Cultivate Community Food Co-op and “The Dream” Most of us are familiar with his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, but how many know of Dr. King’s work to effect economic change and that cooperatives were aligned with his vision?
After seeing the Civil Rights Act passed in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act in 1965, Dr. King began to focus on economic change. He wanted to solve the issue of poverty for everyone. In fact, he supported the cooperative model, where people could actively change their socio-economic environment by coming together to own businesses as a community. This creates jobs and the profits stay in the local area.
Following the Civil War, as the Black community continued to gain more and more of the rights that were due to all citizens, there was still the specter of racism, violence, and economic inequity. As a result, African Americans continued to use the cooperative business model they had used for years in order to serve and uplift their communities from within so they could be self-reliant and free from an economic system that continued to shut them out.
Because co-ops are locally owned, we are focused on our local community. Our advocacy is not for some far-off big corporation or CEO, but for our families, friends, and neighbors right here in Vallejo and Benicia. Our profits will be distributed amongst our owners or reinvested in our store, depending on how our owners vote. We will bring good-paying jobs to the community. The products we sell—from produce to pasta—will be sourced with a focus on local producers.
Our goal in launching CCFC is much greater than opening a grocery store—it’s creating a space to connect and uplift everyone in our entire community. If you haven’t already, come join us now and be a part of this exciting, positive addition to our region!
Very brief highlights about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr:
Most often known for his work for civil rights, voting rights, and non-violent action.
Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, the youngest recipient at the time.
Began speaking out about economic injustice in 1965 and continued to do so until his tragic assassination in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968.
Envisioned a “Poor People’s Campaign”, a multiracial coalition of the impoverished.
Photo credit: https://www.foodcoop.coop/; Wedge Community Food Co-op, Minneapolis.
July 4th is our annual celebration of the birth of the USA and our independence from England. The Declaration of Independence sets forth the founding principles of our democracy, just as the seven co-operative principles form the foundation for our co-op. So how do the 4th of July and Principle #4 align?
As you may already know, co-ops operate following the seven cooperative principles:
Voluntary and Open Membership
Democratic Member Control
Member Economic Participation
Autonomy and Independence
Education, Training and Information
Cooperation among Cooperatives
Concern for Community
Principle #4 stresses that co-ops are autonomous, self-help organizations controlled and governed by their owners. By retaining owner control, we are not beholden to any government, ideology, or other potential influences. We maintain our independent, democratic governance (principle #2) and work to serve the needs of our owners.
How do we maintain our independence and autonomy? Our policy is, one owner, one vote. This prevents anyone from taking undue advantage. When our store opens, we will work with several local suppliers rather than becoming overly dependent on just a few large suppliers. Our Board maintains ongoing participation in development and educational offerings (principle #5).
We also don’t raise capital through IPOs (initial public offerings) or venture capital investments. Those type of funds come from people who may not ever patronize the co-op and are just looking for a high return on their dollar. Worse, they may want to influence the direction of the co-op and insist on having a seat on the Board of Directors. In order to maintain our independence, we raise our funds through owner shares, owner loans, and capital campaigns, which keeps full control with our owners. In addition, we will pursue loan funds and grants which are available specifically for cooperatives.
So as you continue to celebrate during the month of July, you can also celebrate being part of the independent and autonomous Cultivate Community Food Co-op!
The topic of bringing a Trader Joe’s to Benicia has once again popped up on social media. In some ways, it is encouraging to see so many people who live here voice support for new grocery options in our area. But it is disheartening because there is already a growing grassroots effort under way to bring a food cooperative to town. It’s a more sustainable and equitable option. One that I am convinced if more people knew about, they would abandon their calls for another chain.
When I’m out talking to residents of Solano County they tell me, “I wish you would bring the food co-op to our town.” My response is simple, “Every town should have a food cooperative. But it’s a matter of having people in your town with a vision to get it started.”
I’d like to clarify a few things and share a few ideas because there seems to be some misinformation in these social media threads.
