People's Food Co-op (Portland)

Infobox Co-operative
company_name = People's Food Cooperative
company_
company_type = Consumers' cooperative
foundation = 1970
location = Portland, Oregon
key_people =
area_served =
members = ~3,000
industry =
products = Organic food
revenue =
operating_income =
net_income =
num_employees =
parent =
subsid =
homepage = [http://www.peoples.coop/ www.peoples.coop]
footnotes =

People's Food Co-op is a food cooperative located in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1970 by the members of a food-buying club, the co-op is owned by over 3000 member owners and governed by a member-elected Board of Directors.

Governance and management

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors at People's consists of 5-9 members elected by the membership of the co-op. The Board uses a modified version of consensus decision-making to reach its decisions. In 2006, the Board adopted Policy Governance as its governance model. The Board sets policies for the co-op and monitors its health and how well it is meeting its goals.

Collective management

People's is managed by a non-hierarchical collective. As of 2007, there are 27 co-managers. Collective meetings are held once a month where co-managers make decisions regarding the co-op's operations. Like the Board, the collective uses a modified version of consensus decision-making. The collective is divided into semi-autonomous “teams” which are responsible for reporting and heading up their various departments. The collective is accountable to the membership via the Board.

Expansion

In 2002, People's embarked upon an expansion project to increase its retail space [ [http://www.cooperativegrocer.coop/articles/index.php?id=471 Cooperative Grocer article] ] . People's secured loans from its membership and Shorebank Pacific to finance the $900,000 expansion project. The expansion doubled the store's retail space and included an expanded Community Room as well as an elevator for wheelchair access. The co-op's efforts won them a BEST "(Businesses for an Environmentally Sustainable Tomorrow)" award from the City of Portland’s Office of Sustainable Development in 2003 for energy efficiency.

Building features

The building which People's occupies incorporates a number of environmentally-friendly technologies [ [http://casestudies.cascadiagbc.org/energy.cfm?ProjectID=223 Cascadia Green Building Council] ] . All of the wood used for the expansion was either salvaged or FSC certified. The building's natural ventilation was improved by use of a solar chimney.

Green roofs

People's added two Green roofs to its building during its expansion. Drought-tolerant plant species were chosen for the green roofs. Due to the stormwater management benefits [ [http://www.lcrep.org/fieldguide/integratedexamples/peoplesfood.htm Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership] ] , People's received a $2,500 grant from the Community Watershed Stewardship Program.

Cob

Cob, a mixture of earth, sand and straw, was used as infill for two walls of the building as well as for benches inside and outside of the store. People's was the first commercially zoned building in North America to build with cob wall infill.

Geothermal

The co-op is heated and cooled by use of a Geothermal exchange heat pump which includes a series of tubes coursing water through the store's floor. This system, in conjunction with other design strategies, has reduced the heating and cooling energy consumption at the co-op by approximately 40%.

People's farmers' market

People's hosts a year round farmers market in its courtyard on Wednesday afternoons. In the summer months, there are typically 15-20 vendors offering a variety of locally grown and produced goods. The following vendors usually can be found at the market:

Philosophy and buying guidelines

People's has adopted a model of ethical consumerism and adheres to strict guidelines for the products that are retailed as well as its practices. By vote of the membership, the co-op does not carry any products containing meat with the exception of pet food. The Board of Directors has approved product selection guidelines which prohibit products containing artificial colors, flavoring, or preservatives. The guidelines also allow for the exclusion of products from companies that test on animals or operate in contradiction to the co-op's mission.

People's composts all of its vegetable waste off site at the 47th Avenue Farm in Portland via an industrial vermicomposting bin.

People's maintains connections to the cooperative movement via its membership in regional and national cooperative federations. People's is currently a member of the National Cooperative Grocers Association, the United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives, and the Portland Alliance of Worker Cooperatives.

People's community room

People's has a meeting space on site used for public and private events. Free yoga classes for members are held in the room. The room is also used for capoeira, and tai chi as well as meetings for both the membership and Board of Directors. A lift was built during the expansion to ensure accessibility to the space.

IS4C

In 2006, People's began using IS4C, a Point of Sale (PoS) System. The program was developed by Tak Tang of the Wedge Community Co-op in Minneapolis, Minnesota [ [http://www.wedge.coop/is4c/] IS4C] . People's ported the IS4C software to the Linux platform, making it the only open-source software made specifically for food cooperatives. [ [http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2005/08/322550.shtml] Co-ops Making History ]

References

External links

* [http://www.peoples.coop/ Official Website]
* [http://www.portlandonline.com/osd/index.cfm?c=ebjfa People's Expansion - Portland Office of Sustainable Development]
* [http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/database/overview.cfm?projectid=223 U.S Department of Energy: Buildings Database]