East End Food Co-Op

Cooperatives as we know them today got their start in Rochdale, England in the 1840's. A group of striking flannel weavers got together and formed their own store to buy food at sensible prices. What made this cooperative different from previous ones was that the Rochdale Pioneers developed basic rules and principles by which to run their co-op. Modern co-ops still look to these principles as a framework for their businesses. Today there are many kinds of cooperatives: agricultural, utility, insurance, and consumer - like the East End Food Co-op.