There have been rumblings here in Spartanburg about starting a downtown food co-op for much of the last year (I’ve been doing some of the rumbling myself), and there’s at least one semi-serious initiative to start one (Facebook link), which is cool. All of these things are very much in the spitballing phase, however.
I know next-to-nothing about co-ops, but I like the idea. My family were members of the French Broad Food Coop for many years, but I rarely shopped there, even when I lived downtown. There are plenty of organic and alternative food options in Asheville, after all. But there’s essentially nothing like that in Spartanburg, and certainly nothing like it downtown.
I’d like to help the process along here, as I think it would be a real asset to the town if done properly, but I know basically nothing about organizing a co-op, and have very limited experience with them in general. I tend to think of the back-room power struggles Xpress has reported on, the funding and membership problems you hear about, and all the petty complaints people tend to make about such groups.
So, I’m hoping someone here has some ideas about how to start a food co-op off on the best possible foot. What are the big mistakes such groups tend to make? What’s a sustainable way to start and grow such a place? I know so little about the subject that I’m not even sure what questions to ask, actually. But I do want to get some ideas for how to give this initiative the best possible chance at success.
I rarely do this, but here’s a link to the Spartanburg Spark’s story (that is, my Spartanburg-based community journalism project) about the subject. If you have useful advice or ideas, feel free to leave a comment there.
