Co-Operatives

Kyle tags “Co-Operatives” in Our Towns against the Palmer Home’s community-supported agriculture (CSA) program — a venture where local people buy a season subscription for fresh produce, which alongside farmers’-market sales gives the home a self-sustaining source of revenue. In the book’s broader argument, this is one of the locally-rooted, civic-minded ventures (along with retraining at community colleges, the arts, local sports, and environmental protection) that the Deborah and James Fallows found driving renewal in smaller American towns.

Context: A co-operative is a member-owned enterprise run for the mutual benefit of its members rather than outside shareholders — common forms include agricultural co-ops, credit unions, and CSAs (community-supported agriculture), where consumers and producers share both the risks and the rewards of local production.

Where this appears

• Our Towns — tagged against the Palmer Home’s CSA produce-subscription program, an example of locally-owned, self-sustaining civic ventures driving small-town renewal.

Saved from Roam

• Community Food Co-Ops