In times of crisis, food cooperatives give communities a tactic to organize together to ensure the health, nutrition, and safety for all people within the community. Food cooperatives can address not only these needs, but if practiced in a specific way, also the quality of life and labor rights of workers in the oppressive service industry.

To start a food cooperative, gather your neighbors together to discuss starting one in your neighborhood. Food cooperatives follow a “buying club” model to partner with farmers, gardeners, artisans, and bulk suppliers to purchase food and household supplies and redistribute them.

Meet with neighbors to draft bylaws, structures, and procedures for democratic decision-making. Collectively catalogue what everyone's needs are and what to buy. This may require voting and should ideally be done electronically if all members have internet access.

Identify sources for food with local community-supported agriculture, farms, gardens, indoor vertical nurseries, craftspeople and artisans, and ethical bulk suppliers.

Determine the best method for distributing food to your neighbors.

In addition to sharing costs, set up a plan for sharing any work task times. This may even eventually incorporate shared, communal meal planning and preparation which can take many forms: prepared meal delivery, pre-made components as part of regular deliveries, a communal food hall-type of model, or even as a sort of communal cafe which everyone shares tasks and costs. This is a more complex system and should incorporate some of the procedures from the section on starting a worker cooperative, with the understanding that traditional restaurants are a difficult business, improved by cooperative models.

Keep your food cooperative grounded in mutual aid, not charity. The purpose of the cooperative is not for an elite few to dole out benefits to less-fortunate people as they see fit, it is to liberate everyone. Have regular check-ins to ensure the dietary and accessibility needs of the community are being met. Eliminate food waste as much as possible, and for the unavoidable table scraps and spoilage, set up a community composting program to pair with the food cooperative, for use in a community garden or to provide to one of your garden partners.

Next: Start a worker cooperative under Economic Liberation