What is a co-op?

Simply put, a cooperative is a special form of business owned and managed by the people who provide and/or use the goods and services that the business provides. They pool resources to satisfy a common need and provide these goods and services as economically and efficiently as possible.
A co-op is a business that is owned by the people who use it.
San Diego's Best Vegetarian DeliAt People's Award Winning Deli, we make it fresh every day
As locally owned businesses, co-ops are committed to the people they serve and the communities they live in. Owners can have a voice in what is available for purchase, as well as in the overall organization of their particular co-op. Owners get the most buying power for their money, and profits stay in the community, contributing to its economic strength.
Like other cooperatives, Ocean Beach People's Organic Food Market, a California food cooperative, operates according to the seven Cooperative Business Principles.

History of People's Co-op ​

Ocean Beach People's Historic first location O.B. People's Food Store 1972
Ocean Beach People's Organic Food Market was born as a small neighborhood buying club in 1971. The people who nurtured its growth were activists in a local movement to create alternatives to established institutions, including grocery stores. Their dream was a store that provided healthy, non-polluting, cruelty-free foods at a fair price, a store that belongs to the community it serves. A year later, on August 19, 1972, we set up our fast-growing enterprise in an apartment storefront at 4859 Voltaire Street. Customers looked for perishable foods in the refrigerator (where else!) and added up their own purchases for the cashier.
OB People's Vegetarian Market historyO.B. People's Organic Food Market circa 1980's
Then in 1973 came a very big step: O.B. People's moved up the street to a former pool and dance hall. It took a lot of work just to get the building ready. Gradually, the new store filled up with products and fixtures. The store's reputation grew too. O.B. People's became known as a truly people-oriented store with a unique selection of foods and uncompromising standards for quality. For nearly the first fourteen years, People's had operated as a worker's collective. Then, in 1985, the workers decided that since O.B. People's had always been a community store, it only made sense that it become a food cooperative.
OB People's Food todayIn our current location, People's welcomes thousands of shoppers each month.
The years 2001 and 2002 found us remodeling yet again. This time, however, the Co-op moved into a whole new building. We are staying on the same site that we have occupied since 1973, but we have designed and constructed a new sustainable building to meet our growing needs and serve as a model of conscious construction. The new building was completed in the summer 2002 and O.B. People's, our very own community-owned Co-op, has begun a new chapter for a new millennium.
Through extensive cooperation between the architects, staff, members, and city planning boards our architectural firm, hanna gabriel wells, has succeeded in designing an up-to-date, sustainable, and environmentally responsible "green" building which serves as a regional model of conscious construction. Following is a list of the many great features, both structural and functional, that we can experience in the new Co-op building.
  • The building was constructed using recycled content steel, engineered lumber, and non-toxic, recycled and sustainably harvested building materials at every opportunity. No old growth wood was used. Sustainable lumber comes from tree farms where the lumber is carefully managed and no habitats are destroyed.
  • The Co-op has reduced the use of materials with open beam ceilings, exposed framing, and minimal flooring designs. The Deli area and Community Room have Marmoleum flooring which is comprised of linseed oil, wood-flour, pine rosin, jute and limestone. All paint, wood and concrete sealers used are low VOC (volatile organic compounds). Concrete floors were sealed with lithium silicate.
  • Day lighting is used extensively and optimal lighting is achieved with the majority of windows facing north, reducing solar heat intake. All windows and skylights are dual glaze low E glass, designed to minimize undesirable heat-gain. Skylights and windows are operable and placed to maximize cross ventilation. The store temperature is comfortable for shoppers, and is not dependent on expensive, energy wasting and environmentally polluting air-conditioning.
  • Another energy efficient design feature are the photovoltaic cells (PVC) on the roof, which provide a large portion of the building's electrical needs. Conduit was laid underground during parking lot construction with forethought to future PVC installation when funding allows.
  • More energy saving features include a solar thermosyphon system for hot water, low flush toilets, and landscaping that is filled primarily with drought-tolerant plants.
  • An energy efficient refrigeration system upgrade includes an increase of 25% in our refrigeration system condensers. This is a passive addition that reduces energy consumption by reducing the running times of electric motors and the compressors that they power. All walk-in cooler floors are insulated from the earth and include thermal barriers to prevent cold-box slabs from serving as a heat sink for the buildings concrete floor.
  • The new Co-op building embraces the utilization of natural resources as much as possible, and energy efficient strategies minimize the impact on the environment; the building performs at 36% above California Title 24 minimum. The building project has won an energy efficient design award from San Diego Gas and Electric's Savings by Design Program.
  • Demolition of the old building was primarily recycled, including concrete and asphalt—all salvageable wood was donated towards housing structures in economically depressed areas of Tijuana.

