The Boondoggle Strikes Back! I’ve Been Shut Out; the No-Op Co-Op Will Meet Aug. 24

Aug. 14, 2026

— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs

The Bethlehem Co-Op Boondoggle maintains a busy presence on social media, and it posts recipes on its website.

That’s all very nice, but how about some transparency?

The 250 E. Broad St. Boondoggle doesn’t make its finances public, even though the taxpayers have provided more than $3 million for a food co-op that isn’t open. Total spending is much higher, the Boondoggle owes money, and lenders have been asking questions about back rent and the potential market.

I’ve tried to shed some light on this tale of kale. Perhaps that’s why when I tried to listen to their last meeting under my own name, and then a fake name (Jack Straw), I wasn’t able to.

The Boondoggle strikes back!

The meeting issue could have been the result of technical difficulties, but the Boondoggle has also not replied to emails. That shows some lack of gratitude to the chap who has brought more attention to this bumbling outfit than its half-dozen or so failed openings did.

I also received no replies from the seven members of Bethlehem City Council and Mayor J. William Reynolds recently. City Council in particular was a cheerleader for the boondoggle.

I asked Council again to ask the Boondoggle to come to a meeting and explain itself. No replies. I won’t bother again. These people have bigger issues on their mind than a non-operating store that has taken public funds and solicited private donations and memberships from city residents.

Nothing to see here!

Did the Boondoggle use those promised openings to bring in money? Does it give refunds to people who have grown tired of waiting or have moved, or to the estates of those who have died since the 2011 founding?

City Council directed $105,000 to the Boondoggle a few years ago, and its support helped bring in $2.9 million from the federal government and $100,000 from Pennsylvania.

I do thank Bethlehem City Controller George Yasso, who always gets back to me.

So after spending more than $3 million of public money, the 15-year-old Boondoggle is vowing to open this year. I’m not sure what the money line is on that, but right now I’m leaning toward it happening. Maybe.

Then the Happy Boondogglers, who have gotten very good at talking about running a store, will have to run a store. That means things like making payroll, paying vendors and dealing with difficult customers.

The next meeting of the No-Op Co-Op will be Aug. 24, pushed back a week. See this link for details and a way to listen in — at least in theory — to the earnest doing of good at public expense.

Just a note on terminology: The Bethlehem Boondoggle refers to itself as the Bethlehem Co-Op Market. It is no longer the Bethlehem Food Co-Op, but as it has never opened, does it really matter?

Meanwhile, unless I’m given amnesty by the Boondogglers, I have to find something else to do on the third (sometimes fourth) Monday of each month. Alas! No more meetings! Darn!

Boondoggle On!