Cooperative

A cooperative, or co-op for short, is a type of business that is owned and operated by its members who all benefit from its profits. Within agriculture, farmers may form a co-op by pooling their resources, like land and machinery, to build a more robust business. Cooperatives also have more control over the prices they sell at, and collective buying power which leverages lower prices for bulk purchases. Historically, cooperatives have enabled groups deprived of economic opportunity due to structural racism a way to build community strength outside of the financial systems they’ve been denied access to. At Crescent City Farmers Markets, the Indian Springs Farmers Association is a joint venture of 30+ small farms from Mississippi that collaborate in growing and distributing their produce. Likewise, vendor VEGGI Farmers Cooperative is a community member-owned and operated farmer’s cooperative based out of New Orleans East, begun after Hurricane Katrina to help displaced shrimpers pivot to farming. You can find both in the home delivery CCFM Box and Mr. Ben Burkett of Indian Springs at the Uptown Market.

 

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