These days, buying groceries feels a bit like an act of financial harakiri. It doesn’t help – no more than our somewhat messed-up geopolitical situation right now– that we’ve already blown past the 1.5°C global warming limit— affecting harvests and food markets. And ultimately, the prices that we tearfully find at the grocery store. But there is hope: beyond the food industry’s big distribution chains, there are alternatives. Many of them are small-scale: farmers’ markets, community fridges, or backyard veggie stands. Cooperative supermarkets as well. Yet, some are not so ‘alternative’, as they have been around for decades, gathering thousands of members.

A remarkable case is New York’s Park Slope Food Coop (PSFC). Founded in 1973, this Brooklyn supermarket is one of the oldest and largest member-owned and operated food stores in the United States. Joining PSFC is open to all, although you may have to wait some months to do so, due to its popularity. For a 25 USD fee and a 100 USD refundable equity buy-in, you become a member-owner. This means that you finally can buy high-quality (organic and more) food for an affordable price at the co-op – only members can shop there – but you work a 2-hour-and-45-minute shift every six weeks, doing everything from stocking shelves to chopping veggies for a local soup kitchen. Sounds like a hassle? Maybe for some (there was a scandal of well-off members wanting to send their nannies to do their shifts – it was not allowed). But there’s a payoff: PSFC estimates savings of 20–40% on their groceries. The co-op’s 16,000 members do 75% of the labor, which keeps costs and prices low (at least for some of their produce). Of course, it’s not all sunshine and bulk-bin quinoa. With its thousands of members as non-professional staff, the store feels hectic sometimes, and coordinating shifts can be a nightmare. The co-op’s strict policy—miss a shift, and you owe two make-up shifts—has drawn criticism for being tough on single parents, students, and anyone juggling multiple jobs. Still, beyond logistical challenges, PSFC is also about building a real community, with environmental and political action. (There’s also a Fun Committee, though – yay!). For example, the co-op banned plastic bags and bottled water nearly 20 years ago. Following the cooperative principles, PSFC also set up a Fund for New Food Coops to help other communities start their own member-run stores – d’ailleurs, quite necessary given that PSFC’s membership is at capacity. And because it’s democratically run, decisions—from what products to stock to whether to boycott Coca-Cola (which they’ve done since 2004 over labor abuses)—are made at monthly meetings where every member gets a vote.

How many of the big supermarket chains we mentioned at the beginning can take these sorts of decisions in favour of (real) environmental or social sustainability? Cooperative grocery stores like PSFC – and many others, such as La Louve in Paris – are not only about the price (although that certainly is helpful) but about being key players in transforming food systems. Private supermarkets answer to shareholders. Co-ops answer to their members. And that makes a difference—from the price of your bread to the ecological transition of agricultural practices.