The Moscow Food Co-op’s “Dime in Time” program raised $1,681 dollars for the Animal House Ferals nonprofit and the Palouse Land Trust from June to August.

“Dime in Time” is a program that rewards co-op customers for using reusable shopping bags and reusable cups, according to a press release from the co-op. Customers are given wooden dimes they can choose to donate to Animal House Ferals, the Palouse Land Trust or the co-op’s own community fund.

Animal House Ferals helps animals in need by finding them homes and educating people to eliminate animal cruelty and neglect according to their website. Palouse Land Trust works to conserve the environment in the Palouse for current and future generations, according to its website.

Co-op Marketing Manager Alycia Rock said the wooden dime serves as a token with valued at ten cents. Customers who shop at the community-owned grocery store select which organization receives their wooden dime. The co-op counts the number of dimes donated to each organization and writes a check equal to the value of the dimes.

Instead of a ten-cent discount, customers are given the opportunity to select which local organization to give back to, Rock said.

“This gives people a way to have agency to support the community by doing something simple,” she said.

Rock said the appeal of the program comes from an easy and streamlined way by shopping with reusable bags.

“It’s already something you’re probably doing,” she said. “If not, then you should be doing it.”

Jaime Walker, Palouse Land Trust community outreach coordinator, said organizations must apply to be a beneficiary of the program every year. The last time the land trust was funded by the co-op was in 2017.

Walker said it is gratifying to see the donations that community members give to organizations like the land trust.

“We wouldn’t exist without that support,” she said.

Rock said the Co-op’s mission is to build a community for its customers and provide healthy food to the Palouse. She said it is important for people to find support within one another and build friendships at the Co-op.

Walker said the land trust was formed from the idea that one individual can make a difference, one acre at a time.

“We have some wonderful folks here that are thinking about the future,” she said.