COMMUNITY
Feeding Community
From a focus on local products to community vibes, co-ops offer a healthier — and kinder — way to fill your cart.
By Valerie Howes | Illustrations by LeeAndra Cianci
FOR MANY CANADIANS, it’s routine to load up on groceries every week at a big-box store. But for those seeking out an ethical, sustainable, community-focused alternative, it’s worth considering joining your local food co-operative (co-op).
Operating from storefronts or distribution points, co-ops are designed to benefit their members, who generally pay an annual fee to vote on how the co-op is run and take advantage of favourable pricing. Many co-ops host community events to help members connect with one another and with their food producers. They typically prioritize local, seasonal and fair-trade products. You might not find strawberries in December, but you will find fresh fruits and veggies in season, friendly neighbours and opportunities to learn more about the people who made or grew your food.
The history of food co-ops in Canada dates back to the 1860s in Nova Scotia, where British miners wanted to replicate the model they’d used back home to buy collectively and save on food costs. In the early 1900s, southern Ontario farmers got in on the action, creating a co-operative designed to serve the interests of local fruit farmers in the Niagara region. During the 20th century, co-op popularity waxed and waned with the economy and world wars. It truly came into its own in the 1970s, when organic farming took off. Today, there’s a resurgence of interest in how food co-ops support local communities, as grocery-store monopolies have made headlines for price fixing, and the climate crisis and tariff wars have made many people think more deeply about where their food comes from.
Now, with a growing appetite for food that’s fairly priced, local and rooted in community, co-ops across Canada are proving there’s more than one way to stock a pantry.
Hyper-local eats, year-round
Since its inception in 2013, the Muskoka Market Eatery has transformed into a thriving community hub. The Huntsville, Ont. co-operative, formerly called the Muskoka North Good Food Co-op, now comprises a grocery store, café, sourdough bakery, commercial kitchen and hydroponic container farm, which grows lettuces, kale, spinach and herbs, even in the dead of winter. “It’s a lovely opportunity to be able to harvest greens... about 70 feet from our front door,” says general manager Allison Bullen.
Membership comes with benefits, including discounts on groceries, bounty boxes and voting privileges. The co-op partners with Pfenning’s Organic Farm in New Hamburg, as well as several Muskoka growers and food artisans. The goal is zero waste, so imperfect fruits and veggies become hearty soups, smoothies and muffins in what Bullen calls the “rescue kitchen.”
Volunteers help run the farm stand and also cook and deliver wholesome meals and snacks to a local daycare. Through social events like chili dinners and harvest parties, and through informal conversations about the realities of farming, the co-op fosters a deeper connection between people, food and the land.
A community of growers
The Niagara region is renowned for its long, warm summers and bountiful orchards, where peaches, cherries, apricots, nectarines, pears, apples and plums ripen in the sun. With many small-scale family farms in operation, it makes sense to collaborate — and the Vineland Growers Co-operative is the fruit of that collaboration.
The co-op was founded in 1913 when four fruit farmers in the Niagara Peninsula got together to share resources such as equipment and storage facilities and to make collective decisions for the benefit of fruit farms in the region. Over the past century, its membership has grown to more than 300 farms.
“Farmers share ideas on what works and what doesn’t work,” says Vineland Growers president Michael Ecker, who has worked for the co-op for 49 years, beginning as a truck driver. Traditional knowledge and innovation are both critical to the co-op’s success, he says. “We have a board, and we have committees of growers — the board is usually the older members of the families, and the younger generation are the ones coming up with new ideas,” says Ecker.
The co-op has a plant nursery, where they do important work such as testing peach varieties to see which will thrive in the local climate, especially during the chillier months. This nursery-as-lab shields individual farmers from the risks of experimenting with their precious crops and lets everyone benefit from a longer and more productive growing season.
Vineland Growers also helps its members to store, sell and distribute their fruits in grocery stores across the country. Their temperature-controlled facilities reduce food waste, keeping the farmers’ profits up and our grocery bills down. Vineland handles sales, cutting out the middleman and freeing up precious time during the busy harvest season. “The co-op does the marketing for the farmers, so that they can stay on their farms and pack their peaches,” says Ecker.
Connecting with local farmers
Founded in 2016 by farmers, food workers and community members, Fireweed Food Co-op supports small-scale regenerative farming across Manitoba with the aim of making good food accessible to all. “Food producers are often spread pretty thin, farming the way they do here,” says sales and delivery coordinator Peter Hill. “If we can consolidate deliveries and handle communication with the different types of customers, it saves them a ton of time.”
The co-op runs Winnipeg’s South Osborne Farmers Market weekly from June through October; it’s a popular venue where folks can purchase a range of fresh and prepared foods while connecting with neighbours and enjoying live music, a kids’ crafts tent and a beer garden.
The co-op also runs the warehouse-based Fireweed Food Hub, selling directly to wholesale clients such as restaurants and community groups. Household food club members can order online — everything from wild mushrooms to Lake Winnipeg-caught fish to locally harvested grains — and pick up their boxes at one of two craft breweries. Fueled by donations and volunteer efforts, the “Veggie Van” brings local food to underserved communities on a pay-what-you-can basis.
Fireweed’s next project? A community cookbook with recipes and tips from farmers, chefs and home cooks alike. “It’ll be in the vein of when school parents put together a cookbook,” says Hill. “We wanted it to feel pretty grassroots — it fits with where we’re at.” CAA
If you enjoy your food with a side of community and a dash of conscience, a co-op might be your jam (locally made, of course). Find one near you to experience the benefits of joining a food co-operative firsthand. Check out the edible offerings and friendly vibes, then sign up as a member and help shape the food system you want to see.