From the old Food Co-op to the Community Co-op, an organic journey

The original food co-op was an integral part of Tallahassee’s “alternative community”. The Vietnam War was the backdrop with songs of peace our anthem. Tallahassee was a much smaller, quieter town. Two malls – one bordering a dairy farm on North Monroe -- with a proposed third mall in the works. Bobby Bowden was new on the scene. The football field looked more like a high-school stadium than the powerhouse it’s grown into. By the time I arrived in 1976, the co-op had moved from its original Macomb Street hub to a Gaines Street location.

What a robust place it was! Huge quantities of food arrived weekly and was repackaged by dozens of volunteers. Bulk items were stored in earthen crock containers where folks scooped out desired amounts. Produce was mostly organic with local growers bringing their goods in to sell. Our selection of dried fruits and nuts was incomparable. Who else carried goat’s milk, nutritional yeast, or tofu? It was a paradise of natural foods in a world that hadn’t yet determined these items would appeal to the mainstream market.

More than the unique food was a charged atmosphere. We were the gathering place for those hoping to change the world. Food politics was discussed as much as the politics of the day. Our staff was a non-hierarchical collective that worked diligently to create an equitable work structure and to bring quality food to our community. Food items needed to be healthy and food production non-exploitative. Board meetings were equally vociferous in nature and would last for hours late into the night. The national cooperative community was in development mode and not yet networked. There was so much to do in our quest to create something sustainable with idealistic values.

Our food co-op proudly took a stance to oppose a proposed food irradiation facility which was to have been built on the Florida aquifer using a water-soluble radioactive isotope to process the food items. Imagine the damage to our water supply had there been a leak! Author Frances Moore Lappe’ (Diet for a Small Planet) spent a day at the co-op spreading her message of living lighter on the planet through the foods we consume. A new financial credit union, Canopy, set up office in our living room space so shoppers could use its services.

When the co-op moved to Apalachee Parkway and became New Leaf Market, the cooperative philosophy was deeply embedded within. While organics, natural products, and bulk items are now available everywhere, there is no other place in town having the same loving and local history as New Leaf, which is now known as Community Co-op Market.

I write this with the hopes of watching this amazing store grow and thrive in our community. While so many other stores have closed their doors and new businesses have replaced them, there is nothing that can replace Community Co-op Market.

Martha Weinstein has been with New Leaf (now Community Co-op Market) for most of her 48 years in Tallahassee. She was a volunteer, a staff member, a board member, and the board facilitator.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: From the old Food Co-op to the Community Co-op, an organic journey