Food cooperative

Under a Food Coop (grocery shopping community food cooperative, also Food Coop or food co-op, of English food cooperative, ie about food cooperative), refers to the association of individuals and households to shopping together. Historical precursors are the Co-operative Societies of the nineteenth century. The idea is that one relates together large quantities of food directly from the producers and achieved a minimum order quantities of wholesalers and it is worthwhile for farmers in the middle to drive in the city. This allows you as a member of a Food Coop usually cheaper - because no profit margin of retail - shopping, as if you buy retail. The Food Coops usually work using distributed work and collective management. The separation of the consumer is canceled and consumers with a similar lifestyle come together.

How this works in detail, varies from case to case. Often a distinction is made between ordering food co-ops, in which only ordered together, bearing food coops that share a common warehouse, members and shops where staff recruited for the maintenance of a common store provides.

Often food co-ops have in addition to the ability to relate food from organic production to lower prices even more far-reaching goals, for example:

• Promotion of organic farming: no pesticides, manure and genetic engineering.
• Support for farmers from the surrounding area with direct marketing and short transport distances.
• Even the responsibility for the impact of one's own consumption of products take over.
• Promotion of fair trade.