53°20′32″N 6°18′37″W / 53.3423451°N 6.3101959°W / 53.3423451; -6.3101959

Dublin Food Co-operative Society Limited
TypeConsumers' cooperative
Founded1983 (1983)
Headquarters
Dublin
,
Ireland
ProductsOrganic wholefoods, sustainable personal care and household products
Websitedublinfood.coop

Dublin Food Co-operative Society Limited is a consumer co-operative founded in 1983 and based in Kilmainham, Dublin, with a focus on organic and wholefood products.[1] The Dublin Food Co-op is part of the worldwide co-operative movement.

History

Beginnings 1983-1987

The origins of the Co-op lie with a group of activists brought together by the successful campaign against the construction of a nuclear power plant at Carnsore Point in County Wexford. In 1983, a number of those involved met together to form an organisation through which members could 'shop in an ecologically sound way' and 'promote the rational use of the earth's resources'. Thus, a buying club for the collective purchase of wholefoods was established.[1][2] For one Saturday each month, the Co-op used a succession of locations in Temple Bar as a focal point to allow members to collect pre-ordered wholefoods and to socialise. In 1986 some members who were also producers began to provide fresh organic produce for sale directly at the Saturday events.

Pearse Street 1987-2007

In 1987, the Co-op arranged to rent the hall at St. Andrew's Resource Centre on Pearse Street, Dublin 2, every second Saturday and switched from monthly to bi-weekly order collections after that.[2] This location became the Co-op's base for the next two decades. When the Co-op settled into the new venue, the process to formally incorporate as a co-operative under the rules of the Industrial and Provident Society Acts 1893-1978 was initiated, and Dublin Food Co-operative Society Limited thus came into being in February 1991.[3] In 1995, the Co-op switched away from the pre-order-only system, began carrying a range of stock for general purchase and moved to weekly trading.[2]

Concerns about the Pearse Street premises limiting the Co-op's scope for development remained a recurring theme over subsequent years.[2] Other alternatives were explored but it was not until 2007 that relocation occurred, after the Co-op received planning permission and signed a lease on full-time premises at Newmarket, further to the west of the city centre near St. Patrick's Cathedral.[4] Many members and local shoppers wanted to continue shopping at St. Andrew's and one of them started a Saturday dry goods and producers' market at the venue - The Super Natural Food Market. This commenced as a weekly event in August 2007, the month after the Co-op departed.[5]

Newmarket 2007-2018

The former Dublin Food Co-op building at 12 Newmarket, Dublin 8

In July 2007, the Co-op switched operations to a large former warehouse at 12 Newmarket, Dublin 8[6] and added Thursday trading at the new venue from September.[7] It was formally opened in October 2007 by Minister for the Environment John Gormley to coincide with Ireland's National Organic Week.[8]

The Co-op also made its hall available for hire and became home to regular events including the monthly Dublin Flea Market,[9] Fusion Market[10] and Newmarket Brocante, plus the annual Independents Day.[11][12] In April 2013 a new five-year lease for the Newmarket premises was signed.

In the final period at the venue the Co-op moved away from a reliance on market traders for fresh produce and increasingly sourced it directly on behalf of members. Use of the hall was discontinued due to structural issues at a time when the premises were already earmarked for re-development. The 'precarious' situation of the Co-op[13] was resolved with a move to a new location, supported by a crowdfunding campaign.[13]

Kilmainham 2018-

In September 2018, the Dublin Food Co-op announced it had purchased permanent premises in Kilmainham, Dublin 8. Co-op members played a major role in funding the move, raising €60,000 through a 'Help Us Grow' campaign in addition to monies received from Community Finance Ireland.[14] The new store opened on Saturday 10 November 2018. Unlike Newmarket, this location does not incorporate a community space but nearby venues are now used for associated activities.[13]

Activities

The vast majority of food the Co-op sells is organic and particular emphasis is placed on Fair Trade and environmentally-friendly produce. The fit-out of the new shop in Kilmainham has placed an added focus on sustainability and Zero Waste.[13]

Members receive a 5% discount on purchases, which increases to 15% if they also volunteer on a rota system to assist with tasks such as shelf stacking.

The Co-op's membership has seen a significant increase following the move to Kilmainham and numbered 2,870 in April 2019.[13]

Distinctiveness

A 2009 academic study described Dublin Food Co-op as "distinctive on the Irish scene" because of its organisational structure.[1] At that time, it was one of only two Irish wholefood retailers established as co-operatives and the only one to take the form of a consumers' co-operative (the other, the Quay Co-op in Cork, was organised as a workers' co-operative). The study also argued that the Co-op had "a different pricing structure to conventional businesses, only adding the margin needed to cover its operating expenses".[1]

The Urban Co-op in Limerick was subsequently established as an additional consumer food co-operative in Ireland, after commencing as a buying club in 2013. Within Dublin, a buying club and community-supported agriculture project provide other non-profit food alternatives, but Dublin Food Co-op remains the sole retail food co-operative.[13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Murtagh, Aisling and Ward, Prof. Michael Food Democracy in Practice: a case study of the Dublin Food Co-op Journal of Co-operative Studies, Volume 42, Number 1, April 2009, pp. 13-22
  2. 1 2 3 4 Douthwaite, Richard (1996). Short Circuit: Strengthening Local Economics for Security in an Unstable World. Dublin: Lilliput Press. ISBN 978-1-874675-60-0.
  3. ↑ Dublin Food Co-op website Archived 22 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine ref. About Us
  4. ↑ "Dublin Food Co-op Newsletter, February/March 2007" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  5. ↑ Morris, Stephanie. Saturday morning cure at the Natural Foods Market Archived 18 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine NewsFour, October 2007
  6. ↑ Mooney , Sinead. Food Shorts: New home for food co-op The Irish Times., 7 July 2007
  7. ↑ "Dublin Food Co-op Newsletter, October 2007" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 January 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  8. ↑ Kelly, Michael. What's going on The Irish Times, 20 October 2007
  9. ↑ Dublin Flea Market website.
  10. ↑ "New market comes to Newmarket". Irish Times. 5 May 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  11. ↑ Independents Day Blog
  12. ↑ Carroll, Jim. Etc. The Irish Times, 5 December 2008
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 McGuire, Erin. "Dublin Food Co-op Settles into New Home in Kilmainham", Dublin InQuirer, Dublin, 17 April 2019. Retrieved on 26 April 2019.
  14. ↑ "Dublin Food Co-op finds its feet at new space in Kilmainham Square". greennews.ie. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
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