You do not need to be an owner to shop at the store. We need owners and non-owners to shop at our store. The owners will simply get more discounts, discounts that eventually pay for the ownership. So that’s a no-brainer. In addition, the owners have a say in to what goes on in the store. Owner shares are $300 with a $5 service fee per household. Payment plans available.
Big government and big business do not care about our little town. WE care about our little town! Time and time again, history has shown that when people unite and work hard for a purpose, things change!
Food cooperatives have grown up! No longer are they the hippie, granola, food buying clubs of the seventies. Today, food cooperatives are well-oiled machines that drive the cultural and economic centers of communities. They come in all shapes and sizes and are unique to the needs of each community. They have personality!
Given the choice, why on Earth would anybody choose to have a cookie cutter store that looks exactly like the store just down the highway which lines the pockets of a German billionaire than to get behind the idea (and a grassroots effort that is actually happening now! In our town!) of having a beautiful, unique, thriving, community owned store that puts millions of dollars back into our community. It’s because people don’t yet know the potential of a food cooperative. These people would rather stick with a broken system that is familiar to them, (broken because it’s intended to keep the rich getting richer and the rest of us working harder and harder), than to have the tenacity to created a new system!
Just ask Kim and Luke of Fairyella Pure Pops (formerly Ice Pops), our town jewel. For the past seven years, while we were out playing every weekend, they were tabling at farmers markets. When they finally made it into the Whole Food Market, they thought they had made it, but NO! They have been put through the ringer by Whole Foods Market. WFM bullied Fairyella into sales and promotions for their profit (FPP took the hit for these discounts) and didn’t honor the terms of their contract agreements, (keep the product stocked regularly) causing slow sales and lost opportunities to scale up and go national. Mind you, FPP loves food co-ops! They sell to food co-ops all over the Bay Area and have a more equitable relationship with them. They will sell their pops in our store! As a result, FPP plans to quit shipping to retail and restructure as a non-profit in hopes to deliver to hospitals, schools and continuer their relationships with local food co-ops, at a better price for all.
One of our core values is community. “CCFC is rooted in our community, owned by our community and we reinvest in our community” and that is why having a commercial kitchen in our store is so important to us. This commercial kitchen would be used for several things: education for school aged kids, cooking classes, and renting to food producers at a very reasonable price so they can actually make a profit on their product.
When our local food vendors order raw materials to make their products, we could join forces where we can order in volume so they can get a discount. These are just a couple of ways that cooperatives work together to: a. Help their suppliers create a successful business where they can live a higher quality of life and enjoy their families instead of being stressed to the max by big grocery and b. Bring the cost of food down while still making a profit. See, in a food cooperative nobody has to be exploited to bring the cost of food down. Instead, we work together to find solutions so that everybody benefits.
We know there are doubters in our community. Just know that we are not doing this alone, we are not reinventing the wheel. There is a proven model that has been used in communities all around the country. it will only be a matter of time until we get to the tipping point and then to our goal of 1200 founding owners.
Other towns have successfully brought on co-ops that are thriving and provide a framework for a business model that can and will work for Solano County.
We really are creating history here and there will come a day when people will use the phrase “before the co-op and after the co-op” when talking about the history of our town. The question I have for all of you is “What side of history do you want to be on?”
As an incentive to attract new founding owners to CCFC, Fairyella Pure Pops has gifted our latest Owners from February with a free case of Watermelon Pure Pops (18 pops ea.). Eighteen households will be receiving this special Thank You gift. Now that is the kind of cooperative spirit I’m talking about. More of this please! Thank you so much Kim and Luke!!
In honor of Black History Month, we take this opportunity to highlight the deep roots and vital importance of Black collective economics in the development of the modern co-op. This history has been brought to light by Dr. Jessica Gordon Nembhard in her book, Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice.
In her book, Dr. Nembhard writes about W.E.B.Du Bois and his 1907 scholarly study of African American cooperatives, which emphasized forming a group economy to protect Blacks from the ongoing onslaughts of marginalization, segregation, racism, and outright sabotage. His Negro Cooperative Guild (1918) advanced his philosophy of using economic cooperation—not just for goods, but for land, services, and anything necessary—to benefit the entire community. The following year, a co-op began operating meat markets in Memphis and were very successful, selling double the number of original shares offered. They grew to five stores and served about 75,000 people.
