Urban Recipe

Urban Recipe is an Atlanta based nonprofit taking a cooperative approach to creating food security in food deserts and low-income communities. Urban Recipe has taken the common food pantry model and turned it on its head, utilizing the gifts, talents and contributions of the recipients to drive the process instead of relying solely on staff or volunteers.

Urban Recipe's member-run food cooperatives provide a consistent source of food and do so in an environment where members build relationships with one another, support one another, and gain ownership by investing in the process and doing the lion's share of work to make the co-op function.

The average co-op family will receive $3500 and $5500 in food over the course of the calendar year through attending and participating in 26 meetings during the year. Because each co-op meets every other week throughout the year, the impact of the co-ops span far beyond simply being a great source for food. Co-op members become friends and each co-op becomes a community where members look forward to coming, fellowshipping and helping each other.

Currently, Urban Recipe operates 8 co-ops with space for up to 50 families in each one. UR often hosts individuals and groups from around the country and the globe interested in finding out more about the co-op approach that provides an empowering alternative to traditional models for fighting hunger.

By using Urban Recipe's member-run food cooperative model, we are able to leverage the passion and energy of low income families who receive the food to also meet their own need. These efforts help build community and create sustainability at the same time. Not having to rely on outside volunteers, our member-run food cooperatives make decisions together about how to run their co-op meetings that take place every other week, 26 times a year. They also take on the responsibility of deciding how to divide the abundance of food amongst their co-op, a group consisting of up to 50 families. All of these activities build capacity and lead to food security with dignity.

We have been developing and refining this model inspired by cooperative principles for over 30 years. We have trained organizations around the United States and now one organization in Japan on how to develop these member-run food cooperatives. Currently, there are over 40 food cooperatives that have been birthed out of this first model and we continue to look for more ways of expanding our reach.

We have been running food co-ops for over 30 years and launched a full evaluation process that started in 2018. We are encouraged by the findings and continue implement the recommendations outlined in the evaluation plan. In addition, in 2021, we began the process of working with an evaluator to create a tool to help us measure the level of community connectedness that exists in our co-ops. This tool is in addition to the food security tool that was developed in the first evaluation.