Volunteer at the Co-Op!
About The Co-Op
A Farmer-First Grocery Rooted in Community
Welcome to the Central City Co-Op, Houston’s oldest organic, sustainable food co-op!
The Co-Op works with local farmers, ranchers, and makers that focus on organic and sustainable production, inspiring our community to come together around a seasonal, local food culture.
Located in the Houston Heights, Central City Co-Op is a “farmer first” grocery. Open five days a week, you can order weekly farm shares, shop for a la carte vegetables, fruit, grains, meat, dairy and more.
How does the Co-Op work?
Anyone can shop at the Co-Op. Becoming a member of the Co-Op supports the mission of the Co-Op, and provides the seed capital that the Co-Op needs to keep it running.
Members receive benefits such a lower prices on weekly farm shares, member specials, discounts on things like composting, and even free drip coffee once a day when you visit the Co-Op.
Your purchases directly financially support the livelihoods of farmers, ranchers, and makers, provide jobs in the community, and invest in the local community. Every dollar you spend locally also reduces your carbon footprint.
Come grow with us and help us on our mission to change people’s lives for the better, one farmer, customer, member, and community at a time.
Our Story
HOW WE STARTED
Big change often starts with an idea. Sometime around 1998, a group of eco-friendly, budget conscious Houstonians was searching for affordable organic produce. They discovered a food wholesaler willing to work with them, purchased a case of organic parsley, and split it amongst themselves. The Central City Co-Op was born.
Motivated to provide greater access to organic food, the group reached out to local farmers to see what they could grow using organic, sustainable methods. After a couple of seasons, the farmers were growing enough food to reliably supply a farm share program primarily focused on local, organic produce. Some of those partnerships that were forged nearly 25 years ago have endured to this day.
While the first harvest pick-ups were on a back porch on Taft Street, the Co-Op soon moved to a location that became Ecclesia Church. Around 2009, it moved to the former Grace Lutheran Church, now Kindred, in Montrose.For 22 years, Central City only opened on Wednesdays for Fresh Harvest Pick-Ups.
In 2020, during the pandemic, the Co-Op moved into a brick and mortar in the Houston Heights, where it could better serve a growing roster of organic farmers, ranchers, and makers and provide the community more access to them
GROWING ROOTS
When the Co-Op started, it was a solely volunteer organization, loosely structured and relying on a core group of people. It ran that way for many years. As time marched on, the initial group of people had other obligations and less time to work on running the Co-Op. Additionally, Houston was changing. It was growing and more big box grocery stores were opening their doors and providing wider access to national organic produce.
As a result of those factors, the Co-Op experienced a downturn. In 2016, the Co-Op was not bringing in enough money to cover costs, had fallen into debt, and was on the brink of shuttering its doors. (Sadly, this is the fate of many organic food co-ops.) When community-supported markets are forced to close, it is a huge loss to local farmers and the communities they feed.
To avoid closure, members were asked to see who wanted to assume financial responsibility of the Co-Op. Seeing what Houston had to lose with the closing of its only organic food co-op, one family stepped up and agreed, giving it time to turn things around. The Co-Op was incorporated, which is how it is structured today. Everything that the Co-Op makes is reinvested into it.
In 2018, the family and a committed group of members met to discuss how to better support the Co-Op. An initial discussion was started about opening a brick and mortar location to better serve farmers and the community. Having the Co-Op open more days would help it to better meet its mission and make it more sustainable. The group started the slow process of looking for a space.
In March of 2020, COVID-19 rocked our local community and the globe. Where many saw fear and uncertainty, Central City Co-Op saw an opportunity to help. Despite the many obvious negative effects of the pandemic, it did shine light on the importance of a local, sustainable, food system. The Co-Op’s orders grew overnight and it needed a better equipped space.
Thanks to the overwhelming support of members and customers prioritizing local, organic food Central City Co-Op grew quickly and needed a better space in which to work.The support injected the needed funds to make that a reality. A transition team was assembled and got to work, moving to 420 E. 20th in the Houston Heights.
On June 3, 2021, Central City Co-Op opened its doors in its first brick and mortar, taking the next step in what it was always meant to be: a fully operational, Farmer First grocery, organic market, and coffee bar that inspires its community, and changes people’s lives for the better.
THE FUTURE
For the last year and a half, the Co-Op has grown roots in the Heights community. Through a continuing pandemic, the February 2021 freeze, a recent refrigeration malfunction and a break in at the end of the year, and other challenges, the Co-Op has persisted. The community has rallied around the Co-Op and with its support, the Co-Op is ready to grow deeper roots in Houston.
Shortly, the Co-Op will be taken out of its incorporated conservatorship and restructured back into a true, member, employee, farmer, rancher, maker owned co-op and grocery.
The goal is to become an essential asset to our community, and nurture the local, seasonal, sustainable food culture in Houston, continuing to support local, sustainable farmers and the communities they feed far into the future.
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