Building Food Systems of Solidarity

Opportunities for Linking Co-operative Communities

through Trade

Workshop Description Since 1967, the Federation of Southern Co-operatives (FSC) has worked to increase incomes, support economic development and assist in land retention, especially for African Americans but essentially for all family farmers in the Southern U.S. This session will focus on efforts to develop regional food distribution systems that can link co-operative communities in the South with those on other parts of the country through trade.

Our Presenters Cornelius Blanding, Moderator

Federation of Southern Co-operatives

Ben Burkett Federation of Southern Co-operatives

Erbin Crowell Neighboring Food Co-op Association

Cornelius Key Federation of Southern Co-operatives

Federation of Southern Cooperatives / Land Assistance Fund

For 49 years the Federation of Southern Cooperatives has served through cooperative economic development, and retention and advocacy for the development of low income people and their communities.

Federation of Southern Cooperatives / Land Assistance Fund

The Federation has maintained a membership of low income grassroots people, organized into cooperatives, and credit unions to make quantitative and qualitative changes in their lives and communities.

FSCs Mission: 3 Major Themes •  To develop cooperatives and credit unions as a

means for people to enhance the quality of their lives & improve their communities

•  To save, protect, and expand the land holdings of black family farmers in the South

•  To develop, advocate, and support policies to benefit our membership of black & other family farmers & low income rural communities.

Why Co-operate? •  Cooperatives are voluntary

business organizations formed by the people. Usually caused by a common need.

•  If the need is too big, for example, if there is a need for a tractor or storage facility, the group will come together and meet to discuss how they can assist one another, with the result being a unified effort and a mutual benefit:

•  Cooperation

SOCO: A Regional Marketing System

A subsidiary of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund

The History & Mission SOCO Regional Marketing system

!  SOCO was established on June 6, 2002 to collect, process, package and ship fresh vegetables’ and melons produced by members of its affiliated cooperatives. The venture is intended to strengthen the financial viability of African-American farmers by providing access to mainstream markets. Minority farmers across the South, who are generally in precarious financial condition, need alternatives to row crop agriculture low commodity prices and frequent weather problems.

!  SOCO will market fresh produce grown by farmer cooperatives in the South, which will supply collard greens, peppers, squash and watermelons for packing, processing and shipping to various markets established by its sales force. Other products will be added as it becomes feasible.

The History & Mission SOCO Regional Marketing system

!  The proposed project will have considerable financial and social impact the in the South, throughout the Federations six target states (Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina). As a regional marketing network, SOCO will help minority farmers gain access to profitable markets, thereby achieving substantial increases in their income and variability as family farmers.

!  SOCO will demonstrate that minority farmers, despite decades of discrimination and economic obstacles, can unite to create products that appeal to the mainstream and in fact feed an increasing desire for healthy food. The SOCO operations will (1) receive produce from participating farmers; (2) cool, wash, grade, and pack the product; and (3) ship it to regional and national market outlets.

The History & Mission SOCO Regional Marketing system

!  The success of SOCO will be organizing and training the growers to grow and harvest high quality crops, in sufficient quantity, at the time planned for. This will be the responsibility of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, which has specialized in working with minority farmers, most with low resources, in the South to strengthen their ability to survive in the market.

!  As SOCO matures, farmers who are members of other Federation Cooperatives in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina will mark the beginning of a truly regional, multi-state operation benefiting hundreds or perhaps thousands of small and minority farmers throughout the Deep South.

!  Without alternatives such as those proposed here, minority farmers may once again lose ground until they are an extinct species.

