North Coast Co-operatives in Arcata, Eureka, and Fortuna

Abstract

This chapter points to Humboldt County in northern California, home of the Arcata Food Co-op. Like other new wave food co-ops, it was politically active—as evident in their boycotts, their decision to sell mostly local and organic foods, and their interests in workers' rights. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, however, it was forced to make changes in order to survive. The co-op became more structured hierarchically, with managers and the board making the majority of decisions. At the same time, many of its members were hipsters, living-off-the-land entrepreneurs, and the like. There were culture wars occasionally, but the co-op still continued to expand south of Arcata in nearby Eureka and Fortuna. Despite the troubles and financial loss, the Fortuna co-op was an experiment in whether a food co-op could survive in a working-class community whose main income depended on the harvesting of old redwoods.