Nation of Change - Our Table is ... building a cooperative that stretches from farm to table—but also encompasses all the stops in between. The project goes beyond the “know your farmer” ethos of the local food movement to create an environment where you know your cheese maker, truck driver, and grocery store attendant too. In Our Table’s cooperative, people in different parts of the food world work together, negotiate with each other, and share decision-making—all with the intention of creating a fairer and healthier system.
It’s Our Table’s unusual structure that brings these groups of people together. Most cooperatives have a single class of members, like the worker-owners of Spain’s Mondragon, or the consumer-members at your local grocery co-op. But Our Table is a cooperative with three member groups—workers, consumers, and a group that Our Table calls “regional producers.”
The project is a startup—its grocery store just opened in November—and the regional producers are one of the several parts of the co-op that are still under construction. But the plan is clear: The regional producers will include local farmers and food processors who grow and make products that complement what’s grown at Our Table’s own farm. So far, some potential ones include a neighboring chestnut farmer, an artisanal cheese maker, and a community-supported fishery on the Pacific coast. The group’s goal is to have at least 80 percent of the products in the Our Table store come from their farm and their producer-members.
Joining the co-op is a good deal for the farmers and processors. Our Table pays 5 to 10 percent above market wholesale value for regional producers’ goods. The cooperative sells them under a signature red and white label at its store, signifying to consumers that the producers have been vetted and operate in Oregon, farm without pesticides, treat their animals ethically, and pay their workers fairly.
In addition to better wholesale prices and preferential labeling, those who contribute crops and products to the store will be full members of the co-op, not just suppliers. They’ll have representation on the seven-member board of directors that Our Table hopes to have in place by November 2015. Five of those members will be elected: one from the regional producers, one from the consumers, and three from the workers. The board will also include two at-large members—for example, an accountant or a local resident—to provide additional expertise.
It’s a model that has been growing in Canada, Italy, the United Kingdom, and other parts of the world. Referred to as solidarity or social cooperatives, these groups provide training and employment for the mentally ill, care for children and the elderly, or even operate hospitals and health care clinics. Like Our Table, these cooperatives include diverse classes of members. What guides them when they cannot agree on other matters is a shared objective, for example, to provide excellent care for the elders in their community.
Our Table Cooperative
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