Our Story & Work...

the Local Cooperative is short-hand for two food-related cooperatives (co-ops) which were incorporated as cooperative businesses in 2018 & are located in Selma, AL: the Local Farm Cooperative & the Local Restaurant Cooperative. They are organized using fundamentals of cooperative economics, namely shared/democratic ownership & democratic control, & are committed to fighting the general & the racial wealth gaps.

The co-ops are in development & will grow & shift as our pilot phases continue to unfold (learn about our people & the Local Farm Board here). Our origin story dates back some years & has evolved along the way as a labor of love & commitment, but includes initial incubation support from the Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth & Reconciliation & gifts of time, treasure & talent by plenty of others. This is our rough working model as of now:

Interested in helping us build this work & the local economy, or just want to learn more? Contact us at info@thelocal.coop or 334-526-0615--we are looking for:

• Volunteers for both co-ops

• Additional owners of the co-ops (worker-owners, community-owners, & chef-owners)

• And anyone interested in food, culture, farming, & everything in between...

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Our Community...

Restaurant Co-op

Farm Co-op

Our Future?

Our future is evolving from month to month, "we make the road by walking" as the late Brazilian educator Paulo Freire put it--want to be part of figuring out & doing this work? Contact us at info@thelocal.coop or 334-526-0615, we'd love to hear from any & everyone. See our above list here to learn some of the type of volunteers, co-op owners, & others we're looking for to join us in this work...

As shown above, these are some of the types of work we currently are experimenting with, or are considering experimenting with, in the two co-ops: