Resources
FOOD COOP Screening Resources
The Discussion Guide will contain the following for your screening use:
• about the film & filmmakers • ready to watch! screening guide
• ready to talk! discussion guide • ready to act! handout
FOOD COOP Screening Poster
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(customize for your event)
FOOD COOP
Discussion Guide
Press Stills
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High-Resolution
Press Stills
Organizations
National Cooperative Grocers Association (NCG) is a business-services cooperative for retail food co-ops located throughout the United States, representing 125 food co-ops operating over 160 stores in 35 states with combined annual sales of over $1.4 billion and over 1.3 million consumer-owners. NCG helps unify natural food co-ops in order to optimize operational and marketing resources, strengthen purchasing power, and ultimately offer more value to natural food co-op owners and shoppers everywhere.
The National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International (NCBA CLUSA) is the nation’s oldest not-for-profit cooperative development and trade association, fostering cooperative and international economic and social development in the United States and abroad. NCBA CLUSA works to develop, advance, and protect cooperative enterprise, highlighting the impact that cooperatives have in the economic success of communities around the world.
International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) is a non-profit international association established in 1895 to advance the cooperative model. ICA represents 313 co-operative federations and organizations across 109 countries. And, through its membership, ICA represents 1.2 billion people from any of the 2.6 million co-operatives worldwide. ICA aims to act as an effective and efficient global voice and forum for knowledge, expertise and coordinated action for and about cooperatives.
Cooperative Grocer Network (CGN) is a non-profit trade association intent on strengthening all retail food co-ops by a creating a community of cooperators who can develop and share their best resources and practices. CGN publishes the bimonthly magazine, Cooperative Grocer, a trade journal documenting its history since 1985.
The Neighboring Food Co-op Association (NFCA) is a co-operative federation bringing together over 35 food co-ops and start-up initiatives that are working together toward a shared vision of a thriving co-operative economy, rooted in a healthy, just and sustainable regional food system and a vibrant community of co-operative enterprise.
Mid-Atlantic Food Cooperative Alliance (MAFCA) exists for the mutual benefit of its members and the greater community. Its purpose is to grow the cooperative economy, provide education about co-ops, and build a sustainable and equitable system of healthy, local food production, distribution, and consumption.
Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation (TPCF) was founded in 1964 to serve the educational and development needs of cooperatives.
Blooming Prairie Foundation is a self-sustaining non-profit organization, created by the members of the Blooming Prairie Warehouse Cooperative with the purpose of education and enlightening buying clubs, cooperatives and privately owned businesses.
Cooperative Development Foundation (CDF) promotes self-help and mutual aid in community, economic and social development through cooperative enterprise.
National Cooperative Bank (NCB) is a cooperative financial institution working to support and be an advocate for America’s Cooperatives and their members, especially in low-income communities, by providing innovative financial and related services.
Shared Capital Cooperative is a national loan fund and federally certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that provides financing to cooperative businesses and housing throughout the United States, working to foster economic democracy by investing in cooperative enterprises, with a focus on providing financing to co-ops to create wealth in low-income and economically disadvantaged communities.
Cooperative Fund of New England (CFNE) is a community development loan fund that facilitates socially responsible investing in cooperatives, community-oriented nonprofits, and worker-owned businesses in New England and adjacent communities in New York.
Food Co-op Initiative strives to provide exceptional resources for people in the U.S. working to start a retail food co-op that meets the needs of their community.
CDS Consulting Co-op is committed to co-op development and the widespread practice of cooperative values in business. The goal is to help organizations empower high performance and participation among individuals and teams, from the board of directors and managers, to the employees and co-op owners; and to support strong leadership development in every co-op and organization with which it works.
Cooperative Food Empowerment Directive (CoFED) supports the vision and leadership of young people, people of color, and people from poor and working class backgrounds to lead the movement for food justice and co-ops. Since 2011, CoFED has developed 11 new cooperative projects, trained over 500 students on over 60 campuses, and cultivated a community of nearly 4,000 supporters.
Cooperative Development Institute (CDI) works with people in the Northeast to create cooperative businesses and networks that grow a prosperous, equitable economy.
Cultivate.Coop is a library of information about cooperatives.
FOOD COOP Home
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FOOD COOP looks at the workings of a highly profitable supermarket, Brooklyn's Park Slope Food Coop, which for 44 years has been a shining example of a successful alternative economic system at work.
"A curious and benevolent stroll through...this unique store."
Jérémy Gallet, aVoir aLire
"A healthy place...Exceptional...Enthusiastic."
Basta!"A truly thrilling film."
