In the 1960s and '70s, when the natural-foods movement began, alternative foods that we take for granted today — whole-wheat flour, soy milk, brown rice — could be hard to find. Throughout the country, like-minded people founded member-owned co-operative grocery stores that also doubled as gathering places and sources of nutrition education.

Thirty years later, co-ops have come on interesting times, with competition from such natural foods giants as Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, New Seasons and Market of Choice — not to mention mainstream grocery stores, which now carry many whole and organically grown foods.

Many co-ops have folded. But others, convinced that they can still offer something their competitors cannot, are thinking strategically and moving forward.

O'ahu's only natural-foods co-operative, the 2,000-member Kokua Country Foods Coop, which operates Kokua Market in Mo'ili'ili, is one such. Founded in 1970, Kokua wasn't doing so well in 2002. So the board of directors recruited the store's former general manager, Brad Salmon, to return to the Islands from his Indiana home to do two things: get the organization back in sound financial condition and then — gulp! — expand.

"There were pretty serious discussions about possibly having to close down," Salmon said. But when he looked over the operation, he was convinced they could pretty quickly turn things around. With some changes in internal management practices and a renewed focus on quality in the produce department, that has proven to be the case.

But securing more space took a bit more, as board member Carol Jackson put it, "thinking outside the box." Literally.

Jackson, who is also the store's bookkeeper, said expansion has been a dream "almost since we moved in here." But the organization has been unable to secure zoning permits. So they got creative and found some near-by rental space for their administrative offices and storage area. Later this week, Kokua will officially inaugurate a new and improved store.

For those who normally shop in conventional grocery stores, a stroll through Kokua Market's aisles is an education, and upholds the idea that stores like this have something to offer that conventional stores usually do not: brown-rice tortillas, hemp sprout bread, organic toaster pops, frozen flax-seed waffles, quorn cutlets, sustainably farmed frozen chickens, uncured bologna, spices in bulk (so you can buy as little or as much as you need), vegetarian gravy mix, kumut pasta, cake mixes made from organically grown flour, vegan bouillon — even more healthful pet food.

You needn't be a member to shop at Kokua; 60 percent of its sales are to nonmembers, said Salmon. It's sometimes difficult to explain the benefits of membership, which, besides group insurance rates, seminars and some deeper discounts on sales items, are mostly intangible. "Co-ops are pro-community, pro-environment, pro-local producers, pro-sustainability," he said. "And you have a say in the running of your food store."

Owner-member Mae Hasegawa has been shopping at Kokua Market so long she can't remember when she started; she likes the coziness, the nondairy milks (since she's lactose intolerant) and the vegetables that supplement her gardening efforts.

For some time, she wasn't a member but when the call went out for help to fund the renovations, she decided it was time to step up.

Despite the renovation, there's still nothing slick-looking about the store; they couldn't afford to spend much on cosmetics. They focused on increasing the sales floor from 2,300 to 3,000 square feet, installing a commercial kitchen for a hot-food deli and expanding freezer space from 16 linear feet to 40 linear feet.

Since Kokua's nearest competitor, Down to Earth, is strictly vegetarian, frozen organic and humanely raised meats are important to Kokua.

Customer Dana Herschman said the meats are a primary reason she shops there. "You can't get those anywhere else," she said. Other attractions for her are the friendliness and knowledgeability of the staff, the produce and the new deli, something many customers have requested. "You can just run in there and get a quick meal that's still healthy."

The deli is a modest operation, offering four hot entrees (some vegetarian, some not) daily, brown rice, the organic salad bar, prepacked sandwiches, salads and things like hummus and stuffed grape leaves.

Herschman said she hopes there will be more variety as the kitchen gets up and running.

While the deli addresses the convenience trend that has sharply altered the grocery business, there's another trend to which Salmon and his staff have been paying strong attention: locally grown and locally made food.

In the light of several well-publicized books and experiments touting the nutritional and ecological benefits of eating foods that is fresh, seasonal and doesn't have to be transported a great distance, local is the new organic.

Board member Jackson paraphrased the refreshingly simple advice of Michael Pollen, author of the best-selling "The Omnivore's Dilemma" (Penguin, 2006): "Eat real food (meaning less processed food). Eat mostly plants. Eat not too much." It's a philosophy that appeals to the Kokua Market customer, and implies eating close to home.

Being small creates many problems for grocery stores, Salmon said, but it also creates some advantages and one is that they can deal with very small, and less-sophisticated suppliers. "We are working to create stronger ties with local farmers and we are willing to buy pretty much whatever comes to the door, so long as the quality is good. If there's something in season, we're are going to have it," said Salmon.

Being a co-op, in which customers literally are owners, also means that there's more give and take between staff and customers. "People are very, very comfortable giving us feedback," said Salmon, drily.

It also means that even one request can prompt a change. Produce manager Rob Murphy recalled a customer who was originally from Eastern Europe and asked him why she could never find parsley root, a parsniplike vegetable.

The very next day, he saw parsley root on a supplier's order form and got it in the store. "It doesn't really move all that fast, but people ask about it and it made her happy," said Murphy.

Are Salmon and others at Kokua nervous about the proposed entry of Whole Foods into the Honolulu market? He says not: "My experience has been that if you have a reasonably good location and you do a good job of pleasing your customers, it won't have a negative impact in the long run. People will go check them out but they'll come back."

Reach Wanda A. Adams at wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.