CamdenCoop

06/16/2025

Did you know that in 1752 in Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin began the Philadelphia Contributionship, which is recognized as the first mutually owned and operated business in the United States? The Contributionship was a mutual fire insurance company that offered protections to Philadelphia buildings that joined, which would be evidenced by the “fire mark" that was placed on buildings. Fire marks, or metal plaques sporting the insurance company's logos and affixed to the buildings, were used by many other insurance companies throughout the country.

The Philadelphia Contributionship was incorporated in 1768. The Philadelphia Contributionship Mutual Holding Company still exists today as a much larger umbrella organization with many insurance subsidiaries.

06/09/2025

Did you know that food cooperatives have long provided a safe space for the q***r community? Today, food continues to be a way for the q***r community to connect and strengthen culture while q***r-centered and led food cooperatives, such as , are both a safe space and a path to food justice, providing fresh vegetables to communities historically barred from accessing them.

Today's suggested reading is What Is Q***r Food?: How We Served a Revolution by John Birdsall.

06/02/2025

Did you know that civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer founded the Freedom Farm Cooperative in Sunflower County, Mississippi in 1967? The farm, which grew vegetables and raised pigs, supported over 30,000 Black families. A cooperative model, member-owners paid $1 a month; however, they were in no means turned away if they couldn’t pay. As we envision with the Camden Co-op, the Freedom Farm Cooperative also offered other forms of support to community members such as education and employment assistance.

Hamer once said, "“Down where we are, food is used as a political weapon. But if you have a pig in your backyard, if you have some vegetables in your garden, you can feed yourself and your family, and nobody can push you around."

05/26/2025

Did you know that many Black-owned grocery cooperatives formed in Harlem, New York during the first half of the 20th Century? For example, the Pure Food Co-operative Grocery Store was owned by 350 Harlem families by 1934. WEB Du Bois believed cooperatives could be a pathway to economic liberation for Black families.

05/19/2025

Did you know that in the late nineteenth century, independent grocers formed cooperatives in order to purchase wholesale items and stay in business against new chain supermarkets? Two of these cooperatives in Philadelphia were the Retail Grocers’ Association (Girard Grocery Company) and the Unity-Frankford Association (Frankford Grocery Company). Between the two of these organizations, there were over 2,000 members by 1920.

05/12/2025

In 1992, after the uprising in South Central Los Angeles, students at Crenshaw High School formed a cooperative that became a company. The cooperative grew garden produce that was distributed to the community and sold at farmers markets and produced salad dressings under the name “Food from the ‘Hood.” The cooperative gained 501(c) status and received a $50,000 grant which helped to support their salad dressing business; Food from the 'Hood dressing was sold in over 2,000 West Coast stores at one time.

All funds raised through the sale of dressing and produce supported scholarships for student-owners. Food from the 'Hood is no longer in business today.

For a short documentary on Food from the 'Hood, visit our Linktree or click here: www.youtu.be/s19YzdWUi5c?si=SwPeUhStYCDyMNrg.

How can this student-owned cooperative and business inspire our work at the Camden Co-op?

Food From the Hood was a student-run business created by students at Crenshaw High School in the wake of the L.A. Uprising. The students grew and sold vegeta...

05/09/2025

For today's Camden Community spotlight, we would like to highlight the Camden Dream Center.

Founded in 2010, the Camden Dream Center now serves over 1,000 residents of all ages in Camden, New Jersey by hosting programs in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math), literacy, and IT education. Their programs include the Camden Dream CDF Freedom School, the INNOVATIVE LITERACY (Lit) LAB, Saturday Coding Program for GIRLS, and a STEM Enrichment Program.

In addition to these programs for students K-12, the Camden Dream Center is a U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL)-approved Registered Apprenticeship Sponsor. Those who enroll in the apprenticeship program are provided job training to prepare for careers in IT and tech!

Thank you, Camden Dream Center!

Visit www.camdendreamcenter.org for more information and upcoming programs.

05/07/2025

For our next "Co-op Shoutout," we would like to highlight Philly Food Co-op! The South Philly Co-op was incorporated in 2011. Their physical store location at 2031 S. Juniper St. opened in December 2020. They currently have over 1,400 member-owners!

We love that this co-op supports local community organizations through fundraising, such as the South Philly Community Fridge, and hosts local organizations in the cooperative for meetings and meet-and-greet events. We also love that this co-op hosts monthly yoga in the park classes free to the community, which is a great way for folks to show up and meet their neighbors!

What events do you hope to see at the Camden Co-op?

For more information, visit their website at www.southphillyfood.coop

05/05/2025

The Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society, which formed a food cooperative in Rochdale, England in 1844, is cited as the first modern cooperative. Though not the first organization or group of people to group resources for survival and so that their community could thrive, this organization established the seven cooperative principles that are still cited today: self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity.

The members of the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society were mill workers who, following an unsuccessful strike against their company a year prior, looked for a way to empower themselves, other workers, and their families. The cooperative began as a way to receive goods and food from stores other than the Company store, which had limited options. The cooperative offered an alternative in challenging circumstances: because many workers' wages were paid with Company credit that could only be used at Company stores, workers had limited options and economic mobility.

What was surprising about this history? What did you find interesting?

04/29/2025

The Camden Co-op would like to thank all the volunteers who came out last Tuesday to celebrate Earth Day with a "Spring Refresh!" Please check out the attached photos to see our team hard at work on a community garden on White Street in Camden.

04/28/2025

The Federation of Southern Cooperatives (FSC), founded in 1967, continues to organize Black farmers in the Southern United States. Did you know that Black women from southern sharecropping families formed the Freedom Quilting Bee - a cooperative for creating and selling quilts - in 1967? This organization was one of the founding members of the FSC.

One of the FSC's primary missions is to encourage land retention of Black-owned farms throughout the south. According to the FSC, "Black farmland ownership peaked in 1910 at 16 to 19 million acres and has decreased to less than 3 million acres today." The FSC seeks to remedy this systemic issue of the loss of Black land ownership through educational outreach on land inheritance rights and advocacy.

Today's recommended reading is Freedom Farmers: Agricultural Resistance and the Black Freedom Movement (2018) by Dr. Monica M. White.

04/25/2025

For today's Camden Community spotlight and in honor of Earth Day this week, we would like to highlight !

The Center for Environmental Transformation's mission is to empower the Camden community through education, collaboration, and advocacy to ensure a thriving future with clean air, clean water, and healthy food. Like our work at the Camden Cooperative, CFET leads youth-led initiatives and centers youth perspectives by running a summer program that employs Camden teenagers. During this program, the teenagers operate a weekly farm stand and manage a local community garden.

The organization also leads day trips for groups of up to 25 people that focus on specific environmental issues and projects and include a wide range of activities such as service opportunities or lectures.

Additionally, CFET is currently "developing a community-based, evidence-backed Coastal Resiliency Master Plan for Camden to reduce the impacts of flooding on our neighborhoods and communities." They are working with experts from within and outside of the community and talking with Camden residents who have been impacted by flooding. Visit www.resilience.cfet.org for more information about this initiative and upcoming events.