Food Co-op???????????????????

[Shmoopie]

I've read this term on the site a few times now and I don't think I've ever heard it before.
What is a food Co-op? :confused:

[karenbeel]

A co-op is a member-owned natural and organic food market.

Co-ops offer certified organic produce and herbs, bulk foods, vitamins and supplements, cruelty-free health and beauty aids, organic and natural packaged goods and hard to find items for special dietary needs.


While the Co-op is open to the public and membership is not required to make purchases, members do receive better prices. I hope this sheds a bit more light on it for you. Blessings Karen

[Shivananda]

A co-op (short for co-operative organization) is simply a member owned organization.

There are many kinds of co-ops, including farmer's co-ops, buying co-ops, student co-ops, apartment co-ops, etc., in which people band together to gain buying power or selling power by their collective group size. A natural foods co-op is a member-owned organization formed to allow people to buy natural and organic foods and other compatible products at lower prices than each individual member could find on their own. Some run fixed place markets, some do not. Some are as small as a half dozen neighbors who formally agree to buy bulk lots of food together and share the savings. Some are very large, such as the multi-store PCC in Seattle.

There are other kinds of food co-ops, and they can have widely differing philosophies about what they carry, so it is wise to ask questions and shop them thoroughly before committing to investing in a membership.

When someone mentions a "co-op" around here it's usually shorthand to refer to a natural foods co-operative market, but in Iowa "co-op" usually refers to where the farmers go to store and sell their corn, and in Maine it's how some fishermen sell their catch, so it's best to be specific. :)

[RowanC]

The one I like in Portland is People's.

We get a 4% discount on what we buy. If we buy in bulk, it's more.
They're having a vote right now to determine if we want to go to a different system where you pay the advertised price, but get a check at the end of the year (we split the profit instead of the cash-register discount).

Anyone can form a coop. When I lived on the commune, I was in charge of the bulk food buying. That was a coop. We got very good discounts for buying in bulk. You can do especially well if you take out the middle man, your health food store. Then, you split the product.

For instance, a group of us could get together and order a CASE or more of coconut oil - the person in charge would split it up and mail it to the participants in the "coop" - We might be able to save quite a bit of money, especially if you were in an area where such items are difficult to find.

"coop" = cooperative
You cooperate, or work together, for the benefit of all involved
Great concept

[Doe]

Shmoopie,

To find a co-op near you: www.greenpeople.org (http://www.greenpeople.org/)

Teri S

[juliebove]

Shmoopie,

To find a co-op near you: www.greenpeople.org (http://www.greenpeople.org/)

Teri S

Hmmm... My health food store is listed there, but I don't think they are a co-op.

[juliebove]

Hmmm... My health food store is listed there, but I don't think they are a co-op.

Oh duh! Okay. Thanks!

[Mookie]

Try this link to:

http://www.coopdirectory.org/directory.htm

[JinxieKat]

Ugh, this is soo fustrating at times. I feel like Louisville, KY is a big black hole when it comes to alot of this stuff. I can find co-ops in western KY, I even found one in Louisville, but they won't return my call! You want to do the right thing and support local growers and improve your health but it can be so fustrating at times! :mad: Oh I'm not going to give up, I get good food at Whole Foods but I'd love to get local stuff. Too bad the area I live in is only known for growing stuff to make booze... I'm in the whiskey capital of the US. Yikes!

Ok, done blowing steam ;) Whew.. I needed that!

Jinx

[Shivananda]

Where are you, Jinxicat? Your location doesn't show and I'm not clear where you are trying to find one.

My brother is a long time manager of the big natural foods coop in Bloomington, Indiana and he knows all kinds of people in that general area who have buying clubs and co-ops of various kinds. Perhaps he can help if I tell him where you are.

Or maybe you should just start one yourself. :)

[JinxieKat]

Oopss, bad me. I thought it was in my profile!