From the arrival of the first slaves, both free and enslaved Blacks relied on cooperation for survival and formed mutual aid societies to help each other with burials, health issues, and buying freedom for each other whenever possible. A famous example of a cooperative entity was the Underground Railroad. Ingeniously, during the Civil War, African American women found opportunity in South Carolina, growing cotton on abandoned farms; their organization remained independent and grew to include several hundred women.
After the Civil War, Black farmers formed their own co-operative when they were refused entry into the white organization and had over a million members by 1891. They were politically active and created numerous other co-ops. As these began to take business away from white establishments, they were often met with retaliation which ranged from slander to violent attacks and death.
Following Du Bois’ philosophy, numerous Black-owned co-ops were established throughout the US from 1920–1940, in cities and rural areas, in the North and South, in all kinds of industries. They covered a wide range of community and consumer needs: gas stations, grocers, schools, credit unions, insurance, and housing. Another important period of African American cooperative growth was during the 1960s and 70s, with support from the Federation of Southern Cooperatives and the Black Panther Party. As Dr. Nembhard writes, nearly all African American leaders, whether radical or conservative, have promoted cooperative economics as a way for Black communities to survive discrimination and racism, and to thrive.
The African American cooperative economic movement helped keep money and profits invested within the Black community, thereby creating prosperity for everyone. However, it was often a dangerous and courageous undertaking, which may be why this history is not widely known.
For further reading: Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice, by Dr. Jessica Gordon Nembhard.
If readers would like to order the book, Collective Courage, they can do so online using the links below and our local bookshops will get credit!
New food co-ops are showing up in communities all around the country. Once mostly popular in college towns and urban areas, they are now opening their doors in marginalized areas and rural communities as well.
Exciting news from our friends and fellow food co-ops in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Virginia—they are all planning to open early next year! Even in the midst of the pandemic, their membership and capital campaigns grew along with their new buildings. Soon, they will be serving their member/owners and their communities with fresh, healthy food in their brand-new stores. Read on to see how these co-ops are transforming each community from food desert to food oasis…
Oshkosh Food Co-op: Located in downtown Oshkosh, Wisconsin, OFC has over 1400 owners and will be opening their doors in the summer of 2021. They will be Northeastern Wisconsin’s first food co-op and have been incorporated since 2013. They plan to focus on locally grown, organic produce. The store will be part of a development that includes 53 apartments above the store, and is easily accessible by car, bike, and public transportation.
Gem City Market: West Dayton, Ohio will soon be home to a brand new 8,000 square foot co-op with over 3,000 members. Gem City Market plans to open in early 2021 to bring healthy food to their neighborhood. Not only are they bringing food options, they are also providing needed jobs to the community. Residents are excited, as this area has been long overlooked by city planners. What started with inspiration from another co-op in Cincinnati led to community meetings in 2015, incorporation, membership and capital funding drives, and soon their doors will be open.
Fredericksburg Food Cooperative: Slated to open in early 2021, FXBG Co-op has over 1600 owner-members. The store will feature local produce to help support local growers and keep a focus on environmental sustainability in all aspects of their operation. It will be a full-service grocery store, as well as a community gathering place. It’s located less than a mile from a university, so students will certainly benefit from the new store. Owner-members will be participating in annual surveys to make sure the store meets everyone’s needs.
Please click on the links below for more information about these three food co-ops. Gem City has a newscast video and Fredericksburg shares a brief background of what a food co-op is. Seeing is believing. Please help us reach our goal of 1200 Owners soon so that we, too, can open our doors.
Last month, the question was asked, “Who Owns Your Grocery Store?” by Jon Steinman, author of “Grocery Story: The Promise of Food Co-ops in the Age of Grocery Giants,” at his only Bay Area stop of his North American book tour, Cultivate Community Food Co-op, (CCFC). Read on to find the answer to this question for the Benicia/Vallejo area.
