Market Day Local, Inc. (commonly known as Market Day), is a

food cooperative A food cooperative or food co-op is a food distribution outlet organized as a cooperative, rather than a private or public company. Food cooperatives are usually consumer cooperatives, where the decisions regarding the production and distribution o ...

based in

Itasca, Illinois Itasca () is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 Census, the population was 9,543. Located approximately 25 miles northwest of downtown Chicago, Itasca is close to O'Hare International Airport, major expressways and ...

, that operates in 27 states across the United States. It is known for its school fundraising program.

History

In 1973, Trudi Temple began purchasing flowers wholesale at the Randolph Street Market and reselling them to raise funds for local churches and impoverished communities abroad. She then formed a food cooperative to sell fresh produce. In 1975, Temple began holding the fundraisers at her daughter's school, Walker Elementary School in Clarendon Hills, Illinois. Parents filled out preorder forms and picked up their orders at the school, with a portion of the proceeds going to the school. Later, Temple added meats, seafood, and poultry to the monthly sales, and expanded to other churches, schools, and nonprofit organizations. By 2000, Market Day Corporation had raised more than $ for more than 6,000 schools in 20 metropolitan areas in nine states. The company operated out of corporate headquarters in Itasca, a primary distribution center in Wood Dale, Illinois, and six other warehouses in

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. An in-house carrier, Apple Trucking, was part of a nationwide fleet of 175 trucks, many of which were driven by off-duty firefighters. By this time, Market Day had discontinued fresh produce sales; 80% of the inventory was frozen goods. Participating schools received 10–40% of proceeds, depending on the item, and usually relied on

parent–teacher association A parent–teacher association/organization (PTA/PTO), parent–teacher–friend association (PTFA), is a formal organization comprising parents, teachers and staff that is intended to facilitate parental participation in a school. A parent–te ...

volunteers to operate on-site sales. On September 14, 2000, the first Market Day retail store opened at the company's primary distribution center in Wood Dale, Illinois, with plans for more locations. In 2013, foodservice distributor Gordon Food Service purchased Market Day Corporation. Market Day items appeared in a dedicated freezer case at GFS Marketplace

cash and carry Cash and carry (or inspect and pay) is a type of operation within the wholesale sector. Overview The main features of cash and carry are summarized best by the following definitions: *Cash and carry is a form of trade in which goods are sold ...

stores. At checkout, customers could designate any participating organization to receive a five-percent give-back from Market Day items or one percent from other store items. GFS shut down the Market Day program in 2015. In 2019, Theresa Krueger purchased the Market Day brand from GFS to form Market Day Local and began direct home deliveries and pop-up sales. Krueger's Chicago-based Krueger Sausage had been one of Market Day's original vendors.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.marketdaylocal.com/ Food cooperatives in the United States Privately held companies based in Illinois Itasca, Illinois Companies based in DuPage County, Illinois 1975 establishments in Illinois 2015 disestablishments in Illinois 2019 establishments in Illinois