Consumer Cooperatives

“Urban Recipe started in 1991 out of one church’s efforts to be in relationship with their community differently beyond the traditional food pantry relationship,” executive director Jeremy Lewis says. Urban Recipe has moved out of that church and now operates and facilitates six food co-ops similar to Co-op 1 and helps operationally support and source food for four additional co-ops in Atlanta that have been through their cooperative pathways training program.

At a moment when the world is awakening to the clear and present need to transition our energy system, a hopeful light gleams from the rural landscapes of America. The Rural Power Coalition (RPC), a diverse alliance of US advocacy groups serving rural communities from Alabama to Alaska, has taken another step forward with the release of “Power to the People: The Story of Rural Electric Cooperatives.” This animated short film that premiered today during the annual PowerXchange Conference in San Antonio, Texas, is not just a tale of the past; it’s a clarion call for a greener, more equitable future.

In today’s episode we talk with author, professor, and activist Ashley Dawson about the neoliberal city in the context of climate change and the liberatory potential inherent in community solar energy projects.

In response to the ambitious call of the Platform Cooperative Consortium, I will seek to examine them through the lens of environmental scholars. Can these cooperative pioneers also provide insights into climate justice?

A co-op educator and activist, Halena Wilson used her position as president of the Chicago Ladies' Auxiliary to the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters to show Black women the path to economic self-sufficiency through cooperation.

THE CO-OP WARS tells the story of the idealistic youth who tried to build an alternative to corporate capitalism, the violent struggle that almost tore them apart, and their eventual success in ways they never foresaw.

How a 50 year old food co-op in Ithaca practices diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Vernon interviews Jessica Gordon-Nembhard, Ph.D., Professor at John Jay College, and Ajowa Nzinga Ifateyo, Co Editor at Grassroots Economic Organizing. Both are also economic social justice advocates. Vernon and his guests will discuss the Unsung Cooperative Hero Award, and its first recipient Ella Jo Baker.

An economy of production for use would grow only as fast as the population and the people's needs, making sustainability more attainable.

Last week’s Platform Co-op School event highlighted ICDE’s approach of recognizing the valuable contributions of scholars, technologists, artists, community organizers, and cooperators toward a more just and equitable digital economy. This is a recap of that event.