CCFC had been invited to speak about the development of Solano County’s first food co-op at the Progressive Democrats of Benicia’s (PDB) monthly meeting. Paula Schnese, CCFC Board President, spoke briefly about why the food co-op is so needed in Solano County. Mr. Steinman spoke as a guest of CCFC at this PDB meeting and his powerful presentation was full of information showing us just how much control grocery giants have over our food system. He continued with a message of hope identifying food cooperatives, grocery stores owned by the people who shop there, as a better alternative. He then went on to show us the many ways that food co-ops are positively affecting local communities.
A few reasons why we need Cultivate Community Food Co-op:
45% of Solano residents live in a “food desert”, with limited access to nearby healthy food choices;
860 farms exist in the county, 541 of these farms are less than 50 acres in size and 527 generate less than $25,000 per year;
Solano farmers grow $250-350 million annually in agricultural produce, much of which is exported overseas or to other parts of the US;
Solano residents spend over $1 billion dollars annually on food related expenses, but this money isn’t re-invested right back into the local community;
Most of the retailers are national chain stores with limited offerings of organic and locally produced foods and uneven concentration in higher income neighborhoods, and;
In low income neighborhoods of Vallejo, 75.5% of all stores are liquor stores, corner stores, or convenience stores. One-third of these stores sell no produce or fewer than 5 types of produce.
Jon Steinman is an author and host of the internationally syndicated radio show and podcast Deconstructing Dinner and has spent 13 years investigating every facet of the food supply. It led him to the conclusion that the grocery store is, hands down, the most influential force shaping food, the planet, and our health.
So, who owns our grocery stores? In the U.S., four companies control 60% of grocery sales. Locally, that number is higher with one or two stores being in reasonable proximity to residences. Grocery stores really are the food system’s gatekeepers.
“If 10% of our weekly food budget is at a farmers market, what about the other 90%? It’s almost certainly being invested in a grocery store. So what are we investing in?” Jon Steinman
What ARE we investing in?
Who owns our grocery stores in the Benicia/Vallejo Area?
There are five national chain grocers in Benicia and Vallejo where shoppers spend most of their food dollars: Safeway, Raleys, Walmart, Grocery Outlet, and Dollar General. In addition, many residents leave the area to shop at Trader Joes and Whole Foods.
Safeway is headquartered in Pleasanton CA and owns 900 stores. It employs over 250,000 people. It was bought by Albertsons in 2015 for $9.2 billion after being acquired by private equity investors led by Cerberus Capital Management.
Raley’s Supermarkets is a privately held, family-owned supermarket chain that operates stores under the Raley’s, Bel Air Markets, Nob Hill Foods, Food Source and Market 5-ONE-5 banners in northern California and Nevada. The company was founded in 1935 by Thomas P. Raley in Placerville. His grandson, Michael Teel, became the majority shareholder in mid-2015 and currently serves as Chairman. Raley’s employs around 12,000 people. Headquartered in West Sacramento, CA, Raley’s is the dominant supermarket operator in the Sacramento metropolitan area. Raley’s owns 129 grocery stores.
Walmart opened its first store in Rogers, AR, in July of 1962. It is a publicly traded, family-owned business, as the company is controlled by the Walton family. Sam Walton’s heirs own over 50 percent of Walmart through their holding company Walton Enterprises and through their individual holdings. Walmart was the largest U.S. grocery retailer in 2019, and 65 percent of Walmart’s $510.329 billion sales came from U.S. operations.
Grocery Outlet (GO), based in Emeryville, CA, is owned by Hellman & Friedmann LLC, the current principal owner. GO was founded in 1946 by Jim Read. Grocery Outlet’s net sales rose to $2.29 billion in 2018. Grocery Outlet currently has 323 stores in California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington and aims to open 32 new stores during 2019. In filing its IPO in 2019, the company said it sees an opportunity to open more than 400 additional stores in its current market area plus another 1,600 locations in neighboring states, with the potential for as many as 4,800 stores nationwide over the long term.
