Maryland Food Collective
Maryland Food Collective, popularly known as The Co-op, was a worker-owned collective at the University of Maryland. The organization was founded in 1975 under a cooperative business structure with the goal of providing nutritious food. It operated under the motto, "Food for people, not for profit".
The student business was recognized as historically significant by the Smithsonian, with two of its posters currently being showcased in the National Museum of American History's Voting With Your Fork exhibit about alternative food systems, such as co-ops, that Americans have used as political tools to promote social, economic, environmental, and food justice.
History
In the early 1970s, the University of Maryland failed in its attempts to create a food co-op, a book co-op, and a music co-op. However, a group of students did not give up. They began a "guerrilla sandwich line" campaign in which they sold sandwiches made at home at events, gatherings, and out of baskets around the campus. They were met with resistance from the local police but received overwhelming support from the student body. In August 1975, Matt Mayer, a student at the University of Maryland, College Park, submitted a proposal to the for the formation of the Maryland Food Collective. The "sandwich line" remains to this day a staple of the food options offered to customers.Although started as a movement against the university's administration, the food collective was featured on tours of the university and there exists a running archive of ledgers, advertisements and other documents from the collective in Hornbake Library.
In May 2019, the food collective closed after attempting to negotiate with the Adele H. Stamp Student Union to pay off debts amounting to $40,000.
Cooperative business structure
According to a draft of the business plan of the collective:The Co-op's current management and worker organization is based on an equal-pay, equal-responsibility and equal-role system. Every worker is hired into the same position and immediately given the same amount of responsibility and power. Each worker has equal democratic decision-making power and is expected to contribute equally to The Co-op. All workers are theoretically responsible for every aspect of the store.
Sustainable practices
The Maryland Food Collective engaged in environmentally sustainable business practices.The Co-op used biodegradable plates and bowls and provided a 10% discount to customers who brought their own cutlery and containers. Additionally, the collective made use of Stamp's composting dumpster and composted much of their food waste.