Business

Mandela Grocery Cooperative Celebrates a Decade of Thriving

Published

6 years ago

June 14, 2019

(L to R) Adrionna Fike, Briana Sidney, Andrea Talley James Bell and Ryan Daniels celebrate Mandela Grocery Cooperative’s 10th birthday on June 7, 2019. They work in and own the cooperative. Photo by Zack Haber.

Mandela Grocery Cooperative (MGC) in West Oakland celebrated its 10th year in business on June 7 with a street party.

Farmers and suppliers who collaborate with the co-op set up booths to showcase their products, and hundreds of community members showed up to celebrate and show support.

“The fact that MGC is a co-op and works on a small scale allows it to more easily develop personal relationships with clients, showcase more local producers, and I’m more able to meet their volume demands,” said Jamil Burns, a Black, small-scale urban farmer, speaking at the celebration while he sold his lettuce, onions and other produce. He recently started selling some of his crops to MGC.

It’s often difficult or impossible for small farmers to sell to large grocery stores that demand a much larger volume of product than MGC does, accoridng to locals.

MGC gives a market to producers like Burns while their commitment to direct relationships allows them to cut out middlemen such as distributors, which both provides farmers with more money and helps to keep prices down.

MGC is different than most grocery stores, Black owned and operated . Its cooperative structure means that there are no bosses. Of the 11 employees, eight of them are owners.

Once the three non-owner employees have completed 1,000 hours of work or a year of employment, they’ll also have the opportunity to become owners.

“Every product you see in our store,” said owner/worker Adrianna Fike, “is here because somebody who works here really wanted it here.”

MGC owner/workers meet weekly to discuss new products and new ideas for the store. They make their decisions by consensus and require that all eight members come to a general agreement before accepting a new product, employee or plan.

Usually when something new is proposed, the group agrees. But discussion and clarifying questions come first, which MGC encourages.

“We applaud and appreciate when workers and owner/workers ask questions,” said Fike, who felt in previous jobs that she often had to bite her tongue when she had an idea or a question.

One reason MGC owners and owner/workers work well together, they say, is that they have similar values, and the mission of the store is clear.

“The goals we have are to continuously provide clean healthy food at affordable prices for underserved communities and to educate people on the importance of eating healthy, especially in urban neighborhoods where people often have ailments due to nutrition deficiencies,” said worker/owner James Bell.

It’s important to MGC’s owners that workers have as much knowledge of products as possible, so owners encourage new employees to read the list of ingredients in products and to try them out.

While MGC has fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy, eggs, grains and enough products to provide customers with all their grocery shopping needs, the store is small enough for the employees to have a deep knowledge of every product.

Curious customers can learn a lot about food and health by talking to MGC’s workers. MGC plans to open up its kitchen soon to do live demonstrations.

Since many of MGC’s customers are struggling economically, worker/owners do what they can to keep prices low while still providing themselves with a living wage and benefits like health care.

They make their intentions clear with vendors and are sometimes able to buy products cheaper than other stores can, which allows them to charge customers less. They provide a 50 percent discount on California produce for people who use food stamps.

While working in a retail job can feel competitive and stressful, MGC’s employees claim that’s not how they feel at work.

“We’re not competing with one another,” said Fike, “The goal is not to stay up all night trying to make everything happen. Sometimes it’s hard, but most of the time working here is fun.”

Zack Haber

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Oakland Post: Week of December 18 – 24, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of December 18 – 24, 2024

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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BWOPA Honors Black Leadership and Legacy at 2024 Ella Hill Hutch Awards Dinner

On Dec. 5, BWOPA held its Annual Ella Hill Hutch Awards Ceremony, at the Fairmont Claremont Hotel in the Oakland/Berkeley Hills. At the event, the group comprised of Black women from various professional backgrounds, honored distinguished local and state leaders whose contributions have shaped civic engagement and advanced critical social issues impacting Black communities.

Published

4 days ago

December 18, 2024

Oakland Post

L-R: BWOPA State Executive Director LaNiece Jones; State Asm. Mia Bonta; BWOPA 2024 Man of The Year/Urban League SFBA CEO Ken Maxey; BWOPA State President Hon. Dezie Woods-Jones; State Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas; Rowena Brown, Oakland Councilmember At-Large, Elect; BWOPA State Regional Director Vashone Huff. Courtesy photo.

By Oakland Post Staff

Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) is a statewide non-profit advocacy and membership organization committed to solving problems affecting Black Californians.

On Dec. 5, BWOPA held its Annual Ella Hill Hutch Awards Ceremony, at the Fairmont Claremont Hotel in the Oakland/Berkeley Hills.

