Welcome to the website of the Oklahoma Food Cooperative.

We only sell food and non-food products that are made in Oklahoma.

We do this via an order delivery system based on this website and a network of members and volunteers across the state.

Each month, our producer members post at our website what they have available.  The monthly order opens on the 1st day of each month at 8 AM, and closes on the 2nd Thursday of each month at midnight.  On the third Thursday of each month, the farmers come to Oklahoma City and the coop's volunteer crew sort everything into customer orders, which then later in the day go out to our 32 pickup sites across the state.

We generally have 2600+ different items available each month.

As of June 2008, the coop has  nearly 2000 members, 125 of them are producers (although not all producers have items to sell every month).  We are doing $61,000 - $65,000 each month in sales. 

It costs $51.75 to join the coop.  That buys you one share.  It isn't an annual fee like a warehouse store, you only pay this when you join.  From the beginning, we have been completely self-financed by the sale of membership shares.  The coop also charges producers 10% for selling through the coop, and customers pay 10% for buying through the coop.  We use this money to pay for our operating expenses (like mileage, dry ice, postage) and use the share revenue to pay for capital expenditures (like software development, ice chests, etc.)  To join the coop, fill out the form on this page http://www.oklahomafood.coop/member-form.php and send a check for your membership, or pay via www.paypal.com with a credit card or e-check from your bank account. 

Your membership is not complete until we receive payment for your membership share of $51.75.  We are an all-volunteer organization without paid staff, and membership activations are thus done by volunteers.  Therefore, please allow 8 days for activation if you mail a check, and 2 days for activation if you pay via PayPal. 

If you are low income, you can apply for a membership paid for by a fund donated by members.  To apply for a low income membeship, send an email to prez@oklahomafood.coop .

At the Oklahoma Food Cooperative, we do not sell any mystery food.  You know exactly who produced the food, where it was grown or raised, and what production practices the farmer or rancher uses. You don't just order five pounds of generic hamburger, you order it from a specific producer.  Our food has a story, and you -- as a customer of locally raised foods -- are part of that story.  You are a co-producer with our farmers and ranchers.  We as a cooperative are re-creating a local food system here in Oklahoma.  We are discovering the unique and authentic reginoal tastes of this area.  We are rejecting the idea of food as a commodity, as mere fuel, and are rediscovering the importance of local food production to healthy local communities.

Five years ago, this was just a crazy idea floating around in cyberspace. We sold as much local food in 2007 as we sold in our first three years of history combined.  In 2008, our sales may approach $1 million.

By definition, a cooperative is owned by its members, and we hope each of you develops a strong sense of ownership in what we are doing. We have worked hard to develop a system which we think is workable, and which can be scaled up as membership and monthly orders increase. 

This is a wonderful adventure that we have called together here. We have brought together producers and customers into the same organization. Among our producer and customer members we find a diversity of lifestyles, beliefs, cultures and religions. Even so, we find common ground based on our mutual need for a marketplace where we can find good, healthy, nutritious local foods. We are focused on meeting local needs with local resources. We will discover new ways to participate in neighborhood and community.

A journey of one thousand miles begins with one step. Who knows where this adventure will lead us, but we will certainly get there, one step at a time. The day may yet come when a small neighborhood Oklahoma Food Cooperative store is within bicycle-riding distance of most households in the state.

Thank you again for your participation. Y'all bon apetit, you hear?

Cooperatively yours,

Robert Waldrop, president and general manager, Oklahoma Food Cooperative

TERMS OF SERVICE