One Community Grocery Co-op is a start-up retail grocery store for the South St. Petersburg.
Our neighborhood has struggled with the loss of chain stores and decrease in food access. A group of South St. Pete residents has come together to start the work of developing a community-owned grocery store. While chain stores are managed by companies with broad corporate ownership – often national or even global – they make decisions based on profitability. A community-owned and managed store, which our co-op will be, is owned by a large group of local citizens, and they make decisions in a democratic manner.
The first discussions began in 2017, with the beginnings of ownership development, and community events to promote the co-op idea. The COVID-19 pandemic forced a slow-down in efforts to grow the owner base. But the organizing group has been doing events and showing our community how a cooperative can help South St. Pete have a thriving store of its own.
Our Goals & Timeline
Like most grocery co-ops have done before us, OCGC started with a small group sharing what is often referred to as “kitchen table conversations.” These discussions continue to spread to a larger and larger group, as the co-op works through the development stages of organizing, feasibility, planning, and implementation. This leads the member/owners from the early decisions to build a store, through the growth of community involvement, the planning of of a store that can meet the community needs, the funding process, site selection and building, right up to to the doors opening on the new grocery co-op.
Now in the organizing stage, our present goals are to build a broader cohort of volunteers to help us move into the feasibility stage, to develop a strong board, of directors, and to grow our member/owner base.
The simple fact is this – we need owners NOW. Our ownership base is a solid measure of our ability to purchase, build, and stock a store that will remain a vital asset to out community for many, many years. Learn more about ownership here, or join us for an informational event. Please watch these pages as our timeline develops.
Our Organizing Group
Brother John Muhammad
Erica Hardison, chair
Erica Hall
Contact the board by email at onecommunitygrocerycoop@gmail.com