In the early 1970′s, a group of individuals from the Damariscotta area established a food buying club that was located in a shed on Round Top Farm. In 1978, the club reorganized as a cooperative nonprofit corporation in the State of Maine called Rising Tide, Inc. and began a storefront with 800 square feet of shop space up the hill from its original location. In 1999, Rising Tide moved to a 4,500 square foot space in the Coastal Marketplace on Business Route 1. Since the 1999 relocation, membership has grown from 475 members to more than 1,900 in 2008. Starting in 2007 Rising Tide looked into buying the Strong Chevrolet building across the street. We held a Member/Owner Loan Drive in 2008 and raised over $400,000! We were able to purchase the building in 2008, and construction began. Buy July 17th of 2009 we were able to move into our beautiful new store! After our first year in the new location, we are happy to say that sales have increased by 37%, and we now have over 3000 active members.

Mission Statement

Rising Tide is a cooperative business dedicated to being a trusted community-based resource for high quality, natural, sustainable foods and goods.

Vision Statement

Our vision is to be a trusted source of foods, goods and information for our community. We do this by providing:

• An atmosphere of trust and respect
• A clean and comfortable store
• Fresh, high-quality, sustainable foods
• Environmentally friendly products
• Fairly-priced products that reflect our member/owners’ needs
• A strong relationship with local farmers, small businesses, local producers, and other cooperatives
• Good communication and information to assist our community in making educated choices
• An equitable and rewarding workplace for our employees