May 19, 2026
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
The Bethlehem Co-Op Boondoggle met Monday night but did not set an opening date.
It’s been in the works for 15 years, and by my estimate $6 million or so has been spent, at least $3.1 million of that courtesy of the taxpayers. More money goes out the door daily for expenses.
That urgency to fill what organizers called a “food dessert?” That was all balderdash, poppycock, shipoopy, you pick the printable but still meaningful term.
If there had been a real need to bring fresh fruit to the yuppies and affluent residents within a few blocks of 250 E. Market St., they could have rented a storefront and opened years ago. Instead, they wanted an edifice, a Taj Mahal. Right now, it’s a food-free edifice.
It needs more money. Lots of it. This is not a food co-op, it’s a fundraising campaign that posts recipes and pretends to be a force for social good in the community. It truly is “the never ending story,” and it’s all about money.
Former U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, state Sen. Lisa Boscola and Bethlehem City Council made those donations without consulting us. That happens when a relatively affluent, educated special-interest group goes to meetings and promises the world. So far the Boondogglers have delivered nothing but bromides on social media.
I confess, I did not listen to the meeting but the lack of an opening date was confirmed by Boondoggle management. They prefer to call the non-operating store the Bethlehem Co-Op Market.
At the previous meeting of the Boondoggle Board of Directors, which I did listen to, the Boondoggle needed a general manager, a staff, money, a couple inspections, some more money, a working checkout system, and did I mention, more money?
They haven’t sold a single butternut squash, but they always need money. They’ll need money to stock the shelves too. A lender wants a marketing study, and to make sure there is a settlement involving back rent.
The co-op’s debt at one point was more than $1 million. I don’t have a current number.
Fifteen years, $6 million or so, it’s still a No-Op Co-Op … Does something appear to be off here or is it just me?
The Bethlehem Co-Op Boondoggle will meet (something it is good at) in June. I will try to be online, it depends on the weather and travel plans and almost anything else coming up that may be more appealing.
Until then, Boondoggle On!
Lehigh Valley News Briefs 
What legal authority SHOULD be in charge of this corruption?
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That’s an interesting question. The so-called member/owners got the money and said that a federal audit of the spending was completed. However that doesn’t mean the money was spent wisely. It wasn’t or there would be an open co-op.
So far, no state official has taken an interest in it, City Council has not asked the Boondogglers in for an explanation, so they appear to be accountable only to themselves and not to the taxpayers who provided most of the money (thanks again to Susan Wild, Lisa Boscola and Bethlehem City Council).
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