Long Beach community members can learn more about what a food co-op is during an upcoming event hosted by a local community-owned grocery store in the making.
The Long Beach Grocery Cooperative is a start-up community-owned and -operated store that is committed to providing people with affordable, high-quality, wholesome food and products for healthy living, according to its website. The future store will source from local producers, artisans and fair trade businesses, and educate the community on the benefits of healthy eating, conscious consumption and community engagement.
The community organization is collaborating with Long Beach City College to host an event, “Growing Together,” on Saturday, Nov. 14, which will provide residents and students the opportunity to learn more about co-ops and other resources. The event will feature a documentary screening, resource booths, food and beverages, and more at the Jenni Rivera Performing Arts Center at LBCC, 4901 E. Carson St., from noon to 4 p.m.
“These small companies and small businesses that normally wouldn’t be able to garner the attention of a national chain and get shelf space, because of the local community-owned grocery store, they’ll be able to get that shelf space,” Dodie Reddington, a board member of the Long Beach Grocery Co-op, said in an interview. “We are drawing from the community and then turning around and putting those dollars back into the community.”
A cooperative, or co-op, is an autonomous association of people united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise, according to the organization’s website.
By uplifting local providers and providing access to fresh, organic and locally sourced food and other products, a grocery co-op helps create a sustainable economy for a community and provides good-paying jobs as well, Reddington said.
“We then keep our tax dollars, and our spending dollars here in the very community that we live in,” she said. “So we’re helping each other become successful, and everyone has a seat at the table.”
Cooperatives have a rich history, both nationally and internationally. The closest co-op is Co-Opportunity in Santa Monica, which has been serving its members for almost 50 years.
Once opened, the Long Beach Grocery Cooperative’s store will offer produce and products that are as local, as seasonal and as organic as possible, according to its website. The full-service grocery store will carry a range of fresh food, dry and bulk goods, beverages, and household products.
Board members of the Long Beach Grocery Co-op. (Photo courtesy of Dodie Reddington)
Long Beach Grocery Co-op participating in the Long Beach Pride Parade. (Photo courtesy of Dodie Reddington)
Long Beach Grocery Co-op is hosting a community event and fundraiser on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, at Long Beach City College’s Jenni Rivera Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $44. (Photo courtesy of Long Beach Grocery Co-op)
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Board members of the Long Beach Grocery Co-op. (Photo courtesy of Dodie Reddington)
While Long Beach community members can become owners today, once the store opens, anyone will be able to shop at the co-op, Reddington said. Owners of the co-op will enjoy benefits, such as discounts, priority promotions and more. Ownership is a one-time commitment of $250, which covers the entire household, according to its website. During profitable years, members will receive a dividend of their investment.
“Even though we’re not a nonprofit, when we do generate a profit, the objective is to churn that back into the owners of the community,” Reddington said. “There are benefits to becoming an owner because you’re going to bring your food cost down, but it’s open to anybody.”
In June, the Long Beach Grocery Cooperative passed 1,000 member-owners, Reddington said. This prompted a celebration, which then turned into a community event and fundraiser to bring more awareness to the co-op.
Long Beach City College officials said they were excited to help host the event at the Jenni Rivera Performing Arts Center because the co-op’s mission aligns with the community college – bringing education, community engagement, student supports and sustainability together.
“We know that for us, specifically at Long Beach City College, that access to nutritious food, access to just food in general, is the student’s ability to succeed in the classroom, and also out of the classroom,” said Nohel Corral, executive vice president of student services at LBCC, “which is why some of the departments that we’re highlighting and partnering with this event include our basic needs services, such as our Viking Vault and our CalFresh program.”
LBCC partnering with Long Beach Grocery Cooperative also provides students with real-world examples of how community members are working collectively to create positive change locally Corral added.
“Partnerships like this allow our students to see and participate in community-based solutions right now,” he said, “and to be active participants in our community. I think that’s a unique thing about this partnership, as opposed to the opportunities that they normally have on campus.”
The Viking Vault and other LBCC student groups, such as the Environmental Action Movement group, and other sustainable vendors will have tables at the event. There will be food provided by Primal Alchemy, a photo opportunity, a raffle and more.
There will be a screening of “Food for Change,” a documentary produced by Steve Alves that focuses on food co-ops as a force for dynamic social and economic change in American culture. The film examines the important historical role played by food co-ops, their pioneering quest for organic foods, and their current efforts to create regional food systems.
Tickets for “Growing Together” are $44 and can be purchased at longbeachgrocery.coop. Proceeds will help fund the next round of fundraising toward opening the store, according to its website.
“Solutions are within our reach, within our own community,” Reddington said, “that will economically uplift so many businesses and families by providing a venue for their business and generating income so that they have access to better, local food.”