Press

By Andrea Jordan and Samantha Byles  April 21, 2013

Some South Philadelphia residents look forward to having their own neighborhood-owned grocery store within the next year.

Alison Fritz, a Passyunk Square resident, is the President of South Philly Food Co-op, a group of local residents preparing to open a locally owned and resourced grocery store for the neighborhood.

BY ALEX VUOCOLO |  APRIL 2, 2013

Two new food cooperatives—the South Philly Food Co-op and the Kensington Community Food Co-op—are at the crucial stage of selecting storefront locations. In both cases, the process may put two critical co-op goals at odds: the business need for grocery store scale and the community desire for a central location.

Moreover, given the unique dynamics of a cooperative—it must secure enough member-investors before even considering a retail location—the search process can be long and complicated.

LEE STABERT | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

For a neighborhood long defined by its relationship to food -- whether though the legendary Italian Market, restaurant-driven East Passyunk Avenue or the generations of immigrants who have opened red sauce joints, pho shops and taquerias -- a food co-op seems like a no-brainer.

September 27, 2012 - Since the founding of the South Philly Food Co-op in 2010, 300+ members have invested time and equity toward the establishment of a member-owned grocery store that will provide nutritious food to all South Philadelphia residents.

The impact of those investments has just been significantly amplified thanks to a major grant from The Reinvestment Fund, a national leader in the financing of neighborhood-revitalization projects. The South Philly Food Co-op has been awarded a $25,000 Food Access Grant a huge vote of confidence in the mission and leadership of the South Philly Food Co-op, an assurance that the large majority of its members™ investments will go directly to opening the store, and a giant boost for what the co-op will be able to accomplish in the immediate future.

September 27 2012 - If you want to see how community food co-ops launch, grow and flourish, Philadelphia is becoming a great case study. 

This month, two up-and-coming community food co-ops each received $25,000 in grant funding from The Reinvestment Fund, a nonprofit that finances community revitalization projects throughout the region. 

Kensington Community Food Co-op and South Philadelphia Food Co-op each received the funding as part of a larger, statewide TRF grant to assist food-based non-profits increase underserved Pennsylvania residents’ access to healthy food, create and preserve jobs, and foster community based food organizations. The competitive process drew more than 50 applications for just 13 awards.