ABSTRACT
The social economy (e.g., non-profit, cooperatives, and community organizations) is playing a prevalent role in Canada’s alternative and local food movement. These organizations are being formed by citizens working together and taking action to achieve a range of social values and needs not being met by the conventional food system. Farmer cooperatives that direct market locally produced food are one such example, where collaboration and reciprocity among producers and consumers can achieve mutual goals and benefits that also extend to the broader community. YYC Growers and Distributors is a new producer cooperative based in Calgary, Alberta that has developed an innovative approach to providing and promoting local foods. Established in 2014 and officially becoming a cooperative in 2017, YYC is comprised of 20 urban and rural farmers that collectively sell their products through a community supported agriculture program and at a small number of farmers’ markets. In this chapter, we examine the development of YYC’s internal democratic self-governance model, as well as their role in the evolution of local food governance at municipal and provincial levels. As part of this analysis we examine YYC’s relationships of support and knowledge exchange between urban and rural producers; their relationships with customers and civil society organizations to raise awareness about the benefits of supporting and advancing local food systems; and their connections to municipal and provincial government representatives. Using a social economy framework, YYC serves as a link to consumers, community organizations, and government agencies, and through this pivotal role is catalyzing change in local food governance.
