Deep Roots in Tucson
Local, Independent, Community-Owned
The Food Conspiracy Co-op was founded in 1971 by a group of Tucson residents who came together to form a buying club. With their collective purchasing power, they were able to access natural food products that were hard to find in local stores at the time. The original co-op operated out of a single storefront on 4th Avenue, which eventually expanded into three more adjacent spaces.
In the early years, the co-op was run as a collective, with around 20 employees sharing joint responsibility for decision-making. Over time, the co-op adopted a more structured model with a Management Team led by a general manager.
As the natural foods market grew and other retailers in Tucson began offering health food, Food Conspiracy remains the city’s only full-service consumer cooperative. Unlike corporate-owned businesses, our co-op is owned by our members, ensuring that our focus stays on meeting their needs, rather than maximizing profits for a few.
Our store is open to both members and non-members. We take pride in our quality products, exceptional customer service, and our rich history as a cooperative business in Tucson. We invite you to visit and see firsthand what makes us special
What is a Co-op?
A co-op is a business that is owned by the people who shop here. Our co-op is proudly owned by approximately 3,000 Tucson-area residents. With ownership equally shared among many, our democratic structure ensures decisions are made with our Owners’ needs in mind, rather than for corporate profit.
While everyone is welcome to shop, anyone can join! Ownership also comes with added benefits!
Food Conspiracy Co-op Originates During the Turmoil of the Late 60s and Early 70s
Paul Rubin, A Food Conspiracy Founder – from 45 yr anniversary newsletter Feb 2016
The Food Conspiracy Co-op origins were in the turmoil of the late 60s and early 70s. The John Brown Party, a local Tucson group based loosely on the ideals and ideas of the Black Panther Party and the Young Lords Party (a Chicano militant group) operated in the space now occupied by the Food Conspiracy, 412 N 4th Ave. The John Brown Party started a program of free clothes and free food for those without. It fought for decent housing, accessible and affordable health care, empowering of youth, access to healthy food, and counseling for draft resisters to the Vietnam War.
In January of 1971 several nights of rioting occurred on the University of Arizona campus. Out of those riots came a realization that there was a need for alternatives to current institutions. The Food Conspiracy was founded so people did not have to rely on profit driven supermarkets and their less than healthy food options.
For over a year, the Food Conspiracy offered food on Saturdays. During the week people came in, placed orders, on Friday and early Saturday morning the food was picked up at local wholesalers, and brought back to the Co-op for people to pick up. The Cooperative was so successful that the decision was made to open an everyday store. At this time the Co-op was serving the hip and politically active community, and the elderly in the downtown area who had little access to fresh food.
There was a tension, almost from the beginning, between people who primarily wanted to offer healthy food and people who were more interested in political alternatives. For the first few years, there was a reading room with left and alternative literature free for the members. The Food Co-op soon expanded to 2 adjacent spaces on 4th Avenue.
As an alternative organization, the Food Conspiracy was democratically governed. General meetings were well attended and there were often heated discussions on the direction of the Co-op. An argument on what foods to carry, particularly healthy vs. easy to prepare continued for years. Finally, members acknowledged that members and the general public worked and did not have a lot of time to prepare food from scratch. A compromise was worked out to carry the prepared food with a small card placed on the shelf offering suggestions for preparing the same food from scratch with fresh ingredients.
The Food Conspiracy started providing food to several day care centers in neighborhoods identified as low income. Soon, a second storefront was opened in a low-income neighborhood near Speedway and Main. The store was never able to grow or expand and closed after about a year. Several years later a store was opened at Grant and Park, but it too, lasted only a few years. Jumping to today, the Co-op still learns from arguments, discussions, and store openings and closings and continues to be a successful contributing organization to our local community.