The Past, Present & Future of Food Coops in the Bay Area (SF Main Library)

Submitted by the Event Organizer

Learn how food cooperatives have been an integral part of both the food and justice movement, as well as workplace democracy in the San Francisco Bay Area since the Sixties. Featuring Celia LoBuono Gonzales of Other Avenues in San Francisco, Sue Lopez from Arizmendi Bakery in San Francisco, Paula Schnese from Cultivate Community Food Co-op in Benicia and Jameelah Lane of The DEEP Grocery Coop in Oakland, moderated by Shanta Nimbark Sacharoff, author of Other Avenues are Possible: Legacy of the Peoples Food System of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Other Avenues maintains a thriving business that provides food and supplies for sustainable living. They support organic and local farms, cooperatives and other small businesses and serve as a model of workplace democracy for the community. In 2018, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors inducted Other Avenues as a San Francisco Legacy Business, reserved for historic small businesses that have operated in San Francisco for over 40 years.

Arizmendi Bakery is a worker-owned cooperative specializing in morning pastries, artisan breads and gourmet pizza, located in the Inner Sunset.

Cultivate Community Food Co-op’s mission is to build a thriving, full-service, natural grocery store in the Benicia/Vallejo area that is owned by the people.

The DEEP (Deep East Oakland Empowering the People) is a worker-owned grocery cooperative dedicated to restoring East Oakland’s community with fresh organic produce, community education and cooperative economics, prioritizing the wellbeing of Black and Brown people.

Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.