The 4th Street Food Co-op is a member-run cooperative grocer in the East Village providing organic, bulk, fair-trade, local, seasonal, vegan/vegetarian, high-quality and low-waste food and household products.
We are open to the public (anyone can shop!) and offer discounts to SNAP recipients, seniors, students and members.
Follow us on Instagram: @4thstreetfoodcoop
What’s a Cooperative?
“A co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.”– International Co-operative Alliance
History
In 1995, we replaced the Good Food Coop, which began in 1973 as a buying club and became a storefront food cooperative. We evolved into a mostly-organic health food store, the Good Harvest Cooperative, doing business as “4th Street Food Co-op”. We are presently run by approximately 60 volunteer working members, who work a weekly shift in exchange for a discount. We are also supported by our non-working members, and a core structure of 8 working groups responsible for the operation of the coop.
Our Core Values
Food for people, not for profit
Our commitment to a member-run cooperative model, with strong ethical principles, supporting local and/or independently owned producers and suppliers and offering products with high environmental and social standards, differentiates us from commercial grocery stores mostly concerned with the cost, turnover, and profit margin of goods. By being a member or shopping at the coop, you support people who contribute to a more equitable and sustainable system of production and trade, which benefits the planet, people and their communities.
Sustainability
All of our products are organic, vegetarian or vegan, and we stock fair trade products when possible. We sell mostly seasonal fruit and vegetables, local when available (for example through Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative), and a large variety of bulk foods (grains, dried fruit, nuts, snacks, etc.). We pay attention to the origin of our products and carefully choose our suppliers, in order to support sustainable producers and distributors. All of the household products we sell follow social and environmental standards (Sustainable Forest certified, etc.), and we offer a wide range of reusable or package-free options.
Community-Oriented
Co-op members and supporters share common values and wish to make it possible for the community to purchase high-quality organic, locally grown, vegetarian or vegan, fair trade, bulk or low-waste products at a reasonable price. The co-op is our co-op.
We work with other community groups that share similar values and support local fundraisers and charitable organizations. We regularly donate extra products to the Loisaida Community Fridge (on 9th St. and Ave. B).
We want to make New York City – and the world – a better place and we offer an organizational model and products that reflect this goal.
Our suppliers and partners
Food
We support local growers when possible, such as Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative and Hudson Harvest. We buy many of our products from NY-based independent producers and manufacturers, such as Sfloglini Pasta and Brooklyn-based Fine and Raw chocolates. We also support producers from neighboring states, for example Champlain Valley Apiaries providing our bulk honey or Ithaca Soy for our bulk tofu. We offer specialty products like bulk seaweed and natto.
We choose suppliers with high environmental and social standards, such as Four Seasons Produce, Tierra Farm, International Harvest, Ace Natural, Baldor, Regional Access, Frontier Co-op, etc. Or most “exotic” products (chocolate, coffee, bananas, pineapples, etc.) are all fair trade certified, like our Equal Exchange chocolates.
We are committed to only offering vegetarian products, and a large selection of vegan alternatives, including Miyoko’s Creamery butters and cheeses, Cocojune yogurts, and Nuts for Cheese fermented cashew-based cheeses, in addition to various plant-based milks. Most of our snacks (Lesser Evil popcorn, Hippeas puffs, etc.) are vegan and sustainably-produced.
Household Items
We select high-quality hygiene and cleaning products made of natural ingredients, from independent suppliers and/or with reduced packaging, such as Vermont Soap‘s bulk castile soaps and Pure Soap Flakes’ laundry powder and bulk dishwasher tabs. We offer a wide variety of reusable alternatives, from Life Without Plastic containers to GladRags organic menstrual pads. Our toilet paper is made from sustainable materials and supplied by Who Gives A Crap, which donates 50% of its profits to clean water and sanitation non-profits.
Service providers and partners
We are committed to supporting service providers and partners that share our values and contribute to an alternative, more sustainable and more equitable, less profit-oriented system of production and distribution:
- Our bank is the Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union, a non-profit financial cooperative
- Our wifi provider is Wifi NY
- Our email system is run by May First
- Our compost is collected by Common Ground, in reusable buckets and a bike collection system
Press
The 4th Street Food Co-op made The Village Voice best of 2016 list!
New York Magazine and the Villager mentioned us.
