Inside the Mariposa Food Co-op
by Katie Brinton, Winter/Spring 2007
Where can an individual simultaneously become the consumer, laborer, owner, and supplier of a business? Where can multiple individuals of the same ilk share these often divisive monikers? At West Philly’s own Mariposa Food Co-op, member owned and operated since 1971, but Mariposa diverges from your crank of the grist mill co-op; all its members are obligated to work shifts necessary in any smoothly functioning business. No exceptions.
Perhaps the ignorant member imagines themselves harrumphing around with a mop and a frown just for the privilege of buying cheaper organic peanut butter, but the policy’s function isn’t solely for reducing prices. Some members, in past years have considered instituting a two-tiered membership, those who work and those who don’t, however, concerns arose that a split membership would be divisive and manifest caste systems found in society. Thus, it remains one of a slight three co-ops in the entire US with a mandatory work shift policy.
As a beacon of social egalitarianism at a moment when the middle class margin is thinning, Mariposa is a model of how communities can positively adapt under the strain of a global market when the willing work collectively.
On its shelves, a reflection of members’ diets, one will find a cornucopia of local and organic produce, locally produced tofu, Lancaster county eggs, unpasteurized milk produced within the same area-code, or baked vegan goodies from members themselves. “Local farms tend to be smaller, family owned, and easier to know where your food comes from and to feel connected to it or it’s in an anonymous supermarket,” explained co-op member, Liza Badger.
Localizing the food source, notes Badger, also cuts back on environmental costs by reducing fuels burned during transit time and, subsequently, cutting the need for preservatives. For Badger, there’s a simpler way to demonstrate the value of working locally, “if we are an organization that focuses on the community, then what better way to strengthen it than to work within it?”
