“In a time before Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and organic produce in supermarkets, one had to shop rather widely in San Francisco to assemble a grocery list of whole foods and organic fruits and vegetables. In the early 1970s, for bulk dry goods there was Oh’s Fine Foods, a narrow storefront on Mission Street with a wooden floor and open burlap bags that felt as if it had been there for a century (and may have for all I know). For organic produce, there was the Alemany Farmer’s Market. For cheeses, there were various Italian delicatessens. You might travel to a store only because it carried a particular item, such as peanut butter without hydrogenated fats or cream cheese without additives.

“In that time of experimentation and alternative institutions, there arose groups that called themselves Food Conspiracies. 

“In the 1970s, collaborative “food conspiracies” began to recede and food activists founded a network of worker-owned cooperative stores and businesses that became known as the People’s Food System. Offering employment to recently paroled prisoners and refugees from Central America, the system put its values into practice internally and externally. Campaigns to improve nutrition and to understand better the politics of international food industries, as well as the politics of various food choices, helped seed consumer demand for healthier and more organic alternatives, later widely adopted by mainstream grocery stores and restaurants.

“By the end of the 1970s, a distinct change could be discerned in the supermarkets and groceries of the Bay Area. Items formerly found only in co-ops or health food stores were appearing on the shelves. Large numbers of people sought out healthy alternatives to the “plastic” American food fare, as whole foods entered the mainstream. Cheez Whiz and Tang made way for rennet-less, low-fat cheddar and organic apple cider. Reaganism and a resurgent right-wing prompted many of the workers in the Food System to put their political energies elsewhere, such as in the growing anti-nuclear movement or in Central America solidarity work. Long hours for low pay also began to take its toll on Food System members. Most stores quietly disappeared, although a few hung on for quite a while. Today, the glowing exception to the demise of the People’s Food System is San Francisco’s Rainbow Grocery.”

Excerpted from “A Personal History of the People’s Food System” and “The People’s Food System“.