Spiral the Snail

Actual Snail.

Spiral the snail came to us in a box of celery. They were discovered when Matt, our GM was washing and preparing produce for the day. Everyone knew they would fit right in, and they quickly became the internal mascot of the store. They were given a little terrarium and the staff fed them lettuce and other organic veggies for meals.

The snail is a symbol of resilience, self-sufficiency, determination, going at one's own pace, and slow, steady hard work. When properly cared for, snails can live for up to 25 years in captivity.

Even after Spiral went to live with Fawn in the cities, Spiral the snail was still an internal code passed between staff members. The snail emoji was sent to another staff member to let them know that everything is going to be alright. After something difficult was finally finished, a snail emoji to a staff member was a small victory lap. 🐌

The snail represents so much about Spiral Food Co-op. Through every change since 1979 we have held strong. There have been hard times, and times of plenty. When we decided to move out of our downtown location we packed everything into our shell and moved up the hill. With each change we have never lost sight of who we are, and our mission.

Spiral Food Co-op Mission Statement: Spiral Food Co-op is the premier source of healthy, local, natural, and organic food and products for Members, Hastings, and the surrounding communities. Spiral is a strong and viable cooperative community, where shoppers have a sense of belonging. The Co-op encourages personal and environmental health, and empowers the community through outreach, education and engagement.

Now that we are looking toward expansion we started to think about all the shifts and course changes that we have made over the years. Much like the Spiral bridge, each lap, brought us closer to our goal of serving the community. We decided to go back to using our original name: Spiral Food Co-op and we knew that we also wanted to bridge the old with the new. We are eternally grateful, and honor our heritage. But it is the loyal owners, hard working staff, and constant community support that have helped us slowly cross each finish line set before us.

We wanted to share Spiral the snail with the rest of the community. The spiral on their back echoes the Spiral Bridge while their long healthy life is something that Spiral Food Co-op wants to embody for many more years to come.

Thank you Spiral, for inspiring us so much. Thank you Fawn & Family for being such good caretakers for Spiral these past few years. And, thank you, to everyone who has shown us support over the past 40 years. We’re determined to make more progress. Here come 40 more years, one twist at a time.