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.