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1 • POSTED ON November 19, 2008
Posted by Von Allan 
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The growth in Local and Organic foods leads to the opening of the Sandy Hill People Food Co-op in Ottawa, Ontario.
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (November 19, 2008) – Some of the newest and
most innovative developments in Canadian culture over the last five
years are the growth of the organic food market and shoppers’ interest
in purchasing groceries from local sources. Many neighbourhoods now
showcase local farmers markets and the phrase “local organic” and “100
mile diet” have become part of everyday speech. To illustrate the
wonder and diversity that local and organic foods can bring to a
community, a new grocery store, the Sandy Hill People Food Co-op, opened
its doors in Ottawa’s Sandy Hill neighbourhood in late October 2008.
“I find big grocery stores pretty belittling,” explained Derek Reid, one
of the founding members of the new co-operative. “I find the vast
selection of food products manufactured by largely unaccountable
multinational corporations more than a little scary. For the most part,
consumers have very little idea where a particular food was made and
with what ingredients,” he said. “The Sandy Hill People Food Co-op is
going to be dealing with companies that have ethics in mind all the time.”
One of the things that make the Sandy Hill People Food Co-op so unique
is that it is a worker cooperative with no separate group of owners or
shareholders. Instead, its employees democratically control the
direction and development of the co-op. “It is membership-based, but on
a worker level,” Reid explained. “It’s a nice environment. There’s no
evil boss perching over you. Everybody is a boss. Everybody respects
each other.” This allows the co-op to grow and develop in terms of what
the staff want, working together to grow a vision with deep community
roots. “We’re going to grow based on what all of us collectively want,”
Reid added. “As a cooperative, it’s a democratic environment. I can
sit here and tell you what I think, but in the end it’s not going to be
my decision; it’s going to be out of my control as soon as we start
having our regular staff meetings. The ultimate direction is going to
be based on the way the group wants it to go.”
About the Sandy Hill People Food Co-op: While the co-op only recently
opened its doors, its roots date back to 2004 and the founding of its
sister store, the Sandy Hill Pet Food Co-op. In only five years of
operation, the Sandy Hill Pet Food Co-op has become a key part of the
Sandy Hill community, offering a wide variety of healthy, natural,
holistic and organic pet food. In addition, the staff avoids stocking
products made with artificial ingredients, chemical preservatives, meat
by-products, or any other ingredients that are known to cause long-term
health problems for human beings, animals and the environment. Lastly,
the store does not stock any product made by companies that are known to
test on animals. More information can be found at
http://www.sandyhillpetfood.ca.
The growth and development of the Sandy Hill Pet Food Co-op over the
past five years paved the way for a similar store catering to food aimed
at human beings – the Sandy Hill People Food Co-op. The two stores are
located directly across the street from one another and are operated by
the same enthusiastic staff. While membership is not required for
purchases at either the Pet Food Co-op or the People Food Co-op, staff
do encourage customers to purchase one in order to receive discounted
pricing (the membership fee is very low and good at both stores).
About Worker Co-ops: In a worker co-op, the employees are both owners
and operators, working together to run the business and democratically
making decisions about all important issues including wages and
finances. The primary goal of the cooperative is to operate an
enterprise in which control and decision-making rest with the members.
Because workers mutually decide on the policies that develop and
determine the cooperative’s weekly and long-term operation and health,
trust, communication and co-operation are vital elements in the co-op’s
success.
Contact:
Sandy Hill People Food Co-op
Attention: Derek Reid
317 Wilbrod Street
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. K1N 6M1
Phone: 613-321-0150
Best run between Wednesday, November 19th and Monday, December 29th 2008.
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