In 1973, 15 Chico families banded together as a buying club to bring a new way of choosing food to the local community. They wanted an alternative to food that was over-processed, sugary, or contained pesticides, herbicides, and artificial additives. The buying club grew from a parking lot meeting-spot to a store front and was located at 15th St. and Park Ave, 1st and Orange, and for a short time right across the street from its current location at 8th St. and Main St in 1988. CNFC functioned as a non-profit until December of 2001 when the members voted to convert to a legal Cooperative and become a member of the National Cooperative Grocers Association. The process was completed in June 2004 when the Co-op sold its first Member-Owner Equity Shares. Today the Co-op has over 3,000 owners and continues to uphold its original purpose as a place to buy products that are healthy for both the consumer and the environment.