Our First Oklahoma Food Coop Order

Last night Dianne and I traveled to Jenks, Oklahoma to pick up our first order from the Oklahoma Food Coop. The Oklahoma Food Cooperative offers members a cross between a farmers' market, a grocery store and Amazon.com.

The Oklahoma producers that supply the Coop's products put their actual names on their Made-in-Oklahoma products and make them in accordance with Coop rules. The consumer members that purchase the grass-fed beef, free range chickens, fresh eggs, produce and ready-made entries get to enjoy farm-friendly food on their own terms. Both parties pay a one-time fee for membership fee that makes them lifetime shareholders in this bold project.

Coop founder Bob Waldrop wanted to create an option for Okies that want to eat local. The groceries the coop offers aren't always a bargain, but they're better for you and they help keep Oklahoma dollars in Oklahoma. The food is fresher because it is harvested locally and it is more environmentally sustainable because it does not have to be shipped long distances.

The Oklahoma Food Cooperative sells over 2,000 products from local producers. From a small beginning, the cooperative now sells over $40,000 a month of locally produced organic foods and other products.

How Does the Food Coop Work?

The success of the Coop depends on meeting the needs of both consumers and producers. Consumers are drawn to a system that offers greater tranparency and selection. Producers are drawn to a more sustainable business model that protects them from market fluctuations and prohitbitive transportation costs. While the farmers' share of the food dollar averages 19 cents nationwide, every dollar spent with the co-op sends 95 cents straight into the pocket of an Oklahoma farmer.


Oklahoma Food Cooperative Membership

The Cooperative only sells food and non-food products that are made in Oklahoma, via an order delivery system based on the website and a network of members and volunteers across the state. The co-op treats farmers and customers as equals, and each pays a one-time fee of $50 to join. The co-op plays the role of an agent. It facilitates the ordering, delivery of and payment for Oklahoma foods between the two.

Ordering Your Food

Each month, producer members post at the website what they have available. Members have 2 weeks to order.

On the third Thursday of each month, the farmers come to Oklahoma City and the coop's volunteer crew sort everything into customer orders, which then later in the day go out to our 17 pickup sites across the state. They generally have about 1500 different items available each month.

The web site features a list of Oklahoma producers and processors, with links to their sites. Producers range from certified organic farms to natural meats to processed goods like cheeses and salsas. You can buy fruits, herbs and vegetables, cheeses, milk and eggs, peanuts and pecans, baked goodies, grains, flours and more.

Dianne and I had fun making out our order. We decided to try some foods we had never tasted before like ground lamb as well as going with some 'can't miss items' like Chocolate-Oatmeal-Walnut cookies!

Picking Up Your Food

Coop Customers can then pick up their products at a dozen locations statewide and in OKC you can even get delivery! Currently, the closest pickup location to our Okmulgee home is in a residential neighborhood in Jenks, Oklahoma.

The pickup point was at the home of one of the members. We pulled up to find the host's driveway lined with a colorful array of ice chests. We parked about five feet from the food we were taking home, so we didn't need shopping carts! Our son Dylan got to enjoy some time playing in the yard with the children of our host.

I kept thinking about what a friendly way of shopping this was. Compared to the hustle and bustle of Wal-Mart shopping, picking up food from the Coop is like visiting family friends.

http://www.oklahomafood.coop


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