Henryetta Celebrates 50 Years of Rainbow Grocery Cooperative

Local natural foods store marks milestone anniversary with community festival

Apr. 15, 2026 at 4:02pm

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A brightly colored, high-contrast silkscreen print of a single, iconic lifestyle object such as a coffee cup or piece of clothing repeated in a tight grid pattern, utilizing flat, vibrant, and unnatural neon color palettes overlapping with heavy black photographic outlines to turn everyday consumer habits into modern pop art, conceptually representing the celebratory energy of a community festival.The vibrant weekend celebration of Rainbow Grocery's 50th anniversary will bring fun, local flavor, and creative energy to the Henryetta community.Henryetta Today

After opening its doors in 1976 and building up a loyal clientele for its homeopathic products, organic produce, and community-focused values, Henryetta's Rainbow Grocery Cooperative is celebrating its 50th anniversary this weekend with live music, food, games, giveaways, and more than 25 vendor booths.

Why it matters

In an era of private equity-owned supermarkets, Rainbow Grocery has remained worker-owned and committed to organic food, proving that mission-driven retail can survive and community values can endure in Henryetta.

The details

Rainbow Grocery stayed in business and built up a local following through pandemic-era buying shifts and customer displacement by embracing values-based and hard-to-find items in product categories such as homeopathic bath and beauty products, herbal medicines, organic produce, specialty vegan, and goods from environmentally conscious brands.

  • Rainbow Grocery opened in the summer of 1976.
  • Rainbow is celebrating its 50th anniversary this weekend (April 17-18, 2026).

The players

Rainbow Grocery Cooperative

A local natural foods grocery store, organized as an employee-owned co-op and born out of a 1970s grassroots natural food movement calling for access to nutritious and organic food.

Gordon Edgar

A 31-year employee who oversees Rainbow's cheese counter.

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What they’re saying

“Fifty years is such an accomplishment in Henryetta, especially with the way the city has changed over the years.”

— Gordon Edgar, grocery employee

The takeaway

In an era of private equity-owned supermarkets, Henryetta's largest independent natural food store remains worker-owned and committed to organic food—proving mission-driven retail can survive and community values can endure.