Open Food Co-ops - ethical & local
An Open Food Co-op is a partnership of people who like locally-sourced, high quality food and deliberately build a sustainable supply-and-communications network.
It builds on what is there now: existing producer’s co-ops, farms and farmers’ markets, processors (bakers, cheesemakers, etc), distributors, shops, box schemes, regional support groups.
It adds new local food clubs.
It adds food-related social events.
It links them with an innovative communication & information management system.
This idea comes from Gary Alexander, author of eGaia, Growing a peaceful, sustainable Earth through communications.
organising food clubs
There are already many co-operative groups on the producer side of local food and they are growing rapidly. This project would link them together to produce a one-shop shop like a distributed supermarket. (Some of them are already doing much of this.)
This project adds an enhanced form of buyer’s co-op that we are calling Food Clubs. It orders food online for its members from the range of participating producers, and has it delivered to a suitable depot, usually a participating local shop or farm shop, from where it collects and distributes to its members.
virtual local supermarket
A small local shop thus becomes a depot for a virtual local supermarket. It would serve several Food Clubs for whom it can provide a much wide range of products than it would have room to stock, because the goods are all pre-ordered and only have to be stored briefly. It brings people into the shop who are committed to it and who can add extra goods from the shop.
The food clubs also take on wider roles: They hold small food events, such as shared meals, offer each other cooked food, and share produce from the gardeners among them. They contribute to the wider co-op by helping with organisation, distribution, and perhaps field work at times. This may be either on a voluntary or paid basis.
organising function
The communication and information management system makes it all possible and efficient:
- It combines the offerings of the producers into a virtual online market in which each producer has a virtual stall. Listings would include photos of the fields and processing workshops, map locations with food miles so consumers get a sense of connection with the producers.
- Listings also include quality ratings by previous consumers, and by monitoring organisations such as the Soil Association.
- It includes an internal payment and accounts system with a built in ‘time bank’ to reward volunteering. Online cheques have space for the user ratings of the produce, which then goes to the listing.
- It links the different local food clubs to each other by listing their events, garden produce and other offerings.
- It provides an online discussion forum with voting for democratic governance of the Food Co-op.
ethical organisation
With their emphasis on local food with efficient local distribution Open Food Co-ops are healthy and environmentally sound. Their use of quality ratings and reviews to maintain quality and a local currency (the Time Bank) to reward volunteering blurs the distinction between producer and consumer, paid and voluntary work.
Thus Open Food Co-ops will create a new social form that is a long step towards a community-oriented, trust-based, sustainable, non-leaky local economy.
local & organic
This time last year, the Soil Association’s definitive annual Organic Market Report showed continued strong growth and dynamic public support for organic food, drink, textiles and health and beauty products.
Retail sales of organic products through organic box and mail order schemes and other direct routes increased from £95 million in 2005 to £146 million in 2006 - a staggering 53 per cent growth, more than double that experienced by the major supermarkets.
Organic textiles and the booming organic health and beauty sector are experiencing particularly strong growth. 2006 saw a 30 per cent increase in the number of health and beauty products licensed with the Soil Association.
Helen Browning, Soil Association Director of Food and Farming said:
“With the government’s own studies confirming that organic farming typically uses 27 per cent less energy than non-organic farming, it’s not surprising more and more people are choosing to purchase planet-friendly, organic food.
This is confirmed by an independent poll commissioned by the Soil Association from Mumsnet, which found that 84 per cent of mums believe that organic is better for their family and 90 per cent for the planet.”
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All of the eGAIA book is available to be downloaded, but the physical book is beautifully designed and printed on recycled paper, and is much easier to read…!
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