עמותת סינגור קהילתי | פעילות קהילתית | תוכנית ויסקונסין

Food Cooperatives

Community Advocacy developed the Food Co-op as a communal response to food insecurity, which has become a critical problem for growing numbers of Israel’s low income and even lower middle income families. Even among families where both parents work, more and more people are finding themselves unable to meet their household expenses, including putting nutritional food on the table regularly. Working families earning minimum wage salaries have joined those subsisting on welfare benefits in constantly being forced to choose between buying enough food, adequate clothing, or covering basic needs such as food, rent, heat, electricity, school fees or medical costs.

In developing community based Food Co-ops, we have created a program which empowers people in need, by enabling them to take responsibility to guarantee food security for their families and their neighbors-involving them as part of the solution. A Food Co-op is a not for profit, social economic enterprise. It works by utilizing the voluntary labor of the community and the joint economic leverage of its members to lower food prices. The Co-op buys food in quantity at wholesale prices, which is then sold to members at cost, without any mark up. Furthermore, the turnover from sales is used to replenish the inventory, ensuring that the food buying component of the Co-op is self-sustaining.

Our food cooperative network is not just an attempt to open neighborhood grocery stores. Community Advocacy's food cooperatives are in effect managed and operated by teams of local volunteers, some of whom are elected to become an operating committee which is responsible for organizational and financial oversight, and others who are members and are responsible for work time which permits operating the cooperative. All tasks relating to buying and selling of food, including ordering, receiving, stocking shelves, working the cash register and bookkeeping, are shared by the members on a rotational basis. Over and above their time, members pay a small monthly membership fee of 5 NIS.

Community Advocacy takes responsibility for overhead costs, such as rent, equipment, electricity and water, and municipal taxes and fees. An initial "loan" is made to the cooperative for products, but after that the actual income from sales is used to replenish the stock. Should additional items need to be added, or stock increased on a one-time basis, Community Advocacy again takes responsibility for this. Community Advocacy also hires a cooperative coordinator, usually a community worker, as well as an assistant. The task of these employees is not just to open and close the store (which is the responsibility of the volunteers), but to engage in educational activities, in outreach activities and in community based projects to teach about nutritional security and to establish working groups which will address the issues of nutrition as related to matters such as poverty and hunger, health, and child development.

Back to English Homepage