Cooperatives Stand on Values and Principles

Cooperative PrinciplesDonations
Written By Halle Riddlebarger

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.
― Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

When confronted with injustice, this teaching from Dr. King inspires us to act.

We want to acknowledge the feelings of fear, uncertainty, and overwhelm that many people are experiencing right now. We also want to underscore that those feelings are not new for everyone – BIPOC communities have and continue to experience systemic violence and injustices. We also want to state unequivocally that food is political. From policy and legislation, to labor and immigration, to economics and history. Every bite on your plate is loaded with history and politics.

Our cooperative is collectively owned by thousands of diverse owners across Southern Oregon. Medford Food Co-op is also a part of a nationwide collective of independent community-owned food cooperatives. From our local cooperative community, to our friends and cooperators across the nation, we are grateful to be a part of a “network of mutuality.” We accept our responsibility to stand up for justice everywhere and to stand in solidarity with our neighbors and community members near and far. From Portland to Minnesota to Maine and everywhere in between, it’s difficult to comprehend the sheer number of families and communities that have been disrupted by violence, fear, and confusion.

Cooperatives stand on values and principles. Medford Food Co-op’s mission is to cultivate a thriving local food economy, and a vibrant, inclusive community. As a cooperative, we embrace the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity. In the tradition of co-ops worldwide, our owners believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility, and caring for others. The Eight Cooperative Principles are guidelines by which we put our values into practice.

The 7th Principle: Concern for Community guides us to action to support our local immigrant community. We are donating $250 to the Center for NonProfit Legal Services, whose Immigration Law Project helps immigrants and farmworkers with work authorization deal with residency, citizenship, and other related legal issues while allowing families to be safe, remain together and work legally in this country. MFC will also strengthen our support for NOWIA Unete, Center for Farm Worker Advocacy, a movement of farm workers and immigrants that strives to empower and enrich the lives of both groups through education, cultural presentations, advocacy, representation in issues that affect their lives and organizing to defend immigrant rights. In addition to our annual Latino/a/x Heritage Month fundraiser, we’re donating $250.

The 6th Principle: Cooperation Among Cooperatives expands our definition of community as well as our concern. To support our broader community in Portland, we’re donating $250 to the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition (PIRC), who is fighting for immigrant justice in Oregon with rapid response, advocacy, and organizing. To support our friends and fellow cooperators in Minnesota, we’re donating $250 to Twin Cities Food Justice who work to reduce food waste and hunger in the Twin Cities by being a link between those willing to help and those in need.

The 5th Principle: Education, Training, and Information guides us to educate ourselves and our communities. We’re grateful to Coalición Fortaleza, who will be leading MFC managers through a 4th Amendment training in February. And we’re donating $250 to support Coalición Fortaleza, a culturally-empowered women of color-led community based organization. They are grounded in fierce love for Latinx and Indigenous communities of the Rogue Valley and they are re-imagining new solutions for people, Madre Tierra and future generations.

The 8th Principle: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion reflects our belief that we are stronger when a proactive effort is put forth to engage everyone in governance, management, and representation. Here at our co-op, in our communities near and far, and as a nation. This principle guides us daily as we build and nurture relationships and work to build a vibrant, inclusive community.

Here’s how you can take action to support your friends and neighbors:

Engage

  • Support your neighbors. Get to know them (if you don’t already), offer to lend a hand to those in need (ex: deliver groceries, help with yard or maintenance).

  • Volunteer. Contact organizations serving vulnerable folks in our community, and ask if they need volunteers. Show up in whatever capacity you can.

  • Be kind to others. You might not know what your neighbor is going through. Everyone deserves respect, and we all need a little grace sometimes.

Donate

Advocate

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
― Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Halle Riddlebarger
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