EaRTh staff conducted an interview with James Bell, an African-American worker-owner of the Mandela Grocery cooperative in West Oakland, California, United States.

EaRTh: James, you live in West Oakland. Can you tell us a bit about Mandela Grocery and your involvement in it? About how it works?

James Bell: Well, it opened in June 2009. It opened because there historically has been a food apartheid in not only West Oakland but various areas that are considered barrios or ghettos, where urban people that look like me live. There's usually gas stations, liquor stores, and fast food restaurants [that] will be the majority of what is offered to you. So there was a group of community individuals, a lot of elders, a lot of elderly women that pushed originally to get [the Mandela Grocery cooperative] into action and then with the help of a nonprofit securing a lot of funds… fast forward into the future, and here we are.

Store front of Mandela Grocery, a worker-owned cooperative.

EaRTh: So how does it work, this co-op? Do you have to buy into it?

James Bell: There's a two thousand dollar buy-in, and, you know, you become vested once you dispense that two thousand dollars basically.

EaRTh: And how long have you been working at and owning the co-op?

James Bell: Since the store opened in June 2009. I am one of the founding members of Mandela Grocery.

EaRTh: Are you involved in sourcing the food, getting it from local farms? Or how does that work?

James Bell: Yeah, most of our produce comes from… it's a mixed bag of sources. I would say maybe about 30 to 40 percent comes from farmers within, like, a hundred mile radius, and then everything else comes from our distributors that are based in San Francisco. You know, produce and vegetables.

Closeup of the Mandela Grocery storefront in West Oakland.

EaRTh: And can you talk a little bit about the food situation in West Oakland? Is Mandela Grocery the only grocery store?

James Bell: It's not the only grocery store in West Oakland; it's the only grocery store of its kind though. You know, there's various small grocery stores that are like this one that are spanned out across the area. A lot of times, you know, if you're not of a particular square footage, people don't like to refer to you as a grocery store. They just say, you know, [that they’re] going to the small store or, you know, co-op or whatever name they want to plug in. But, you know, I feel like any place that's supplying, like, fruits and vegetables to people with the intent of, you know, solving the issue of not having many options available to the people should be considered a grocery store.

Inside Mandela Grocery, with James Bell standing on the left and the prepared foods counter on the right.

EaRTh: And do you as a worker-owner set the prices of the food and other commodities?

James Bell: Yes, we are in full control of the price points and what we would like to charge. We do want to make everything as affordable as possible, so we try not to mark things up on the higher end. We try to, you know, find that range to where we'll make enough money to stay afloat and still have it, you know, priced affordable for people. And we also have programs that kind of offset the high price of organic vegetables, like Market Match, where people can come in and use EBT and save 50% on any California fruits and vegetables. 

EaRTh: Do you think your food is affordable for many of the residents in West Oakland? It's pretty high quality and organic, right?

James Bell: So, I guess I would say that that depends on, you know, what someone considers affordable. You may have someone who is accustomed to only shopping at, like, 99 cent stores or liquor stores or something like that. So that individual would not be willing to pay, you know, a bit more to put the better things in their body. But, you know, people who get it and people who understand why the store is here… and they understand, you know, the history of how communities are built out with the access to food and stuff like that, then, yes, it's very much affordable. So, it depends on, you know, what someone considers affordable. 

Fresh produce inside Mandela Grocery.

EaRTh: If someone wants to find out more information about Mandela Grocery, where would they go?

James Bell: They go to our website. You can find out some more things there, or you can call us if you have any questions. Or, you know, if you're local, you can just stop in and come in and chat with us and holla at us and find out whatever it is that you would like to know.

EaRTh: Thanks very much, James.

James Bell: Thank you.