Episode 133. History of Food Cooperatives in the South

In this episode, Felicia Bell, sustainable agricultural specialist at NCAT’s Gulf States Office in Jackson, Mississippi, interviews Wendell Paris about the history of food cooperatives in the South and his involvement in this movement, specifically in the Federation of Southern Cooperatives.

Mr. Paris is the Chairman of the Board for Panola Land Buyers Association and has been involved in the Federation of Southern Cooperatives since its inception, which took place during the Civil Rights movement. In this episode, he describes the connections between the Civil Rights movement and the beginning of the food cooperative model in the South.

For more information on this topic, you can contact Felicia Bell directly at feliciab@ncat.org.

Related ATTRA Resources:

Tips for Selling to: Aggregators/Grower Marketing Co-ops

Sustainable Agriculture: An Introduction

ATTRA’s Beginning Farmer Tutorials

Other Resources:

Federation of Southern Cooperatives website

Land Assistance Fund Feeds Farmers’ Hopes blog post from AMISTAD Research Center

Please call ATTRA with any and all of your sustainable agriculture questions at 800-346-9140 or e-mail us at askanag@ncat.org. Our two dozen specialists can help you with a vast array of topics, everything from farm planning to pest management, from produce to livestock, and soils to aquaculture.

You can get in touch with NCAT/ATTRA specialists and find our other extensive, and free, sustainable-agriculture publications, webinars, videos, and other resources at NCAT/ATTRA’s website.

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