A Cooperative Effort Among Southern States

Seedless Watermelon Production

GREEN PRODUCTION

Collards   Turnips  

Once  greens  have  been  harvested,  they  enter  facility  to  be  iced  before  shipping  to  reduce  

heat  in  greens  

Washing & Loading greens

Loading & transferring Greens & other products

The truck has been loaded and leaving the field, being transported to the facility to be iced and shipped directly to Glory Foods

Sweet potatoes

Okra & peppers

Banana  peppers  Hot  peppers  

Okra  

IRRIGATION

Constructing a loading dock

Regional Marketing System: Greens 2011 •  Greens sold per 30lb. (shipping

boxes) •  Total pounds sold 428,293 •  Total Income $59,245.40 2012 •  Greens sold per 30lb. (shipping

boxes) •  Total pounds sold 1,031,880 •  Total Income $137,584

2013 •  Greens sold per 30lb. (shipping

boxes) •  Total pounds sold 1,250,010 •  Total Income $125,001 2014 Greens sold per 30lb. (shipping boxes) Total pounds sold 950,010 Total Income $95,000

Total poundage 3,660,193 Gross Sales $416,830.40

Regional Marketing System Watermelons

•  2003 $ 132,161.93 •  2004 $ 98,537.35 •  2005 $125, 397.28 •  2006 $ 245,307.60 •  2007 $ 75, 333.00

Total poundage 5,511,581 Gross Sales $676,737

Regional Marketing System Value Added production

2012  -­‐  2015    Pecans  Peas  Okra  Kale  Squash  White  potatoes  Bu7erbeans  Herbs  Eggplants  Greens    

Total  $452,600  

Pros •  Larger markets •  Mentorship Program •  Creating jobs & business opportunities

•  Increased profitability •  Irrigation •  Increased membership •  Healthy eating

Cons •  Operating capital •  Cooling space •  Ice machine

•  Loading dock •  Packing facility •  Lack of irrigation •  Transportation/trucking

Regional challenges & accomplishments

Cooperative impacts •  Buying and selling locally •  Marketing tool for farmers •  Market expansion •  Increase in membership •  Sustainability •  Quality products

•  Increased volume and profitability

•  International markets •  Value added production &

products •  Advertisement •  Food Safety

Operational logistics •  Coordination

–  Regional cooperatives •  Education and training

–  Markets –  Product(s) –  Food safety certification –  Planting –  Acreage –  Crop management/maintenance –  Harvesting –  Packing –  Transportation –  Trace-back

A Co-op Marketing & Retail Perspective Erbin Crowell, Neighboring Food Co-op Association (NFCA)

•  Equal Exchange Domestic Fair Trade Program

•  Co-Founder, Domestic Fair Trade Association

•  Independent Consultant Linking Southern Alternatives Co-op with NE Food Co-ops

•  NFCA: Purchasing Power as Lever for Food System Change

Why Domestic Fair Trade? •  50 years ago farmers in Europe and North America received

between 45 and 60 percent of the money that consumers spent on food. Today, between 5 and 20%.

•  1935: 6.8 million working farmers in the US; in 2003: 1.9 million — less than the total US prison population.

•  Suicide is now the leading cause of death among US farmers — three times higher than in the general population.

•  Over 50% of the revenue generated globally by food retailing can be accounted for by just 10 corporations.

•  In 1920, 1 in 7 farmers were African American; by 1998, just 1 in 100.

(From 2007 Presentation)

Economic & Social Impact

“The extent to which co-operative sectors have practised co-operation among co-operatives has depended partly on the perceived economic advantages, but more on whether they see themselves as part of a wider movement.”

— Johnston Birchall, 1997:70

Pecans: Sharing People’s Stories

Pecans: Sharing People’s Stories

The Potential of Co-op to Co-op Trade •  Trade aligned with co-

op principles can produce benefits for producers, workers and consumers

•  Food co-ops can provide crucial market and logistics information to support marginalized producers

•  Food co-op purchasing power as a lever for change in the food system

•  Focus on partnership with producer co-ops benefits and empowers farmers as a group rather than just individuals

Economic Solidarity “When we arise in the morning, we reach for a sponge which is provided for us by a Pacific Islander. We reach for soap that is created for us by a Frenchman. The towel is provided by a Turk. Then at the table we drink coffee which is provided for us by a South American, or tea by a Chinese, or cocoa by a West African. Before we leave for our jobs we are beholden to more than half the world.”

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

QUESTIONS & DISCUSSION

www.federation.coop

www.nfca.coop