BRIARPATCH FOOD CO-OP | Winter 2020
Creativity is cooperation. Cooperation is Creativity By Chris Maher, General Manager
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n 1975, when the founders of our co-op first gathered together to form the buying club that would grow and evolve to become the BriarPatch Food Co-op store that we know today, they had the stated goals to provide local people with access to healthy whole foods, supplements and sustainable household items that were not readily available. They also saw the opportunity to teach, promote and grow the concepts and principles behind cooperatives. They understood that to collect and leverage common resources toward meeting this need had enormous possibilities. Taking those first steps to make these things happen was a visionary creative act. Their vision was initially fairly simple. Yet, through the cooperative model and the addition of more participants with new and bigger ideas, the vision continued to grow. Each retail location attracted new, dedicated shoppers and owners who participated and contributed their ideas. In turn, the Co-op evolved its operation and expanded its reach. A watershed moment occurred when the Co-op moved to Sierra College Drive. Our new highly-visible and accessible location allowed us to begin to make a meaningful impact on our local food system. This strengthened and redefined our founders’ vision. We deepened our commitment to locally- produced farms.
This started with the implementation of a seasonal planning process that helped coordinate local production and align it with shoppers’ needs. We then began offering organic certification loans to farmers to help them communicate their already high
Today we are hoping to expand that impact by seeking to move to a multi-store model. With a broader base of cooperatively-run stores, we can ensure more people have access to healthy food and can see the benefits of cooperation as a business model. standards to the end-users of their delicious crops. That program was incredibly successful and evolved into a partnership between BriarPatch and California FarmLink to provide low-interest operating and capital loans to help those same farmers reinvest, expand and diversify. The broader impact of all of these actions has been greater control and security of our food supply. Today we are hoping to expand that impact by seeking to move to a multi-store model. With a broader base of cooperatively-run
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stores, we can ensure more people have access to healthy food and can see the benefits of cooperation as a business model. We can support more family-owned farms and invest in more community initiatives to greater effect. So long as we have a shared understanding of and commitment to common goals, and a clear concept of our values, the journey we take to get there can take on any number of forms. When we maintain our “north star” of co-operative convictions, and remain open to the scope of our travels, this attitude provides fertile ground for creative possibilities that may take us to places that are even more amazing than anything we could have planned for. Encouraging participation from all folks who share our sense of inclusivity, and extending our reach of impact to everyone who shares our desire for providing healthy, responsible and sustainable choices to as many people as possible invites a degree of creativity in line with our beginnings, and at the same time on a whole new level. Be sure to stay tuned as we chart this new and exciting path.