Céline Zug, Boite à Culture
"Tells the story of Park Slope Food Co-op in Brooklyn-a 44-year-old, highly successful food co-op...The film shows viewers the whole gamut of store operations - from committees, to stocking, to produce and dairy buying, to walking customers to the subway...This film is a fascinating study of how a community has organized itself to collectively govern and manage a very complex social enterprise."
Steve Dubb, Senior Editor, Nonprofit Quarterly
"A rare, candid look into the life of Park Slope Food Co-op, and the lives of the co-op's members. The film provides a glimpse into the methods and culture employed in this exceptionally successful co-op. An intriguing resource for instructors or organizers looking to explore the nuances of collective entrepreneurship through a real-world example that has been sustained at scale for several decades."
Tom Pierson, Co-op Educator"An amusing and enlightening food exposé...Capture[s] the essence of this unique emporium with a blend of humor and pragmatism, underlining how a sustainable business needs to have more in mind than just the bottom line in order to survive."
Jordan Mintzer, Hollywood Reporter"This work wonderfully presents the successes and challenges that cooperative organizations face...Park Slope Food Co-op is a shining example of how people can work collectively - literally - to access quality products at affordable prices. As an educator, I appreciated that the film focused Park Slope's value-driven business: if you can tap into people's common values, you can build something really special that fulfills our collective human propensity for support and cooperation."
Keri L. Jacobs, Assistant Professor and Cooperatives Extension Economist, Department of Economics, Iowa State University
"A fabulous inside look at Park Slope, one of the most iconic food coops of the past half century. With some of the best footage of a cooperative I have seen, the filmmakers take us beyond the membership barriers to see how the coop functions on a day-to-day basis and to meet many of the personalities that make the coop so successful. Offering a vivid illustration of a cooperative economy at work, this film will be valuable both in and out of the classroom."
Craig Borowiak, Associate Professor and Chair, Political Science, Haverford College
"FOOD COOP not only highlights a successful cooperative venture, but also addresses the urgent need for access to food in urban markets...The film does a great job of showing the value of cooperation by way of example...There are shining moments in this film that teach us that cooperation can be a balancing force when the market fails to provide what consumers need."
Dr. John Park, Roy B. Davis Professor of Agricultural Cooperation, Texas A and M University
"This detailed examination of the Park Slope Food Co-op explores both the benefits and challenges associated with providing affordable high quality foods in urban neighborhoods...Particular attention is focused on the importance of the unpaid labor provided by the diverse membership that is a requirement for membership. The in-depth treatment of this unique cooperative venture will allow interested viewers to garner sufficient information to organize similar efforts that can address the problem of food deserts confronting many communities."
James Stewart, Professor Emeritus, Labor and Employment Relations, African and African American Studies, Management and Organization, Pennsylvania State University
Discussion
Introducing Bullfrog Communities
Posted by alex · August 07, 2018 6:44 PM
About FOOD COOP
FOOD COOP takes us deep into the belly of the Park Slope Food Coop, one of America's oldest cooperative food supermarkets, with a healthy dose of insight and wit.
Nestled deep in New York City, which, for many, exemplifies both the glory and the horrors of the capitalist spirit, you can find this highly prosperous institution, just as American and certainly more efficient than Wall Street, but whose objective is entirely non-profit. Working against everything that defines "The American Way of Life," the basic principles of the Park Slope Food Coop are simple: each of its 16,000 members work 2.75 hours per month to earn the right to buy the best food in New York at incredibly low prices. This Brooklyn coop founded in 1973 is probably the best implemented socialist experience in the United States.
Through FOOD COOP, you will see this institution come to life and witness how the enthusiasm that animates the Park Slope Food Coop demonstrates a potential for change; how the coop's mode of participation viscerally teaches democracy to those who take part in its activities.
97 minutes
Language Options: English, Spanish, Italian; English SDH captions for the deaf and hard-of-hearingDirected by Tom Boothe
Produced by Christian Pfohl, Lardux Films
Executive Producers: Marc Boyer, Isabelle Chesneau, Christian Pfohl
Asst. Director: Maëlanne Bonnicel
Editor: Hélène Attali
Sound Editor: Adam Wolny
Camera: Greg Harriott
A co-production of Lardux Films and Télébocal with the support of Région Ile de France and CNCBrought to you by
Bullfrog Communities
Bullfrog Communities provides a simple way for concerned citizens to stay informed about pressing issues: water, economic justice, food, energy & climate change, immigration, and environment. Join the ongoing discussion about issues that concern us all. Educate and energize your local community using the unique power of film.
Bullfrog Films is the leading U.S. publisher of independently-produced films about environmental and related social-justice issues — films that point the way to living healthily, happily, and with greater concern for the other inhabitants of this planet, and for our descendants.
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