Food Co-oping

[jaqeboy]

I'm a member of a local buying club (food co-op) that orders from United Natural Foods. Tonight is my order deadline for submitting my web order for this 4-week cycle. The order won't "commit" til sometime Sunday, so I could add items if anyone is interested in trying the system. I'd be willing to show anyone how it's done, so you can consider joining this co-op or a buying club local to where you live. Lot's of nice people are into co-oping and the prices are better than the health food stores.

I could post more now on how it works, but I've got to finish my order! 

[maulotaur]

I would like to know about this.

[jaqeboy]

First go to this web page: http://www.unitedbuyingclubs.com/

Click: "Find a Buying Club Near You" - I think they email a list to you of nearby buying clubs.

They just recently instituted web ordering (otherwise it was from a printed catalog), but you have to be a member of a buying club to see the online catalog. I could possibly figure out a way for you to see it online, not sure.

[maulotaur]

First go to this web page: http://www.unitedbuyingclubs.com/

Click: "Find a Buying Club Near You" - I think they email a list to you of nearby buying clubs.

They just recently instituted web ordering (otherwise it was from a printed catalog), but you have to be a member of a buying club to see the online catalog. I could possibly figure out a way for you to see it online, not sure.

I already have the list -  I could not read the DOC file they sent back but then got a text listing instead.  There are no instructions of how to actually join it.



-Paul

[jaqeboy]

Yeah, I can imagine it's a mystery. It's almost like you have to really want to become a co-oper and find your way through the maze to finally get there!

You have to contact the local buying clubs, which are often run as co-ops. United is a corporation that used to be made up of Northeast Co-operatives (which was cooperatively run) and another company. Once you've contacted the coordinator of the local buying club, they may send you a sheet of guidelines for becoming a member of their particular buying club. You can start your own buying club, but you have to be ordering a minimum of $750 in a buying cycle to get them to send their truck over. It's easiest to join an existing buying club for a while and then, if you have a better idea on how it should be done, branch off and start your own buying club.

I can send you the guidelines from my co-op - PM me your email address and I'll send it over as an attachment so you can see how one might work.

[jaqeboy]

Food co-opers beware!

SWAT Team Like Raid by Ohio authorities on a farm house in LaGange

Ohio authorities stormed a farm house in LaGange Monday, December 1, to execute a search warrant, holding the Jacqueline and John Stowers and their son and young grandchildren at gunpoint for nine hours.  During the raid the Ohio Department of Agriculture and police confiscated over ten thousand dollars worth of food, computers and cell phones.  The Stowers' crime?  They run a private, members-only food co-op.

While state authorities were looking for evidence of illegal activities, the family was not informed what crime they were suspected of, they were not read their rights or allowed to make a phone call.  The children, some as young as toddlers, were traumatized by armed officers interrogating the adults with guns drawn.

The Morning Journal, a newspaper serving northern Ohio, reported that the Stowers were believed to be operating without a license.  However, the Stowers claim that the food co-op they run does not engage in any activities that would require state licensing.
...

[doobie]

Food co-opers beware!

SWAT Team Like Raid by Ohio authorities on a farm house in LaGange

Ohio authorities stormed a farm house in LaGange Monday, December 1, to execute a search warrant, holding the Jacqueline and John Stowers and their son and young grandchildren at gunpoint for nine hours.  During the raid the Ohio Department of Agriculture and police confiscated over ten thousand dollars worth of food, computers and cell phones.  The Stowers' crime?  They run a private, members-only food co-op.

While state authorities were looking for evidence of illegal activities, the family was not informed what crime they were suspected of, they were not read their rights or allowed to make a phone call.  The children, some as young as toddlers, were traumatized by armed officers interrogating the adults with guns drawn.

The Morning Journal, a newspaper serving northern Ohio, reported that the Stowers were believed to be operating without a license.  However, the Stowers claim that the food co-op they run does not engage in any activities that would require state licensing.
...

Of course....there is about to be a lack of food in the supply system....  they need to confiscate the food "for their own" good and the good of the country.

