Baltimore Food Co-Op Mission Statement
The Baltimore Food Co-Op is a community-owned, community-oriented market that provides sustainable, local, and reasonably priced food to members and the general public in a welcoming, accessible, professionally-run environment.
Is everything that the Baltimore Food Co-Op sells certified organic?
No. Our focus is on stocking the best local and regional products we can find that are sustainably produced for the environment and healthy for our customers. Sometimes the products we choose to carry are also certified as organic, but sometimes they are not.
Signs in the store will clearly identify which products are organic and which are not.
Is everything that the Baltimore Food Co-Op sells produced or grown locally?
No. We realize that people enjoy and depend on foods and other items that simply can’t be grown or produced in our region. We do our best to make sure that the items that come from further away are in keeping with the same values of sustainability and fair trade as our locally-produced items. We love our local producers, but we also love things like olive oil, coffee, chocolate, and bananas, and we know you do too.
What is a Food Co-Op?
A food co-op is a grocery store that operates on a co-operative business model. The Baltimore Food Co-Op is a member co-op. It is owned by its members. Members may volunteer to serve in various positions to run and manage their co-op democratically. Important decisions about how to run the co-op, including the election of a Board of Directors, are made by member vote. All profits made by member co-ops are shared in ways that benefit all co-op members equally.
How is a Food Co-Op different from a CSA?
A food co-op is a retail resale business that stocks and sells products produced by others. Just like a mainstream grocery store, it purchases stock from a variety of vendors and producers and makes it available for sale to the public on the shelves of its store(s). Food co-op members communally own the business that is the food co-op, have a vote in how the co-op is run, and equally share in its profits. A food co-op is like a mainstream grocery store in terms of how the consumer gets the goods she or he wants: the consumer comes to the store, selects items, pays for the items, and takes them home. Customers can choose any items they want from the shelves at any time.
A CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture, program is a direct relationship between a customer and a farm. In order to help finance the operation, the CSA farmer or grower sells shares of what it is anticipated will be grown or produced in the upcoming season. People who buy CSA shares do not have any ownership in the farm or operation. They do not have a vote in how the operation is run or receive a share of the profits. They are just financial backers, who in return get a share of the product. Shares consist of specific items in specific quantities, chosen by the farmer.
