{ Our Philosophy }

Our Mission: To operate a retail vegetarian food store providing high quality natural products at a fair and reasonable price.

Our Vision: The Cooperative is dedicated to helping people live in ways that are ecologically sustainable and that promote personal health and well-being.

Our Values: We believe that consumer ownership through a cooperative structure provides consumers with an optimal democratic forum to meet the needs of our community. We are committed to promoting ecological sustainability with the products and services we provide and in the way we operate our business. We promote and emphasize products that are nutritious, organically-grown, cruelty-free and produced in an environmentally sound manner. We believe that informed choices made by all consumers have far reaching impacts on the local and global community, and are committed to providing education and information to enhance nutritional and environmental awareness. We believe that our employees are valuable and essential to the success of our business, and will treat them with respect, compensate them fairly and provide a safe and supportive working environment.

The O.B. People's Organic Food Co-op Mission, Vision and Values were approved by consensus at the Board of Directors meeting on May 15, 1996, as amended.

Cooperative Business Principles

In 1844, the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers organized the first consumer cooperative associations. This was the humble beginning of a worldwide cooperative movement. The Rochdale Cooperative Principles have been adopted by thousands of cooperatives, including Ocean Beach People's Organic Food Co-op.

On September 23, 1995, in Manchester, England, the International Cooperative Alliance, on its centenary, adopted the revised Cooperative Principles below. They relate to our developing role and mission as cooperatives and are the principles that guide our own cooperative development at O.B. People's Co-op.

The International Cooperative Alliance Statement of Cooperative Identity

Definition: A cooperative 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.

Values: Cooperatives are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity. In the tradition of their founders, cooperative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others.

Cooperative Principles

The cooperative principles are guidelines by which cooperatives put their values into practice.

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