[jaqeboy]

Attorney for the co-opers (the Stowers) on Alex Jones show:

Lorain County Health Department inquired, Stowers wrote a letter in response;
retail licensure law in question (law had 22 exemptions);
Ohio Department of Agriculture got involved in an undercover op, tried to join co-op;
Co-op denied the undercover operative membership, stated they were private - would not sell him eggs, but gave him some and sent him on his way;
tried to bust them for being a retail operation;
Authorities procured a search warrant;
December 1st, armed officers surrounded the house, guns drawn;
(The officers acted as terrorists, as defined under the Ohio Revised Codes);
Burst into house, ushered family into one small room;
combed over the entire personal house;
confiscated their entire personal stock of food;
took food beloinging to other co-opers who hadn't picked up yet;
took personal computers and cell phones;
still retaining their fresh meat (family was slaughtering sheep at the time)

website: Buckeye Institute, Constitutional Law Center, http://www.buckeyeinstitute.org
lawyer: Maurice Thompson
currently filing a lawsuit in Lorain County Court of Common Pleas seeking return of food and compensation (if food spoiled), injunction against these style of raids, and declaration that co-ops don't require licensure
complaint here.

The Stowers tell their story:

Article here.

[jaqeboy]

Here's a good article on the raid, with a lot of links:

Armed jack boots confiscate family's personal food supply. Is this a prelude to government created depression, or even famine?

original article: http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=84594

=====

Doesn't it just make you want to join a food co-op even more?

[doobie]

If I buy a couple of chickens to raise for eggs/meat, can I legally sell the eggs in NH?

[jaqeboy]

If I buy a couple of chickens to raise for eggs/meat, can I legally sell the eggs in NH?

It don't bother me if you do. 
(otherwise, I don't know what the laws are - you might want to contact the folks at NOFA-NH, Northeast Organic Farmers Association - New Hampshire Chapter)

[jaqeboy]

Here's NOFA-NH's website: http://www.nofanh.org/

[jaqeboy]

OK, I duplicated this and made it a calendar post:

Co-op workshop
Training on how to order from United Natural Foods, Inc.
through a local buying club

Friday, midnight is the order deadline  in my order cycle in the UNFI buying club I'm in.

We're going to hold an AltExpo mini-workshop training at my house at 7PM Friday evening - come earlier for snacks and fellowship (please bring beverage of choice) - for anyone who wants to learn how to use the United Natural Foods buying club system. ( Yeah, yeah, I'll give you more notice next time.    )

We'll have some sample products on display,

We'll have paper catalogs and you can download the .pdf file of the catalog (bring your wi-fi capable laptop).

I'll go over my recommended procedure for selecting and ordering foods from the co-op, and you can enter an item or 2 you might want onto my co-op order ( paid in advance, cash or local check). Delivery will be in 2 weeks, Friday, 16Jan09.

We'll cover how to find a co-op near you & how to start a new one - the basics of co-op'ing, especially with United Natural Foods, Inc.

The potential with a co-op is to carry even other items not carried in the UNFI catalog, and we'll talk about that, as well.

We'll meet at the hex table in the little dome at the Henniker Dome complex on 114, just 0.2 miles north of the Weare line, and a couple of miles south of the Pat's Peak ski area.

Meeting details:
7 PM (come early - focussed workshop starts at 7)
Little dome
2307 Weare Road
Henniker, New-Hamps.
map: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=2307+Weare+Road,+Henniker,+New+Hampshire&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=50.910968,79.101563&ie=UTF8&ll=43.150346,-71.663132&spn=0.184851,0.30899&z=12
(Note Google Maps shows a location about .2 miles north of our actual location)

(an Alternatives Expo mini-workshop)

[John Edward Mercier]

If I buy a couple of chickens to raise for eggs/meat, can I legally sell the eggs in NH?

Go to the NH Department of Agriculture, it should have the laws listed under poultry... you may need to page down a ways to find 'eggs', but in general it mainly a matter of being honestly marketed.

[www]

For the benefit of the ignorant (and the lazy who don't want to do the necessary research), what exactly is a food co-op, what's the benefits and drawbacks, etc... 

I can only speak from my own experience of shopping at a few co-ops. Basically they are locally owned farmers markets turned into a store. They range from very small to very large. The first grocery store we used to shop at in Concord (in the 50s) was called the Coop, but it was more a real grocery store, though it could have gotten its name from having local ownership among some of the shoppers.

Basically, normally anyone can shop at a co-op, members get a discount and often volunteer to work as well, usually in lieu of or for a discounted membership fee. The food tends to be on the wholesome side, much is local or organic, but not everything. Hanover has a huge co-op that is almost indistinguishable from a Stop&Shop, other than if you are a member. Concord has a medium sized co-op that has been gradually growing in size over the years. Like all co-ops it has bulk food available in bins, but also has a small cafe in the front where you can eat lunch.