Chicago should build food co-ops instead of grocery chains | Daily News Byte

When Whole Foods announced its plan to close the much-celebrated and much-needed Englewood store, I thought, here’s another major retailer turning its back on the black community. Then I quickly realized — we don’t need them. We can find a better way that reduces our dependence on corporate benevolence and increases our self-reliance: we can develop our own, for our own.

The Tribune editorial board is right that Chicago will survive without big box stores. But the generous benefits they received by getting these stores to serve disadvantaged communities were lost. Those investments would be better spent on ending food deserts on the south and west sides.

We often hear the term “food desert” to describe urban areas that lack access to fresh produce and goods. I reject that term’s deficit focus. We are resilient, innovative and hardworking people. We don’t have to accept the lack of anything. But how do we adapt to the destruction of vital food sources in our communities by those who show no real commitment to us?

The solution is to grow our own and create community-led food cooperatives.

Having been born on a farm, I was used to my community growing its own food from an early age. The production of food for distribution and personal consumption was an economic necessity then, and so it is now.

A study of grassroots organizing and food co-ops found that for every $1,000 spent at a food co-op, $1,606 is spent in the local economy. And for every million dollars in sales, 9.3 jobs are created. That’s more than a 100% return on investment with assets recycled within the community. This represents a real opportunity to create jobs and wealth.

Hyper-consumerism harms our social, cultural and economic well-being. By gaining access to fresh, healthy food, we can use the capitalist system to our advantage. Until we see growth and parity in black entrepreneurship, co-ops can be a bridge from despair to prosperity.

A McKinsey study of American agriculture found that black-owned farms represent less than 2% of US farms – a number that has fallen sharply over the past decade from a high of about 14%. Urban agriculture, however, has grown by more than 30% in the last 30 years. Chicagoland is home to some of the most innovative urban agriculture organizations. Recently, Crain’s Chicago Business highlighted the thriving local ecosystem of urban growers and entrepreneurs.

We can create an infrastructure for cooperatively owned businesses to replace the markets that shut us out. Instead of offering subsidies to chain stores, what if we used those funds to build food cooperatives? How could they improve food distribution and community access? With chain stores leaving our neighborhoods, this could create greater opportunities for our self-sufficiency and empowerment

If the government invests in corporate stores that easily leave our communities, why shouldn’t they invest directly in helping us own stores or feed ourselves?

To that end, we should leverage existing financial structures such as Community Development Financial Institutions and Social Capital Funds and Opportunity Zones, all of which have created innovative solutions to some of our major societal challenges. These private investments have been used to create community centers, business incubators, healthcare facilities and more. We have many funding models and resource streams, but we still struggle to offer quality food options in minority communities.

I believe the ultimate solution is confidence.

With the holiday season underway, I remember a time when families gathered around tables of delicious and nutritious food that they harvested themselves. With innovative investments, perhaps we can revitalize that era for our own economic progress.

U.S. Representative Bobby Rush represents Illinois’ 1st Congressional District. He serves on the House Agriculture Committee and the Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight and Department Operations.

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