People's Green Building

OB People's Organic Market solar panelsSunrise warming up the Co-op's rooftop solar panels.
The front of the Co-op building faces east into the new parking lot, rather than  north onto Voltaire Street minimizing the impact of traffic, while the Voltaire Street facade hosts 15 feet of windows. A native plant garden along the sidewalk and in front of the building provide a welcome oasis from the hustle and bustle on Voltaire Street. Additionally, the parking lot has been laid with permeable pavers to prevent runoff. 

​Throughout the design process, we have heard the concerns of some of our Ocean Beach neighbors, as well as the support of others, including our many Co-op owners. We have constructed a building that meets the Co-op needs while also staying in scale with our neighborhood.                                                                                          

Mission, Vision and Values

OB People's Community RoomPeople's Community Room
Mission: To operate retail vegetarian consumer cooperatives providing high quality natural products at a fair and reasonable price.
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Vision: The Cooperative is dedicated to helping people live in ways that are ecologically sustainable and that promote personal health and well-being.

​Values: We believe that consumer ownership through a cooperative structure provides consumers with an optimal democratic forum to meet the needs of our community. We are committed to promoting ecological sustainability with the products and services we provide and in the way we operate our business. We promote and emphasize products that are nutritious, organically-grown, cruelty-free and produced in an environmentally sound manner. We believe that informed choices made by all consumers have far reaching impacts on the local and global community, and are committed to providing education and information to enhance nutritional and environmental awareness. We believe that our employees are valuable and essential to the success of our business, and will treat them with respect, compensate them fairly and provide a safe and supportive working environment.

Cooperative Business Principles

Cooperative Business PrinciplesPeople's friendly staff
In 1844, the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers organized the first consumer cooperative associations. This was the humble beginning of a worldwide cooperative movement. The Rochdale Cooperative Principles have been adopted by thousands of cooperatives, including Ocean Beach People's Organic Food Co-op.

​On September 23, 1995, in Manchester, England, the International Cooperative Alliance, on its centenary, adopted the revised Cooperative Principles below. They relate to our developing role and mission as cooperatives and are the principles that guide our own cooperative development at O.B. People's Organic Food Market.

The International Cooperative Alliance Statement of Cooperative Identity

International Cooperative Alliance
Definition: A cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise. 

Values: Cooperatives are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity. In the tradition of their founders, cooperative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility, and caring for others. 

Principles: The cooperative principles are guidelines by which cooperatives put their values into practice. 
  1. First Principle: Voluntary and Open Membership
    Cooperatives are voluntary organizations, open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibility of membership, without gender, social, racial, political, or religious discrimination. 
  2. Second Principle: Democratic Member Control
    Cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting their policies and making decisions. People serving as elected representatives are accountable to the membership. In primary cooperatives members have equal voting rights (one member, one vote) and cooperatives at other levels are organized in a democratic manner. 
  3. Third Principle: Member Economic Participation
    Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of the cooperative. At least part of that capital is usually the common property of the cooperative. They usually receive limited compensation, if any, on capital subscribed as a condition of membership. Members allocate surpluses for any of all of the following purposes: developing the cooperative, possibly by setting up reserves, part of which at least would be indivisible, benefiting members in proportion to their transactions with the cooperative, and supporting other activities approved by the membership. 
  4. Fourth Principle: Autonomy and Independence
    Cooperatives are autonomous, self-help organizations controlled by their members. If they enter into agreements with other organizations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their members and maintain their cooperative autonomy. 
  5. Fifth Principle: Education, Training, and Information
    Cooperatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers, and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their cooperatives. They inform the general public—particularly young people—about the nature and benefits of cooperation. 
  6. Sixth Principle: Cooperation Among Cooperatives
    Cooperatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement by working together through local, national, regional, and international structures. 
  7. Seventh Principle: Concern for the Community
    While focusing on member needs, cooperatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies accepted by their members. 

Get involved!

Interested in working at People's? Download an employment application.
Interested in serving on the Co-op's Board of Directors? Visit People's Board page.

Everyone Can Shop and Anyone Can Join!