Funded Partner Spotlight: One Community Grocery Co-Op
The vision for One Community Grocery Co-op originated six years ago when a small group of dedicated individuals gathered to discuss the need for food accessibility and sovereignty in South St. Petersburg. The conversation grew, pulling in more and more residents. Today, One Community is focused on a campaign to build their base to 300 member-owners, which could provide the critical mass needed to explore securing a physical space. They were also recently nominated for two awards at the Up & Coming Food Co-Op Conference in Kalamazoo, MI.
“Co-ops tend to be community hubs, and they operate for the benefit of the community. We want to contribute not only to food sovereignty for South St. Pete but be a place where economic development and generational wealth are secured for the community,” One Community Chair Erica Hardison said.
With Foundation and Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital support, One Community launched a series of monthly community base-building events this year known as the Drum Up Project. The sessions offer a chance for people in South St. Pete to come together to make music, share a healthy meal, and have a dialogue about how a locally owned grocery co-op could help address food insecurity, racial equity and food justice.
“Co-ops can build relationships with local producers and farmers who don’t have the sophisticated ordering systems that allow them to sell their goods in a place like Publix,” Hardison said. “Co-ops can bring local produce and products in without those big hurdles and sell at lower profit margins.”
With better access to nutritious and affordable food, residents could then focus more on other aspects of health and their lives, Hardison explained, like economic equity and development. Sibling co-ops in comparable cities offer community services and benefits like financial literacy courses, chess and reading clubs, demonstration kitchens, community yoga, vendor training programs for local businesses, commercial kitchens for food entrepreneurs, events, and office space and more. These types of services, Hardison says, enhance the community’s and the residents’ ability to thrive.
“Our goal is to get a good base of 300 member-owners right now,” Hardison said. “Then we can move into the feasibility stage and go through some of those foundational business practices.”
Member owners are the lifeblood of a co-op, providing the up-front collateral needed to secure loans and the helping hands for co-op oversight and operations. Owners have a vote in deciding how the store will develop, the products it carries, the services it offers. Unlike in a corporate model, every member (or member household) has a maximum of one vote, regardless of their economic contribution.
While One Community’s mission is to provide opportunities for health and economic equity in South St. Petersburg, anyone who believes in the mission and core values can join as a member, regardless of geography, for a one-time membership fee of $225.
As for an opening date, timelines for co-op start-up can vary. A sibling co-op in Dayton, OH, was able to open in about four years, from inception through completion. Another in Detroit, MI, however, took 14 years. While pinning down a firm timeline is hard at this stage of development, Hardison would ideally love to see the co-op open its doors to the public in three years or so.
“There’s so much more to co-ops than just the groceries,” she said. “It’s really about building and keeping community connected.”
To learn more about One Community, visit their website at https://ocgc.coop/.