Go+Fix+It!+-+Food+Cooperatives

**The Cooperative Corporation** A cooperative is a type of corporation that is founded by a collective group of individual shareholders who voluntarily buy membership in the cooperative to meet their common needs. Co-ops are founded based on seven principles:

Voluntary and Open Membership Democratic Member Control Member Economic Participation Autonomy and Independence Education, Training and Information Cooperation among Cooperatives Concern for Community

They have a strict sense of ethical values, commitment to social responsibility, and caring for others due to their nature as community based, democratically operated corporations. In contrast to large multinational corporations, they have vested interests in the communities in which they reside because the owners are members of the community and because they rely on the community for economic viability. They exist for the purpose of providing goods and/or services to the community that are not currently being met at an economic scale in a local area. They are founded on values other then pursuit of profit and therefore are strong vessels to develop local economies, culture, and sustainable practices ([|Anderson] ).

**The Food Co-op** The food co-op or grocery co-op is a type of cooperative that is committed to providing nutritious food at affordable prices to local community residence. Notable characteristics of food co-ops are the supportof local farmers and eateries and providing fair trade or organic food options ([|Pioneer]). They celebrate being a part of the community and are a part of growing social movements including relocalization, slow food, food security, food justice and food sovereignty. They seek to be an alternative to the corporately dominated food and water systems that are discussed in such documentaries as Food Inc. and F.L.O.W. ([|Klocke] 2010). Currently grocery cooperatives account for $2 billion in revenue, 15,500 jobs and $252 Million in wages ([|Grocery Cooperatives]). The jobs are local and the revenue is pumped back into local community development either through wages to local employees, member patronage, community development programs, or expansion of the cooperative.

**The Intervention** The market economy has become so ingrained in society that it will be impossible to develop a sustainable system apart from the market. Therefore effective change will be brought about through using the market to create consumer demand for sustainable, socially responsible products ([|Arnould] 2007) ([|Micheletti] 2007 ). Food cooperatives are ways in which to create demand for sustainable products by providing healthy alternatives to industrially produced foods. They provide convenient access to locally grown and produced food which significantly reduces the food miles attached to most food products. Organic products help to protect the soil and water from contamination of fertilizers and pesticides which destroy the soil chemistry and can seep into the drinking water. Fair trade products empower third world workers giving them the power to provide for their families and giving them a chance to make a better life for them and their people. A co-op provides all of these products in a convenient location making it easier for consumers to make better food choices while sustaining the economic viability of farmers and food producers who contribute to such practices. They also help to create a demand for such products which will grown to an extent that large multinational corporations will begin to produce such options for consumers for the sake of their own viability. Food cooperatives are also tools in urban revival. Downtown revivals in dilapidated cities such as Troy, NY require the help of small businesses as well as the support of the community ([|Cohen] 2007). Food co-ops provide local jobs, and profits are distributed back to the community through member patronage, wages, and community development programs and donations. Profits and resources are not brought to an out-of-touch corporate entity thousands of miles of away. Additionally, the owners and board of directors of the cooperative are local citizens who invest in the co-op and therefore bind themselves to the success or failure of the co-op. This increases citizen participation through volunteering at the cooperative, supporting programs and initiatives that will allow the coop and the community to thrive, and provides a place for political discussion and the development of a community based political agenda. It is a place where members of the community become empowered and find like minded individuals who will stand with them to demand change. Food coops are an intervention to the decline of the city, the shift of the food supply system to factory farms, the use of potentially hazardous chemicals in the food production system, and the decline of Americans' civic participation. Although they are relatively small in scale compared to the conventional grocery store or wholesale outlet food cooperatives they can have a great impact on communities and provide a wide variety of healthy, environmentally and socially responsible foods to consumers. They will be one of the first steps in the development of a sustainable food system!

**Works Referenced**

Arnould, Eric. “Should Consumer Citizens Escape the Market?” __The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science__. 2007. Consumer Culture & Civic Participation, University of Wisconsin. 1 Nov. 2010. <[]>

Anderson, P. and Christianson, R. “Making Environmental Sustainability.” Rhythm Communications and Peterborough Green-Up. 25 Nov. 2010. <[]>

Cohen, Lizabeth. “Buying into Downtown Revival: The Centrality of Retail to Postwar Urban Renewal in American Cities” __The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.__ 2007. Consumer Culture & Civic Participation, University of Wisconsin. 1 Nov. 2010. <[]>

“Economic Impacts of Cooperatives.” __Research on the Economic Impact of Cooperatives__. University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives. <[]> “Grocery Cooperatives.” __Reasearch on the Economic Impact of Cooperatives.__ University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives. <[]>

Klocke, Brian. “Food Cooperatives and Food Justice – Health and Sustainability.” Co-op Digest (Jan/Feb 2010). North Country Food Cooperative. 25 Nov. 2010. <[]> Micheletti, M. and Stolle, D. “Mobilizing Consumers to Take Responsibility for Global Social Justice” __The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science__. 2007. Consumer Culture & Civic Participation, University of Wisconsin. 1 Nov. 2010. <[]>

“Our Sustainable Path” Sustainability. 2010. Organic Valley Family of Farms. <[]>

Pioneer Food Market: Troy’s Community Food Co-op. 24 Nov. 2010. <[]>