At the event, the group comprised of Black women from various professional backgrounds, honored distinguished local and state leaders whose contributions have shaped civic engagement and advanced critical social issues impacting Black communities.

The evening was hosted by Dr. Shawna Charles, founder of The Charles Communications Group (CCG) headquartered in Los Angeles. Charles served as mistress of ceremonies.

With a track record of elevating voices and empowering communities, Charles’ leadership and insight brought a certain dynamism to the celebration.

“Each year, this event not only celebrates the enduring legacy of our beloved BWOPA founding member, Ella Hill Hutch, but also reaffirms and amplifies our unwavering commitment to building and sustaining Black political power across California,” said Dezie Woods-Jones, BWOPA founding member and State president.

“Ella Hill Hutch’s trailblazing leadership continues to inspire us as we forge ahead, empowering Black women to lead, advocate, and shape a more equitable future for all,” added Woods-Jones.

This year’s event introduced the DWJ Rising Star Award, honoring young leaders like Solano County Board Supervisors-elect Cassandra James, Danielle Motley-Lewis, Naomi Waters and newly elected State Assemblymember elect Rhodesia Ransom (D-Stockton).

According to organizers, the awardees all exemplify “the next generation of changemakers.”

Other awardees included:

Lifetime Achievement Awardees: Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA-12) and Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson
Man of the Year: Kenneth Maxey, CEO of the Greater SF Bay Area Urban League
President’s Corporate Award: Yvette Radford, Kaiser Permanente
In the Spirit of Ella State and Chapter Awards: Dr. Carolyn Greene, Dr. Marcella K. Smith, Dr. Carolyn Drake, Tinisch Hollins, Jackie Jones, Gloria Burgess Johnson, Tamika L’Ecluse, Ellen Nash, Betty Reid Soskin, and Ay’Anna Moody.

BWOPA also celebrated local champions across its chapters, including leaders in voter education, healthcare, criminal justice reform, and community advocacy.

In a statement, BWOPA said, “Honoring Ella Hill Hutch’s legacy, BWOPA recognizes her pioneering efforts as the first Black woman elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Her tireless work amplifying underrepresented voices continues to inspire BWOPA’s mission to build Black political power across California.”

“We extend our heartfelt thanks to our members, partners and allies who believe in BWOPA’s vision to invest in building power for Black women’s leadership,” said LaNiece Jones, BWOPA State executive director. “Your support ensures that Black women have a voice at decision-making tables locally, regionally, statewide, and nationally, advancing diversity and equity in leadership spaces.”

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Council of Islamic Relations Applauds Alameda County Decision to Divest $32M from Caterpillar

The divestment from Caterpillar, a company criticized for its human rights abuses globally—including the destruction of Palestinian homes, infrastructure, and agriculture, as well as in the U.S. prison-industrial complex, border militarization, and immigration detention centers—is a significant step in ensuring that Alameda County’s financial resources do not perpetuate harm.

Published

1 week ago

December 14, 2024

Oakland Post

CAIR-SFBA Policy Coordinator Musa Tariq. Courtesy photo.

Special to The Post

The San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, this week welcomed the Alameda County Board of Supervisors’ decision to divest $32 million in public funds from Caterpillar and unanimously commit to adopting an ethical investment policy.

The Board’s decision follows months of advocacy by Bay Area Divest!, a coalition of community organizations calling for accountability in public investments.

In November, CAIR welcomed the reported freeze on the delivery of bulldozers to Israel as an “implicit admission” by the Biden Administration that the far-right Netanyahu government is using that equipment in the ethnic cleansing of Gaza.

CAIR-SFBA Policy Coordinator Musa Tariq said:

“This is a historic moment for Alameda County, demonstrating the power of community advocacy and the County’s leadership in ethical governance. The decision to divest from Caterpillar sends a clear message that public funds should not support corporations complicit in human rights violations.”

In addition to divesting from Caterpillar, the Board voted to move forward with developing a comprehensive Ethical Investment Policy, recommended by District 5 Supervisor Keith Carson.

This policy will include criteria to exclude “investments in industries, corporations, or governments that perpetuate harm to communities and the planet,” such as fossil fuel extraction, weapons production, and entities involved in war crimes, apartheid, and other severe human rights violations.

Alameda County has a proud legacy of socially responsible investment. In 1985, the County divested from South Africa to protest apartheid, and in 1996, it barred investments in companies doing business with Burma due to human rights abuses.

“This forward-thinking policy positions Alameda County as a leader in socially responsible investing,” added Tariq. “By committing to craft the policy within 90 days and implement it within six months, the County has set an ambitious and commendable timeline.”

CAIR-SFBA is an office of CAIR, America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.