relying on the Co-ops rent in their financial projections. He needed something that had low overhead, could promise a return, and most importantly-connected to his ‘Why’. At this point, Wyatt was the only working force behind the Co-op; having a ‘Why’ was going to determine if would sink or swim-and he knew that. A thought struck him one night: “I’ll start growing food.”

Wyatt remembered his friend Todd, who owned land just down the street from the co-op and farmed on it. His farm, Healthy Foods for Life, was already in operation. Wyatt approached Todd with a proposal: he would help increase overall production on the farm in exchange for bed space to grow vegetables. Wyatt was determined to reopen the co-op, this time focusing on what had always mattered most—fresh, local food—offered through a CSA model. This approach would reduce overhead costs by eliminating the need to run multiple refrigerators and maintain a checkout system. The co-op space would still be utilized as a pickup location, for storing produce, and for making value-added items in the kitchen, which he had now begun the process of certifying. Todd loved the arrangement. Wyatt prepared the beds, created a planting calendar, planted seeds, and began opening up CSA shares to members. Regardless of the immediate response, Wyatt remains committed to establishing a collaborative farming partnership with Todd and continuing to expand production. Growing food—it has always been at the heart of the co-op’s mission. Wyatt hopes to get members involved in the process and increase the co-op’s revenue so that one day, it can fully reopen in a similar fashion to before.