Dollar General opened its first store in Springfield, Ky. on June 1, 1955, and the concept was simple – no item in the store would cost more than one dollar. The chain of 15,472 low-cost variety stores as of March 2019 has become rural America’s grocer of choice. The low-overhead formula: fewer staff, less floor space, and no perishables. That model has spurred rapid growth for the chain in 44 of our 48 contiguous states, particularly in areas that have been slow to recover from the recession. In an article entitled, “Tulsa says no more Dollar General” published in The New Food Economy, Tulsa, Oklahoma is curbing exploitation of black neighborhoods. In the article, Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper says, “I believe their business model is to seek out food deserts and communities that have no other options, and then they can make it more difficult for other retailers to come in and be successful, particularly, quality, full-service grocery stores.”Dollar General is worth $25.6 billion!
Trader Joe’s (TJ’s) has 503 stores nationwide (as of November, 2019) in 42 states and Washington, D.C. The first Trader Joe’s store was opened by founder Joe Coulombe in 1967 in Pasadena, California. German entrepreneur Theo Albrecht (owner and CEO of Aldi Nord) bought the company in 1979 as a personal investment for his family and held it until his death in 2010, when ownership passed to his heirs. TJ’s is a privately held company now owned by T.A.C.T. Holding, Inc. Headquartered in Monrovia, CA. T.J. has 10,000 employees with a Revenue of $13.8 billion
“The chain ranked low on Greenpeace’s sustainable seafood report card. The packaging is excessive, with even the produce sealed in plastic. The business model forces consumers to buy in quantities large enough to encourage waste. And most of Trader Joe’s products are made on equipment shared with everything you might be allergic to (dairy, nuts) or philosophically opposed to eating (dairy, meat).”— Cameron Scott, San Francisco Chronicle, 2013
The retailer has been characterized as “notoriously secretive” and has been criticized for a lack of transparency by management about the sources of products such as organic milk.
Whole Foods (WF) opened its first store in Austin, TX, in September 1980 and its headquarters are still based there. With over 500 stores, WF has 91,000 employees. Amazon bought Whole Foods for just under $14 billion in June, 2017, the retailer’s largest acquisition ever. The purchase holds implications for the future of groceries and the entire food industry.
And there you have it! These are the people who own our grocery stores!
Now that we have this information, let’s ask ourselves another question: Is this where we want to be spending our food dollars? Currently, we are lining the pockets of the richest people & companies in the country.
According to the National Grocers Association, there are no independent grocery stores in this area. As Jon Steinman shares in his presentation with a slide of a large Safeway food truck, “The truck comes in and unloads food from far away and then loads up the truck with all of our food dollars and drives far away.”
Mr. Steinman’s message of hope:
“So where can eaters find greater assurance in the future of their grocery stores? My research and experience within the food system leads me to only one model. That is the consumer cooperative—food co-ops—full-service grocery stores collectively owned by their customers.” Jon Steinman
“What defines a consumer food co-op? Rather than any one individual or company owning the grocery store, consumer food co-ops spread ownership out to however many people want to become a shareholder,” said Jon Steinman
“Food co-ops are change generators; they’re an economic development strategy; a stimulator of food education and skills; they incubate small scale food based businesses looking to get their foot in the door; they employ more people and pay higher wages than chain stores; and they are a hub of community and connection,” explained Jon Steinman
“At a cooperatively owned grocer, the head office is not only in the community served by the co-op, it’s almost always located directly inside the store itself. With the head office located inside the store, the co-op grocery store becomes home to more jobs, including more full-time positions. Marketing managers, human resources, finance, outreach, any positions that would otherwise be located at a distant head office are instead located within the community.” he wrote.
Jon Steinman’s book tour has ended now. His tour took him across 34 states to visit 128 consumer-owned grocery stores (food co-ops) and another 20 in development. He is back in Nelson, British Columbia with his family in time for the Canandian Thanksgiving.
