Rainbow Grocery Cooperative
Encyclopedia
Rainbow Grocery Cooperative is a worker owned and run
food cooperative
located in San Francisco, California
. Founded in 1975, Rainbow Grocery is a member of NoBAWC and the United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives
.
Rainbow offers recycling of batteries, old appliances, and recycled biofuel.
in the early 1970s. The coordinator of the ashram's food buying club, Rich Israel, convinced the ashram to start a community food store as part of the People's Food System, a project of the People's Common Operating Warehouse of San Francisco. Rainbow Grocery opened its doors in the summer of 1975. The first store was located on 16th Street by Valencia. Initially, Rainbow operated solely with volunteer labor. As the store started turning a profit, it was able to hire a paid staff. Ownership of the cooperative was transferred to a non-profit organization in 1976. Rainbow opened a general store in 1978 on the same block as the grocery store. A Board of Directors was elected in 1982.
In 1983, Rainbow Grocery relocated to 15th and Mission, financed by $250,000 in loans. In 1993, the organization changed their legal form to a cooperative corporation. Rainbow Grocery secured a a $1 million bank loan from First National for its move to Folsom Street in 1996.
Worker cooperative
A worker cooperative is a cooperative owned and democratically managed by its worker-owners. This control may be exercised in a number of ways. A cooperative enterprise may mean a firm where every worker-owner participates in decision making in a democratic fashion, or it may refer to one in which...
food cooperative
Food co-op
A food cooperative or food co-op is a grocery store organized as a cooperative. Food cooperatives are usually consumers' cooperatives and are owned by their members. Food cooperatives follow the 7 Cooperative Principles and typically offer natural foods...
located in San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Founded in 1975, Rainbow Grocery is a member of NoBAWC and the United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives
United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives
The United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives is a federation of worker cooperatives in the United States. USFWC was founded at the U.S. Conference of Democratic Workplaces in Minneapolis, Minnesota in May 2004.....
.
Rainbow offers recycling of batteries, old appliances, and recycled biofuel.
History
Rainbow Grocery was founded by a San Francisco ashramAshram
Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....
in the early 1970s. The coordinator of the ashram's food buying club, Rich Israel, convinced the ashram to start a community food store as part of the People's Food System, a project of the People's Common Operating Warehouse of San Francisco. Rainbow Grocery opened its doors in the summer of 1975. The first store was located on 16th Street by Valencia. Initially, Rainbow operated solely with volunteer labor. As the store started turning a profit, it was able to hire a paid staff. Ownership of the cooperative was transferred to a non-profit organization in 1976. Rainbow opened a general store in 1978 on the same block as the grocery store. A Board of Directors was elected in 1982.
In 1983, Rainbow Grocery relocated to 15th and Mission, financed by $250,000 in loans. In 1993, the organization changed their legal form to a cooperative corporation. Rainbow Grocery secured a a $1 million bank loan from First National for its move to Folsom Street in 1996.