The Bethlehem No-Op Co-Op Boondoggle to Meet Monday; Public Dollars Are Welcome, Public Scrutiny Is Not

Sept. 17, 2026

— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs

The Bethlehem Co-Op Boondoggle will meet Monday, but the public has been shut out.

The Happy Boondogglers voted last month to keep non-members (me) out of meetings. The Boondoggle isn’t open yet, but as one member said, it’s a business now. I’m not sure what makes it a business now, but does the No-Op Co-Op at 250 E. Broad St. have trade secrets that Giant, Wegman’s, Trader Joe’s and ACME want to steal?

The Boondoggle has taken more than $3 million from taxpayers. Now that an irritating blogger (yes, me) wants to find out what happened to that public money, the Boondoggle is shutting out the taxpaying public.

Meetings are now only for members, taxpayers be damned. Membership costs $300. I offered to join on an installment plan — $1 per year for 300 years — but never heard back from them.

As of today, no opening date has been set and next month, the uncooperative co-op will be 15 years old. There have been hints that it will open this year. There were also such hints in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. The Boondoggle may not be open but it is consistent.

It makes false promises, it asks for money, it realizes there is no refrigeration system, it asks for more money, it makes more false promises. In its own way, the Boondoggle is reliable.

By the way, it’s asking for more money, in case you missed that. It’s always asking for money because it has bills, it has debt and it has had staff members, but it’s never been open so it has never had revenue from sales.

So will an opening date be set or will the selfless drive to deliver organic kale, fail?

For the elite, those owners of a grocery store that hasn’t sold one leaf of lettuce, the meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Boondoggle. It’s also available online. Members will receive a code to allow them to pierce the security shield, to enter the realm of the Illuminati.

If anybody gets the code and wants to share, please copy it to me. I’ll keep your identity secret, even if the Boondogglers capture me and slip snap peas under my fingernails.

Also, the Bethlehem Co-Op Boondoggle refers to itself as the Bethlehem Co-Op Market. It used to refer to itself as the Bethlehem Food Co-Op. It is, by any name, a monumental Boondoggle.

Boondoggle On!