It was the inspiration from the activities of Park Slope Food Co-operative, operating in Brooklyn, New York that the idea of The People´s Supermarket of London was born from. Park Slope Food Cooperation had by that time existed a good 35 years, offering the Brooklyn community an alternative to the traditional, non-community based, regular supermarkets. Park Slope Co-op changed the business landscape by bringing community back to the business management, giving its members an opportunity to access healthy, affordable food for their contributions towards the business. By 2009, the Park Slope Food Co-op had attracted more than 15 000 members.
It was the year 2009 when Arthur, Kate and David joined their heads to develop a similar model for their community of London, UK. By mid-2010 they had acquired their premises and hosted their first come-and-see events, bringing together the initial 100 members for The People´s Supermarket. Heavily supported by volunteering efforts of the local community, The People’ s Supermarket was launched on June 1, 2010.
After one and half years of existence, the supermarket courageously sticks to its vision of “ creating a commercially sustainable, social enterprise that achieves its growth and profitability targets whilst operating within values based on community development and cohesion. Our intent is to offer an alternative food buying network, by connecting an urban community with the local farming community.” The store featured in a four-part Channel 4 series and has received several prestigious retailing awards including: the Observer Ethical Award, The Cooperative Innovative Ethical Award and the Smart Urban Minds Award. The members-owned, award-winning supermarket is currently paving its way towards opening a second store in East-London, Hackney.
Onnistamo 2012 is proud to present Kate Bull, co-founder and CEO of The People’ S Supermarket as Onnistamo’ s international guest speaker. Come and see Kate taking the stage on Friday morning and witness Kate sharing her story as the lead figure of one of the best known social enterprises out there!
Look forward to seeing you on Friday!
Onnistamo 2012 Team
