Find out 🡳 which NY food co-ops take the (organic) cake!
Welcome to the first entry about best food co-ops by state. If you are wondering what a food co-op is then check out this article here!
In this article we rank the co-ops from the US state that has arguably the best pizza, and definitely the best Statue of Liberty - New York.
1. Syracuse
Established in 1972, this two store Syracuse based co-op is focused on the local economy. The Syracuse founders “wanted to access food that was locally-produced and of high quality. They wanted to support local growers and producers.” The store also focuses on providing vegan and vegetarian options to the community.
They have 7 guiding principles as a company:
Open and Voluntary Membership
Democratic Member Control
Member Economic Participation
Autonomy and Independence
Education, Training and Information
Cooperation Among Cooperatives
Concern for Community
2. GreenStar
A 3 store chain that is by and large nestled near Cornell University in Ithaca NY, GreenStar was founded in 1971. Today they have a whopping 12,000+ owners, and actually bounced back from a fire almost 31 years ago to the day.
They are very community focused. One fantastic way (pre-Covid) that they involved their community members was through their Co-op Volunteer Program, in which they would offer over 15% off for the week on all purchases in exchange for 2 hours of volunteer work in the grocery.
3. Lexington
Located in Buffalo, this two store chain also started in 1971, and was founded with the motto “Food for People, Not for Profit.” In 2005 they raised $560,000 from owners, the second largest loan campaign for food co-ops ever in the US, to remodel their store. They opened their second store in 2017 with $2.1 million of investment from member owners.
Today, the store’s values are based around their “Big Direction” which is to help bring four things to the world:
Happy, knowledgeable people
Local, sustainable food
Co-op economy
Sustainability
They aim to be Net Zero by 2050.
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Honorable mention: Flatbush Co-op based out of Brooklyn & Albany based Honest Weight
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