Beyond the Brown Box by Emily Kovach If you’re a seasoned CSA buyer, you probably already have a favorite farm that does heirloom tomatoes just right, or you know a farmer who will surprise you with a crazy new item you’ve never seen. This season, try a new kind of CSA. Here are some options
More1. OpenCooperatives are voluntary organizations, open to all people able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political or religious discrimination. 2. DemocraticCooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members—those who buy the goods or use the services of the cooperative—who actively participate in setting policies
MoreDisrupting Business As Usual by Peter Frank I rely every day on cooperative businesses owned and controlled by my neighbors and friends. I buy groceries from Kensington Community Food Co-op, source my energy from the Energy Co-op, bank with Philadelphia Federal Credit Union and Sun Federal Credit Union, and drink coffee and dine at W/N
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Howard Carson is one of the founding members of US Server Net, LLC, a managed web services cooperative that has been providing web design and hosting since 1997. US Server Net is made up of two main member groups: designers, developers, writers, editors, photographers and videographers; and small business owners seeking web services. “Members, including
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Winners Take All by Katie Bohri Restaurants create a lot of waste. There’s food waste, and the wasted fossil fuels that go into keeping a full menu available year-round. But there’s also a waste of human energy: the energy that workers must spend to manage the stress imposed by an industry that pits employees against
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Diane Childs has been a member of credit unions for 46 years. “My parents got me my first savings account as a child, and I have continued to do my banking only at credit unions,” she explains. Her long-time membership inspired her to eventually become an employee at Sb1 Federal Credit Union. “Knowing that we
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Drinking & Riding by Justin Klugh Philadelphia has no shortage of home brewers. But not every tech specialist, contractor or middle school teacher who goes home to a distillery in their garage has the know-how of commercial business to take the next step in a crowded craft beer universe. “How do I do that without
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“I like talking to farmers about their work and seeing the seasons change through our produce selection,” says Bull Gervasi, facilities and produce department coordinator for Mariposa Foods, a cooperative grocery store in West Philadelphia. Gervasi has been a Mariposa Co-op member for 18 years because he believes co-ops are the least exploitative business model
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There are 30,000 cooperatives in the United States with over 120 million members, nearly one in three Americans, yet most of us don’t understand the basics of this business model, even if we’re buying from them. Anyone who has ever picked up a jar of Ocean Spray juice or went camping with gear bought by
MoreThe Kensington Community Food Co-op needs 800 members by the end of 2014. | Rendering by MAKE.
Kensington community embraces their nascent food co-op
Stephanie Singer and her husband, Mike, had been interested in joining a food co-op for years, so when she initially heard that the Kensington Community Food Co-op (KCFC) was coming to her neighborhood she