The Common Ground Food Co-Op will have a new home at the Lincoln Square Village in Urbana in July. The move will provide more opportunities for consumers to buy and enjoy organic and locally grown food.

After operating for 33 years in the basement of a church in Champaign, the co-op has been planning this move since 2005 with their members, Board of Directors and General Manager Jacqueline Hannah.

“This is the beginning of an exciting new era for Common Ground Food Co-Op,” Hannah said.

At a press conference held Friday afternoon at the future location in Urbana, Hannah, Mayor of Urbana, Laurel Prussing; General Manager of Lincoln Square Village, Wade Franklin; members of the board of directors, and others spoke in support of the co-op’s relocation.

Hannah said the Co-Op currently has more than 1,400 members and that the new store is twice the size of their current location, providing them with the chance to expand and become a full-service neighborhood grocery store. The store will sell products from local farms, including Blue Moon Farm in Urbana, and organically grown foods.

With indoor and outdoor seating planned along with a new deli serving hot soups made with local ingredients as well as sandwiches and coffee, Hannah called the new location, “a great destination for good food and good community.”

Franklin said that the Co-Op is a natural fit for Urbana.

“We are happy and excited to work with them (the Co-Op),” he said. “We welcome them to our home.”