New co-op establishes equality through food
December 13, 2009
A not-for-profit food co-operative called Bread and Roses is aiming to provide Tallahassee residents with a transparent and member operated alternative to other grocery stores. Its doors opened in Railroad Square on Monday, Dec. 1.
Bread and Roses is based on the principle of mutual aid—every member works at least three and a half hours every four weeks. This eliminates the cost of labor, which, according to Ryler Calabrese, an FSU student and founding member of the co-op, is the main overhead cost of a grocery store. Non-members can shop, but do not receive the member discount that Calabrese says will eventually average 30 percent. Calabrese says cutting labor costs will make prices “cheaper than anywhere in town — period.”
“They’re operating kind of how we started in the ’70s,” said Larrane Hartridge, general manager of New Leaf Market, Tallahassee’s other food co-op since 1974.
Bread and Roses food cooperative opened their doors Tuesday, Dec. 1
A customer at New Leaf, which has a paid staff, receives patrons’ rebate checks in exchange for their investment. Over time, New Leaf has had to alter their business model, according to Hartridge.
“We got too big and couldn’t rely on a volunteer staff,” said Hartridge.
New Leaf has donated a refrigeration unit in need of repair and shelving to Bread and Roses. Bread and Roses currently has about 150 members. To become a member, an individual fills out an application, attends an orientation and pays a $125 membership fee, $100 of which is a refundable investment.
“There’s a good portion of people who just donated it,” said Justin Pogge, member of the co-op’s construction committee.
The founders of Bread and Roses, many of whom are students and one of which is a vegan chef, have been working as volunteers for many months to organize it. But their $10,000 for stock, Calabrese says, is not enough to have the store operating fully on day one.
“In the beginning, members will probably not be able to do all of their shopping here,” said Calabrese.
The first order from United Natural Foods Inc., a wholesale distributor of organic foods will contain non-perishable bulk items such as dry beans, nuts, sugar, peanut butter and soymilk.
Food as well as non-edible items at Bread and Roses will be sourced as locally as possible, but international products won’t be ruled out. Dairy and a variety of produce will come from local growers such as Sparkman’s Cream Valley, Crescent Moon and Turkey Hill Farm. Honey from Orchard Pond Organics is currently stocked, and bread from Three Sons Bakery and Eclectic Eatz will be in soon as well.
“I think a lot more people would think it’s important if they knew what it took to get out of season kiwis or strawberries,” said Calabrese.
Local and organic food can be found in both Bread and Roses and New Leaf Market, but Bread and Roses is based on collective participation. New Leaf has an elected board of directors that form committees.
“Organizations like this, which are, you know, a community of people doing things together as equals is very important,” said Calabrese.
Members plan to form a food ethics committee in addition to the 13 other committees that make up the operating structure of Bread and Roses.
“Their main job will be to figure out where exactly things were sourced from, what the environmental impact will be and the wages of workers,” said Calabrese.
Bread and Roses plans to provide its members with online and in-store information about the source and distribution of store items.
“One of our missions as a group is that we would put that information in people’s hands,” said Calabrese. “We’re not going to tell people what to do with that information.”
Calabrese noted that Bread and Roses will not carry meat because many members have ethical qualms with it, and because the capital needed to carry it is not feasible for the co-op. Calabrese expressed some concern about these limitations.
“That’s going to be difficult, to tell people that we’re going to limit the amount of stock to be able to have meat,” said Calabrese.
For now, fresh produce will only be at the Local Grower’s Market held at Bread and Roses every Friday from 3 to 6 p.m., because the co-op doesn’t currently have proper refrigeration capabilities. At December’s First Friday in Railroad Square, all proceeds from an art show were given to Bread and Roses.
Bread and Roses is located at 617 Industrial Drive.
Photo courtesy of Robyn Kingsley, Creative Commons
