Good Food Co-op Records

The Good Food Cooperative (GFC) was a student and community member run co-op active from 1971 to 2009. The co-op was located in the basement of Harkness House for the bulk of its existence. In January of 1971, GFC opened in a space above the co-op bookstore. It briefly moved to the Pyle Inn but was located in a small room or large closet on the lower level of Harkness by 1975. In about 1977, the GFC got its own entrance on the east side of Harkess. In 1978, the Good Food Co-op became a chartered student organization. In 1983, the GFC discussed a possible relocation to 82 South Main Street but was unable to raise enough money to make this goal a reality.

According to its 1997 charter, the Good Food Co-op was run as a way “to provide at low cost to the Oberlin community a variety of foods as close to their natural state as possible,” and to “offer Oberlin College Students the opportunity to learn and operate a community food co-op.” Although one did not need a membership to purchase food from the co-op, an individual or household membership for a few dollars a month allowed access to members-only prices. The Co-op initially offered bulk staples for cooking like rice, beans, pasta, spices, flour, and tea, as well as some pre-packaged items like yogurt, tofu, and some other snacks. Members were also able to make special orders from a list of items that were not regularly stocked. In 1986, the GFC expanded its product line to include personal care items in accordance with an agreement with OSCA that also allowed the Co-op to hire work-study students to be day managers. The GFC purchased its first cash register in order to charge the state sale tax required to sell the new, non-food items.

The Co-op was run by members who stocked, cleaned, priced, and inventoried the store, overseeing all levels of operations. When the Good Food Co-op was created, members were not obligated to work in the store, but as more people joined it became necessary for everyone to work a few shifts a month. Members who were not in the Oberlin Cooperative Student Association (OSCA) were required to work at least two shifts a month, but because of a 1975 agreement with OSCA, all OSCA members were automatically signed up for membership in the GFC, neither having to pay the monthly fee nor work the required monthly hours. Unlike other Oberlin Co-ops, it was not exclusively for students, and community members were involved in its operation. The Good Food Co-Op was supplied by the Federation of Ohio River Co-Ops (FORC) and Frontier Spices. Although hours varied, it was typically open six days a week for a few hours at a time. The Co-op remained open—on a limited schedule of two days per week—during the summers to accommodate community members and students who remained on campus.

In 2000, the Good Food Co-Op got rid of the option for members to make special orders. Sales decreased drastically from their peak in 1998. The Co-op closed in 2009 due to a lack of volunteers and publicity. It had also begun to deal with problems related to theft.

Sources Consulted

“A Brief and Unofficial History of the Good Food Co-Op (GFC).” Electronic Oberlin Group: Oberlin Through History. Last updated 2000. https://www2.oberlin.edu/external/EOG/Co-opHistory/GoodFood.html.

Dudley, Daniel. “Good Food Co-op Faces Extinction.” Oberlin Review, April 17, 2009. https://ohio5.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15963coll9/id/148246/.

Person, Abby. “Good Food Co-op is Even Better.” Oberlin Review, February 11, 2000, 1, 6. https://ohio5.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15963coll9/id/154036/rec/5.