Storefront Revolution: Food Co-ops and the Counterculture

by Craig Cox

          In the 1960s, the cooperative networks of food stores, restaurants, bakeries, bookstores, and housing alternatives were part counterculture, part social experiment, part economic utopia, and part revolutionary political statement. The co-ops gave activists a place where they could both express themselves and accomplish at least some small-scale changes. By the mid-1970s, dozens of food co-ops and other consumer- and work-owned enterprises were operating throughout the Twin Cities, and an alternative economic network - with a People's Warehouse at its hub - was beginning to transform the economic landscape of the metropolitan Minneapolis-St. Paul area. 
           However, these co-op activists could not always agree among themselves on their goals. Craig Cox, a journalist who was active in the co-op movement, here provides the first book to look at food co-ops during the 1960s and 1970s. He presents a dramatic story of hope and conflict within the Minneapolis network, one of the largest co-op structures in the country. His "view from the front" of the "Co-op War" that ensued between those who wanted personal liberation through the movement and those who wanted a working-class revolution challenges us to re-thing possiblities for social and political change. Cox provides not a cynical portrait of sixties idealism, but a moving insight into an era when anything seemed possible.

Genres: History, Business, Nonfiction

170 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Mlhoganjr · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've ever lived or visited Minneapolis, you might have never been to a food cooperative (or even know they exist all around the city). Or maybe, you consider them a staple of your household and your neighborhood. Storefront Revolution is an excellent story of how the co-op movement gained momentum during the 1960s, but the story of food co-ops is almost a sidenote.

What I found extremely interesting is its view of Minneapolis and the rich (and tumultuous) countercultures that existed there. If you're a resident in the Twin Cities, you'll probably run into names every few pages that you'll recognize; former city councilmen and civic leaders. Like the rest of the country, the 1970s led to a huge dissolution of idealism in the Twin Cities. When some of the city's oldest co-ops started up, many of them were very unorganized and practically lived on hope alone. As they grew in distribution and reciepts, so did the trouble. 1975 was the year of the "Co-op Wars," a struggle between those who wanted to provide cheap food to impoverished and working class neighbors, and those who wanted to provide healthy organic food.

It may sound like a ridiculous cause to go to battle for, but Cox certainly lays the idealogical and political framework in context for the city, the state and the country at that time. If you're a Minneapolitan or St. Pauler (or whatever they're called) and are interested in a road less traveled in local history, this book is well worth the money. Of course, if you're a true believer in the co-op communal ethic, you can get it at the library.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this after watching a local public television documentary, "Co-op Wars." Had to find it used on betterworld books.com. I was briefly a member of the SAP Coop in St. Paul and had no idea of the conflicts or their history--all I knew was that I got a 10% discount for working there. But both the documentary and the book rang true regarding the post-Vietnam era, the hippie counterculture and the Marxist-Leninist activity in the Twin Cities. (In some ways I think the hippie conception of politics persists in Minneapolis--e.g., abolish the police department first, worry about the details later, etc.) Craig Cox does a great job of capturing the flavor of the times and the numerous meetings and manifestos, and putting it all in context. My only complaint is that there are so many named activists that I lost track of who they were and which side they were on. Something like a list of characters in Russian novels would have helped.

[David Andrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

18th Brumaire of the MSP food co-op movement.

[Rogue Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Radical politics of the 60s and 70s are at the foundation of Minneapolis food cooperatives but the maturation and transformation of food cooperatives into successful businesses disappoint the author. Grow up guy.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm going to give this book a second reading, but probably not for a few months. Basically it details what lead up to and made the year 1976 so volatile in Minneapolis/St. Paul, when a multitude of food co-ops went to war based on domain, theory and practice. Essentially, it was a war between whole foods anarchists and communists that started as debate and ended with beatings, terrorism and fire. A pretty interesting slice of history that i had never heard of before i met someone from the twin cities who enlightened me. This book is out of print, so you have to order it or maybe you could find it at a library. it is greatly written and very informative. here here!

[C.E. G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have talked about this book to at least 3 or 4 people since I read it, which I think speaks well for how interesting the content is. The book covers the history of food co-ops in Minneapolis, and specifically focuses on the war (yup, that's not really an exaggeration) between the Marxists and the hippies. Lots of juicy history including cults, race baiting, hostile takeovers, and more.

I skimmed parts of it, but I'd definitely recommend it if you have an interest in local Minnesota history.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good coverage of the Twin Cities cooperative scene of yore. Numerous people who were covered in the book, or participated in the movement at the time, have mentioned factual errors in the book. But, I still think this is a good start for investigating Twin Cities cooperatives and understanding one factor that led to a later centralization of management in the grocery cooperative sector.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Like any countercultural trend of the time, co-ops attracted an army of self-obsessed troops, eager to do battle with the established way of doing things--so long as their curiosity held out."

"If your aim is community control of the storefront, then in most cases you'd be hypocritical not to sell shit food. Unless it's all changed since yesterday, that's what most of America eats."

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting topic, poorly written. Alas. First half is dogma, philosophy and pamphleteering. The author was personally involved in the proceedings and doesn't feel the need to provide more back story to those of us who weren't there in the '70s.

[ػᶈᶏϾӗ]

The best of what went wrong in the 60s and 70s, including really good parallels with what certain people, who's names I won't mention, are still doing wrong to this day.