For the South Philly Food Co-op, being a neighborhood grocery store means much more than keeping shelves stocked.
It means supporting local farmers and businesses, responding to what neighbors need and giving South Philadelphians a direct voice in the future of a store that belongs to them.
“South Philly Food Co-op is member-owned, and mission driven,” General Manager Lori Burge-Scott said. “When you shop at the co-op, your dollars stay right here in the community rather than padding out of state investors pockets.”
Its mission, she added, is simple: “Using Food as a Force For Good — at our tables, in our community, and for our planet.”
That philosophy has been part of the co-op since its earliest days, when a group of South Philly residents began imagining a different kind of neighborhood grocery store.
According to the story passed down to Burge-Scott, it all started with a garlic press.
A former member of Weaver’s Way who moved to South Philadelphia lost a garlic press during the move. But the bigger loss was no longer living near a food co-op.
That experience sparked conversations about creating something similar in South Philly, where residents saw a need for greater access to fresh food and locally produced goods.
“It turns out that a lot of people wanted the same things: greater access to fresh, healthful foods, local goods, and a business that felt more like a community than just another store,” Burge-Scott said.
Turning that idea into reality took roughly a decade. Burge-Scott credits grassroots organizing and transparency with sustaining the project through the long process.
Volunteers and board members hosted garden tours, “coffee with the co-op” gatherings and committee meetings, while attending farmers markets and street festivals. Along the way, they celebrated each milestone, from membership and fundraising goals to grants, equipment purchases and construction.
Today, the result is a consumer-owned cooperative with more than 2,600 members. Anyone can shop there, regardless of membership status, but each member-owner holds one share and one vote. Members elect an all-volunteer board of directors each spring, while the co-op reports its finances and mission-related impact to members annually.
That community ownership influences everything from the products on the shelves to store hours.
The co-op conducts an extensive community survey every two years to learn what shoppers want, what they believe is missing and where the store can improve. Community feedback led the co-op to extend its hours last year.
Customers can also submit product requests, while staff record suggestions on a dry-erase board for buyers. When neighborhood Rite Aid and Walgreens locations closed, the co-op responded by adding over-the-counter medicines.
“All of our board members and most of our staff live in South Philly,” Burge-Scott explained, “so our ears and eyes are out taking in the needs and bringing them back to help better serve our community.”
Using food as a force for good also means looking beyond the checkout counter.
The co-op’s Food Bucks program matches SNAP purchases of fresh produce dollar for dollar. It holds food drives, donates excess food and supports a different community organization each month through its roundup program. During what Burge-Scott described as the SNAP crisis, the co-op crowdsourced money and worked with community partners to purchase and distribute more than $16,500 in groceries.
“When there is a need we rise to meet it,” she said.
Serving South Philly also means reflecting its many cultures and food traditions.
“You can’t really be a food co-op in South Philly without hoagie rolls, collards, tortillas, and kimchi in stock,” Burge-Scott shared.
The store tries to carry foods associated with cultural and religious holidays, while welcoming suggestions from neighbors when something is missing. Burge-Scott said the co-op has begun discussing expansion as it looks for ways to better serve the community.
Affordability is another priority. The Co+op Basics program offers everyday low prices on more than 175 staples, while Co+op Deals and Fresh Deals put hundreds of additional items on rotating sales. The store also accepts SNAP in addition to offering its produce-matching Food Bucks program.
At the same time, buying local remains central to the co-op’s identity.
Last year, the store carried more than 1,200 products from over 175 local producers. Those products represented more than 21% of total sales and generated more than $1 million for the local economy. The co-op also worked with nearly 100 diverse-owned brands, increasing that support by more than 25%, according to Burge-Scott.
Sometimes those relationships can be seen in something as simple as a piece of fruit.
Burge-Scott points to pawpaws as a product that captures the co-op’s mission. The native fruit has a short season and shelf life, making it difficult to mass produce. The South Philly Food Co-op works with Weaver’s Way to bring pawpaws to customers during the brief period they are available.
Other partnerships are even closer to home. The co-op gets bagels from Vanilya Bakery and sushi from Kiku on Broad Street, with staff walking to pick up the products.
The store has also evolved since opening.
It initially carried more organic and gourmet products but gradually added conventional items and lower-priced Co+op Basics products as it became clear that affordability was a major concern.
The co-op also learned that many customers walk, bike or use public transportation, making smaller, easily transported purchases important. It has since added another register lane, reduced some package sizes, introduced a folding shopping cart customers can borrow, expanded hours and added delivery service.
Success, however, isn’t measured only in sales.
The co-op tracks its community impact through an extensive system that includes how much food it gives away, SNAP participation, membership through its Community Equity Fund, voter participation in co-op elections, local jobs created, local producers supported, diverse-owned brands carried and donations to neighborhood organizations.
“We have a 150 line spreadsheet that tracks our impact over the years,” Burge-Scott said, “so if that tells you anything about us, we’re serious about making a positive impact.”
And the vision extends well beyond the grocery store itself.
Five or 10 years from now, Burge-Scott hopes to see a more connected, walkable neighborhood where residents participate in their community, locally owned businesses flourish and neighbors work together to support one another.
She also hopes the co-op’s footprint will grow.
“We will have opened another store,” she said, “to spread what we’ve brought to Juniper Street to another part of South Philly.”
South Philly Co-op is located at 2031 S. Juniper St.
