Top 5 Reasons Entrepreneurs Should Work at a Food Coop

I live in Park Slope, Brooklyn and I recently became a member of the infamous Park Slope Food Coop. It is one of the largest in the country with 18,000 members and $46,000,000 in annual revenue. It has much lower prices than other supermarkets in the neighborhood and many healthy food options. In return for the lower prices each member must work once per month for just under 3 hours.

Working at the Coop is very interesting and enjoyable in many ways as I get to see behind the scenes of a supermarket. It is something that I have taken for granted and now I am the one who puts the food on the shelves. As an entrepreneur, I have been able to bring back many concepts or ideas that I observed at the Coop to my own business. Below are my top 5 reasons you should become a member of a food cooperative too.

1. Organization – It is impressive to observe the system and processes the Coop has in place at every level- from the organization of the monthly work shifts to the management of the constant food deliveries. Specifically, keeping the shelves stocked all day with an all volunteer staff can only be done because the process is simple and easily trainable. Sometimes in our own companies we take this for granted and things becomes messier than we would like to admit. We think our business is easy and does not need too many processes in place. For some maybe that is true, however the only way to scale to real size is to be organized to the last widget. My recommendation is to pretend you run a food Coop with an all volunteer staff and you need to keep the food on the shelves. How detailed would you break down your business at that point?

2. Mindless Work – There is something about doing the same task over and over again that can be a nice break from your day-to-day. So often as a business owner our thoughts get interrupted on a minute-by-minute basis by all the different tasks we are trying to complete. One of my jobs at the Coop is to crush boxes in the baler. Besides the scary image of how I can loose my fingers if I operate the machine wrong, it is enjoyable to not think about my business for those 3 hours. In this day and age where we are busier than ever the hours at the coop can be a nice break from it all.

3. Feels Like a Job – I believe many of us lose that feeling of what “work” feels like as business owners. Yes running a company is stressful, challenging, and certainly draining at times, but for many it still has the feeling of a school project. Each work day is a race against the clock as we strive to prioritize and focus on what’s important. On the flip side, working at the coop can be a race to speed up the clock, mostly because I often have other things I want to do. By putting yourself in this situation it will keep you in touch with what it feels like to once again have a job and better relate to those on your team.

4. Focus on Food – Whether we focus on it or not the food we eat controls the level of energy we have day in and day out. For most of us it is just a matter of finding the time to buy the right foods. By being a member at a Coop, I believe you are investing in your health. Not only is there a lot of organic options, it is around 30% below mark due to the “free” labor. As a result you are able to buy more food that is healthier for you on a regular basis.

5. Time Moves Fast – While this one is not necessarily specific to a food cooperative, it seems every time I look it is my next shift. When you do the same thing every day you do not realize how fast weeks become months and months become years. With a 3 hour shift once per month, it is a nice marker that another month has past. You can use your Coop shift as a date to set goals for anything in your business or life. Since it is a set date each month, it will be very clear when the next shift comes if you have made forward progress on your goals. Also, it seems to slow down time a bit.

Best of luck. Feel free to reach out to me with any additional questions at [email protected].

by David Schnurman, CEO of Lawline, Entrepreneurs Organization, Contributor

The views expressed in this post are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization, its management, or its other members.

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Park Slope Food Co-op