Co-Ops, Food, and

Community Controlled Development

Linking Rural Farmers with

Urban Markets

2010 U.S. Social Forum

 Introduction
  Quinton Sankofa
Programs Coordinator

  James Berk
Worker-Owner
Overview of Presentation
  Historical Context

  West Oakland today

  Our Alternative
  Mandela Foods Co-Op
  Healthy Neighborhood Store Alliance

  Challenges and Successes

West Oakland
  Original people’s- Ohlone

  Spanish invasion (17th century)

  Luís María Peralta given Rancho
San Antonio (1820)
  44,000 acres (The East Bay)!

  Horace Carpentier- Oakland’s

First Mayor 1852
West Oakland
  Last stop on trans-
continental railroad
(1869)
  Rapid growth
  Diversity
  Brotherhood of the
Sleeping Car
Porters*

  World War II
  Ship Building
  Canning Jobs
A. Phillip Randolph (1889-1979)
  African Americans
Post WWII
  1940’s:
  Auto-dependent society
  Destruction of black
communities*/ the
building of White Suburbs
  Red lining
  Housing discrimination
  Eminent Domain

  Rise of the Black Panthers

Power to the People
West Oakland Today
  25,000 residents

  71% of households earn

less than $30k
  Compared to 28% in
Alameda County as a
whole
West Oakland Today
  39% of households
with no car
  48 corner stores
  1 grocery store
  (Mandela Foods)
  Health Disparities
  Asthma
  Hypertension
  Diabetes (3X higher
than Alameda County
rate)
West Oakland Today
  Existing retail options are
low quality/high priced

  Gentrification and status

quo redevelopment
threaten small business
Our Alternative
  Community Controlled Development
  What do we mean by that?
  resident input + cooperation from the private and public sectors =
success
  Ideas emerge from the bottom up. (Local business, Farmer’s Market,
Corner Store, Grocery store, Open Space)
  We seek input from the community on Needs and Solutions
MMP At a glance
  Non-Profit

  Small Business incubator

  MFC, Alternative Produce Distribution Network

  Community Leadership incubator

  West Oakland Youth Standing Empowered (WYSE)
 Alternative Produce Distribution

Local Farmers

Mandela MarketPlace Warehouse

Corner Stores Mandela Foods Senior Market

Booths

Link rural farmers with urban markets

Mandela Foods Cooperative
Mandela Foods Cooperative
  Mandela Foods is a for profit, worker-owned cooperative
  *With community ownership
Mandela Foods Cooperative
  Grocery store & Nutrition Education Center*
Mandela Cooperative Model
  Business ownership opportunity for those who would not
otherwise have access to business ownership

  Supports small farmers

  Component of systemic plan to address food security, and

the root causes of community disparities
  Healthy Neighborhood Store Alliance
 HNSA Mission
To bring fresh, affordable
produce to a community that has
little access to healthy food, as
well as provide education on food
preparation and how food affects
our health.

Vision
A healthier West Oakland where
good food is always available.

[insert team photo]

We sell locally grown produce to

corner stores in West Oakland.
Challenges
•  2,500 sq ft space
•  99 cents only 10,000

• Maintaining values, ethics, and principles

•  The decision not to sell alcohol

• Structural racism

• Capitalist structure favors big business

•  No tax incentives
Successes
•  One Year Anniversary
•  Sold over 50,000 lbs
of produce
• Supports 8 business
owners
• Over 100 hours of
nutrition education
•  2,500 lbs of produce
delivered to corner
stores
Local Farmers
Mandela MarketPlace
Produce Distribution
Farm Fresh Produce
Community events
Ways to support
  Shop at Mandela Foods
  Tell your friends
  Donate to Mandela MarketPlace
  Pay attention to food and economics
Quinton Sankofa James Berk
Mandela MarketPlace Mandela Foods Cooperative
1364 7th Street 1430 7th Street
Oakland, CA 94607 Oakland, CA 94607
510-433-0993 510-452-1133
510-433-0659 fax 510-433-0659 fax
www.mandelamarketplace.org www.mandelafoods.com