Local Community

“Perhaps one also begins to see the difference between a small local business that must share the fate of the local community and a large absentee corporation that is set up to escape the fate of the local community by ruining the local community.”

Three Rivers Market is community-owned and community-oriented. As Wendell Berry notes above, we live here and “share the fate” of Knoxville and East Tennessee. We want our local economy to be ethical, sustainable, and strong. To us this means an alternative economy based on the shared values of small, local, and cooperative is growing.

In addition to building the local economy, Three Rivers Market makes cash and in-kind contributions to events with other small, local, and/or cooperative businesses and organizations.  Priority is given to organizations that support us too, showing a commitment to small local businesses and the local economy.

If you would like to apply for a contribution or sponsorship of your event, please read up on our policies and download our application here. Three Rivers Market also hosts a monthly program called Nourishing Change. Through this program we accept donations at the register for area organizations or projects.

We think a lot about food and health at Three Rivers Market. In fact, providing our community access to good food is one of the reasons the co-op started back in 1981. We always want to help our customers make the best choices possible with regard to their food and health.