Forget Tesco - lets have people-powered supermarkets...
[Bristol] Tilly | 03.06.2010 16:22
This is a great idea: people-powered supermarkets. It's a co-op owned by the members - when you join you agree to help out in the shop - and as such the prices can be lower 'cos we're all helping out. So lets have this in Stokes Croft and not another boring dull Tesco.
Have a look:
The concept comes from the United States and from New York’s Park Slope Food Co-op in particular. And the idea, which has been around for four decades in the US, is also a simple one; people can benefit from reductions in their shopping bill if they give some of their time to work in the co-operative’s shop.
At The People’s Supermarket, a not-for-profit venture, members are asked to work four hours a month and in return can expect savings of at least ten per cent on their shopping, compared to non members.
Arthur admits that transferring a successful model from the United States does not guarantee success: “Americans tend to be much more group-based. They’re very much into solidarity — ‘We’re the United States!’
“It remains to be seen whether the British are prepared to come together in the same way, but I think members of communities are starting to look to each other for strength and support and sharing skills.”
And Arthur believes that the current economic climate works in favour of his new venture: “It’s giving people the opportunity to take control of their own situation by giving their own time to save money, so it’s a very good way to take control of how we buy food.”
And this is Arthur’s main motivation and something he clearly feels passionate about: “Supermarkets control how we buy food and what we eat and they make an absolute fortune from us. I want this to be a real wake up call for people to see what supermarkets are doing to them and to show that there is an alternative model.
“Supermarkets are making massive demands for profit to satisfy their shareholders and that’s very destructive for the world economy. They are flying cheap products across the world while British producers struggle to get their products into British shops. I speak to a lot of local producers and they are having a really tough time in all sorts of ways. I hope The People’s Supermarket will act as a conduit between producers and consumers.”
Have a look:
The concept comes from the United States and from New York’s Park Slope Food Co-op in particular. And the idea, which has been around for four decades in the US, is also a simple one; people can benefit from reductions in their shopping bill if they give some of their time to work in the co-operative’s shop.
At The People’s Supermarket, a not-for-profit venture, members are asked to work four hours a month and in return can expect savings of at least ten per cent on their shopping, compared to non members.
Arthur admits that transferring a successful model from the United States does not guarantee success: “Americans tend to be much more group-based. They’re very much into solidarity — ‘We’re the United States!’
“It remains to be seen whether the British are prepared to come together in the same way, but I think members of communities are starting to look to each other for strength and support and sharing skills.”
And Arthur believes that the current economic climate works in favour of his new venture: “It’s giving people the opportunity to take control of their own situation by giving their own time to save money, so it’s a very good way to take control of how we buy food.”
And this is Arthur’s main motivation and something he clearly feels passionate about: “Supermarkets control how we buy food and what we eat and they make an absolute fortune from us. I want this to be a real wake up call for people to see what supermarkets are doing to them and to show that there is an alternative model.
“Supermarkets are making massive demands for profit to satisfy their shareholders and that’s very destructive for the world economy. They are flying cheap products across the world while British producers struggle to get their products into British shops. I speak to a lot of local producers and they are having a really tough time in all sorts of ways. I hope The People’s Supermarket will act as a conduit between producers and consumers.”
[Bristol] Tilly
Original article on IMC Bristol:
http://bristol.indymedia.org/article/692547
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