Fresh, Local Produce from Food Co-ops

July 11, 2011, By Steve McFarlane 0 comments

Want a reasonably priced and healthy alternative to mass-produced supermarket produce? Check out food co-ops. Food cooperatives are groups of consumers or businesses that pool their resources and time to find and maintain a supply chain of healthy foods and deliver the same to members. Food co-ops fill a gap in the supply chain that meets the needs of consumers who want to buy fresh farm produce and other specialty foods.

Food cooperatives support local farmers, even if they are producing on a small scale, by purchasing supplies directly from them. By not selling directly to the large retail chains, the farmers make more money, while at the same time selling the goods to the co-op at a better price than its members could get at other popular retailers.

The co-op concept addresses one major issue facing many consumers who want fresh produce—that being the cost, time and inconvenience of purchasing directly from a local farm. The co-op members may pool their resources to purchase in large quantities from a supplier and pass on the savings to its members.

So how do you find a food co-op in your area? Search online for "food co-op" in your city and state, or check out FoodCoops.org. The latter collects food co-ops by zip code in the “food co-ops finder” section, which will return a list of local organizations that are close to you.

The site also gives advice and provides resources to help interested persons start their own co-op. Another handy list can be found at coopdirectory.org. If you use this site, check out the “Directory Service listing,” which lists co-ops by state.

After finding a co-op you are interested in, contact them to get details on how they operate and the fees they charge. Once you are on board, you should be able to make purchases and even sell items through the organization.

Quality foods, especially fresh farm products, are a high-margin item, but consumers can save much of what they give to the middle man by joining a food co-op to get a better price. As an added benefit, the co-ops can usually source better quality and hard-to-get items for their members.