I live in Bardstown, KY about an hour southish of Louisville, KY which is where I work. Bloomington is about three hours north of my home, though going to New Albany, IN or Jeffersonville, IN is completely doable as it takes about 15 - 20 minutes from where I work to get there.

I've thought about starting my own but I have no idea where to start. It would be great to have one in Bardstown. I hate depending on Louisville for everything I eat. There are a few 'country grocers' in Bardstown but if you look at the lables most of the stuff is not local at all. *grump* I think the thing that irritates me the most is that the Manna Coop didn't return my call. If they are private that is fine, but at least call me to tell me that!

If your brother knows of anyones around here that would be great, or if he can direct me to some resources to start my own that would be awsome too. There is a nice farmers market here durning the summer, that could be a place to start.

Thanks Shivananda!

Jinx

[Shivananda]

Bardstown! Wow, you really ARE in Bourbon Whiskey country! I think it's the largest local industry, right?

How about these, not next door but not impossible:

Northeast from you:
Good Foods Co-op
455-D Southland Drive
Lexington Kentucky 40503
Phone: (859) 278-1813
FAX: (859) 275-1244
email: gfcoopmarx@aol.com

or south of you:
Other World BC
1865 Celina Road
Burkesville Kentucky 42717
Phone: (270) 433-7476
email: otherworld@duo-county.com
http://www.motherworld.net/co-op/otherworld.html

or maybe these:
Rainbow Blossom Natural Foods - 3738 Lexington Rd, Louisville, 40207 - (800) 488-8075
Amazing Grace Whole Foods & Nutrition - 1133 Bardstown Rd, Louisville, 40204 - (502) 485-1122
Rainbow Blossom Natural Food - 3608 Springhurst Blvd, Louisville, 40241 - (502) 339-5090

[JinxieKat]

Yeap yeap, I smell mash almost every day on my way home from work as I drive by Jim Beam, Four Roses, and who knows what else! The fun part about it is the Whiskey Festival here every year. I won't be drinking any this year, but watching the barrel rolling contests and the barrel danceing is so much fun!

I'll have to look into Amazing Grace and Rainbow Blossom. Amazing Grace is actually very close to my work but I had no idea it was there until about a week ago. I'd love to go to the Co-op in Burkesville but that's a 3 hour trip one way and understandably they want you to do some work in the co-op to join it. I could see heading that way once a month, but potentially once a week.. ehh. I didn't know about the one in Lexington, that's only an hour away. I'll have to look into that one.

Thanks again!

[Shivananda]

What about Lexington? That can't be as long a drive for you as Burkesville, is it?

And if I sound like I know the area a little, it's because I know the area a little. Once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away I was married to a woman who grew up in Anchorage, just outside Loovull, as she sorta kinda pronounced it y'all.

[mattsonfamily]

Here is a link to the co-op that we are. The one that we formed has no upcharges or fees. It is a lot of fun and an easy way to shop. They deliver to 5 states and have a minimum order of $200.00 every other month. The neat thing is that they deliver to the health food stores here also, which means we get things close to costs. Here is the link. Maybe they deliver to your neck of the woods. www.shopnatural.com

[Jamie]

We live in Northwest Washington. There is a food co-op that comes from Oregon, it is called Azure. They deliver to Wa. Idaho, Montana, and maybe Ca.. I"m not sure about Ca.

But their prices are great for our area, and it is only a $40 min per month and a no charge delivery. It is very convient for us, we order, they drop off, we pick up at the same location each month. Works great and we save money. There is no way we could get our wheat/ groats/nuts/seeds for those prices at any stores around here. Plus they offer so much organic...

[Shivananda]

We live in Northwest Washington. There is a food co-op that comes from Oregon, it is called Azure. Oh, Jamie, Jamie, Jamie... you had to go and mention Azure. Home delivery. Great prices. Talk about something I miss from the Pacific Northwest. <whimpering slightly as meltdown process begins>

[Jamie]

Sorry :) The things that bring back memories!!