Urban food co-ops?

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Permalink Reply by Stacy McKenna on April 14, 2011 at 11:28am

Here in Los Angeles there's several. I would talk to the leaders of any of these groups to find out how "easy" it is, or isn't.

The South Central Farmers (http://www.southcentralfarmers.com/) which originally was growing on an industrial plot in the heart of the city but eventually due to land ownership issues had to relocate up in Bakersfield over 100 miles away (still nearby according to food miles standards).

Community Services Unlimited operates an urban micro-farm co-op (http://www.csuinc.org/programs/villagemarketplace.html) that pairs education in local elementary school settings and at-risk youth mentorship with food production.

There was also Food from the Hood (http://www.certnyc.org/ffth.html) started by Crenshaw High kids after the '92 Rodney King riots.

The Watts Garden Club (http://www.wattsgardenclub.net) also does a lot of work getting food gardens into housing projects around LA, supplying food to elderly supporting their grandchildren, as well as helping out the South Central Farmers, teaching High School students to analyze their junk food for undesirable components (like whether the ingredients were GMO or not), and even working on international food stability projects.

Permalink Reply by Cornelia on April 14, 2011 at 11:39am

What a fantastic topic! Thank you, Stacy, for those links. I'll be interested to hear from folks in other areas of the country, too.

Permalink Reply by Diane Hoffmaster on April 14, 2011 at 12:09pm

Thanks so much for the info!  I live in the burbs of Atlanta and it is getting easier over the last couple of years to find local farmers than it was 10 years ago.  I think the 'eat local' message really is being heard, at least by a small minority!

Permalink Reply by Aliza Ess on April 14, 2011 at 3:14pm

I pick up my CSA, garden supplies, and local dairy and meat at a place called Mill Valley in Baltimore. The Baltimore Sun just wrote up a great article about their transition into a food coop: http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/dining/bs-fo-food-co-op-2...

Permalink Reply by Diane Hoffmaster on April 14, 2011 at 3:45pm

This sounds like a great store!  I am not wildly impressed with the 'glitz' of Whole Foods but hate that most farmers markets are only open May through September.  The 'market' I go to tries to get as much locally as possible and fills in with non local organic.  I wish I had better luck with my garden, then I could get stuff REALLY local!