21 mrt 2020 Discussion about Food Coops in Maastricht
What does it mean to be a food cooperative? How can it work to set up a new cooperative? And what is it like to be an entrepreneur in the sustainable food industry? These were some of the questions discussed during the event ‘Insights on Food Cooperatives’ on 11 March.
Gedeelde Weelde was invited by the Green Office Maastricht to delve into questions about how to set up and run a food coop during a discussion evening. Dominique and Michel shared their experiences as co-founders and entrepreneurs of Gedeelde Weelde, together with two members of the student-run food cooperative Foodcoop Maastricht.
Maastricht is now home to two food cooperatives – real change seems to be happening!
Mushrooms grown in a local cave; the power of community building; different kinds of membership systems; processes for fair decision making; the need to survive in the real-world economy; the creation of alternative spaces; plastic-free packaging; and sustainability of all kinds were just some of the topics you see us discussing on these pictures.
Also our active members Marlies, Renato and Brian contributed to the discussion by sharing how they experience being part of a cooperative, and more importantly, of a community. And while this was a one-time event, organised in light of the “Nationale Week Zonder Vlees”, we hope to keep the discussion going with you on what it means to be a cooperative and how we can build a strong community together!
We thank Green Office Maastricht for the invite and everyone for coming and contributing to this inspiring conversation – many more to follow!