Meet Sandhills Farm to Table Cooperative (SF2T). Formed in 2009 and located in Moore County, North Carolina, this is the first cooperative in the nation where all parties to the transactions are owners. The co-op is owned and controlled by the producers (farmers), distributors (workers), and consumers (customers).
Each of these groups has a voice in the decision making process and a place at the proverbial table. Each member from any of the owner groups can vote and all decisions are made democratically – one person, one vote. And if there is a net profit at the end of the year, farmer, worker, and customer alike share in the surplus equally.
At the heart of this cooperative is the goal of meeting local food needs with local foods. Their two refrains are “we’re all in this together” and “neighbors feeding neighbors.” But can this model be considered a viable alternative for a community based enterprise meeting local needs with local resources? We, at the Democracy Collaborative, think yes. Take a look at some of the amazing results this cooperative has achieved in just two short years in this county of nearly 90,000 people:
Highlights of 2011 include: subscribers equaling 3.5% of County population with $425,000 in sales, with only word of mouth “advertising.” 3.5 tons of produce, [which] farmers were paid for, given to those in need. $33,000 donated to churches and elementary schools for hosting Gathering Sites, where produce is picked up, including $6k+ in unrestricted funds to one elementary school principal. 2,500 volunteer hours for packing and manning Gathering Sites. Our consumer aggregation has already supported the start-up of several new food businesses. All of this has been accomplished at a break-even cash flow.
Those are some pretty impressive achievements especially compared to other traditional local food or farmer assist business models in the region that are still struggling to break even and lack the additional community benefits. More information on cooperatives and their sizeable and growing presence across the country can be found here.
