Our Mission

Homegrown Local Food Cooperative exists to ensure convenient access and consistent supply of locally grown foods that are ethical, organic and sustainable in production to the communities of Central Florida. Our mission is to support the production, promotion, and distribution of these foods throughout our region. Educating the community about the products we sell, and don’t sell, is our contribution to a healthier, better informed community. Inspiring and empowering our members to grow their own organic food is our commitment to a sustainable future.


Our Vision

Homegrown Local Food Cooperative sees a world in which humanity lives in harmony with the environment, technology and one another. Cooperating with one other, we are committed to building something greater than ourselves. Our vision is a transparent and decentralized food system where consumers connect directly with locally owned and operated organic farms. We are creating a world where healthy living is an easier choice. We strive for a world where more people can live abundantly from the fruits of their labor on the land.


Our Philosophy

Food is a necessity for life. Therefore, we believe natural food crops should be regulated to the public domain. The Homegrown Local Food Cooperative is owned by the producer and consumer members that use its services. We believe local food systems should be ruled and run as not­for­profit. Putting people before profit, we provide a democratic approach where your health and the environment come first. Once profitable, our co­op members will decide democratically to return profits back to themselves and/or for reinvestment back into the Co­op for continued mission development.



We strive:


  • To provide healthy, local, ethically produced food direct from our producer
  • To serve local consumers of all income levels
  • To support sustainable, local, high quality agricultural practices
  • To support certified organic and all-natural foods free of added hormones, antibiotics and genetic modification
  • To provide a network for the production and distribution of locally prepared foods and locally made non-food products made with local and sustainably produced ingredients
  • To support a Central Florida food system that in turn preserves the cultural heritage, landscape, water, soil and air vital to a sustainable community
  • To encourage our producers to enhance the biodiversity of native species on their land and to continually improve their land stewardship and conservation practices
  • To use renewable energy sources whenever possible for our distribution of food
  • To support the global cooperative movement and principles

Membership: We are a non-profit member-owned cooperative. You do not have to be a member to use our services, but members pay published prices and Non-Members are assessed a 10% surcharge to their invoice total at the time of pickup. Payment is always made at the time of pickup. Non-members are welcome to place two test orders through our online ordering system without the surcharge to test our service and producers' product quality. Click Here to learn more about Membership, benefits, and our surcharge policy.


Online Market: Homegrown Co-op offers a uniquely convenient grocery shopping experience through our Online Farmer's Market. By ordering direct from Florida farms, most of your food is harvested and delivered to you on the same day. The majority of our market's 900+ offerings are organic and locally produced within 50 miles of Orlando by more than 50 independent producers. Each product is clearly identified by its producer, with links to info about their story and production practices.

Members order exactly what they want, in the quantities they choose. Members can also select a small, medium, or large Season's Pick Veggie Box to provide a CSA style selection of the finest seasonal produce for their family.

You have two opportunities each week to order fresh locally produced organic food through our Online Market with farm fresh delivery days each Wednesday & Saturday.



Ordering is as easy as 1..2..3!


Step 1: From the comfort of your own home computer, browse the product lists and compile your order. Once you learn the system, you can order most of your weekly groceries in only 5 minutes. Each product available through our Online Market is indentified by the producer who grew or created it. You can learn more about our each producer by visting this link.

Step 2: Our local farms & kitchens receive your order at the close of the window. Veggies purchased from our 30 mile radius local farms are delivered to you within 24 hours of their harvest, many times within just a few short hours. We also have many artisan food producers who take your orders through our website. These artisan kitchens produce made-to-order breads, meals, snacks and desserts within 24 hours of your order pick-up.

Step 3: Order Pickup or Delivery. When creating your account, you set a preference for Home Delivery or Pickup at our Downtown Orlando facility. Payment for your Online order is made at the time of pickup or delivery. We accept cash, checks, Visa & Mastercard payments.


Home Delivery: We offer convenient home delivery service to many Central Florida neighborhoods for an additional fee, paid to the drivers for their time and expense. Visit this link to see if we offer home delivery service to your neighborhood, and to find out what the delivery fee will be. Please note that Home Delivery accounts must place a credit card on file with us for the service. If you are home when the driver arrives you are welcome to pay with a cash or check, but otherwise the credit card on file will be charged within 24 hours of delivery confirmation. You may leave a cooler for our driver if you will not be home during the delivery window.


Retail Farm Store: You can also walk-in and purchase the freshest most authentic food in town five days a week at our retail store, conveniently located near the intersection of Princeton Street & Orange Avenue.



Located at 2310 N. Orange Avenue - Orlando, FL 32804.
Summer 2011 Hours: Wednesday through Saturday 10am - 7pm Sunday 11am-5pm

Though our Online Market offers a much wider variety of direct purchase items from farms, you will appreciate the convenience and selection of our Retail Store, which is stocked with an abundant selection of seasonal veggies & fruit, grass-fed/free range meats, eggs & cheese, local honey, bulk foods, jam & jellies, organic gardening supplies and an herbal apothecary featuring over 200 medicinal and culinary bulk herbs.


Our Story

With a mission to “Cultivate Sustainable Community” the Florida School of Holistic Living started the Homegrown Co-op in 2007. Co-op development began in a local roundtable discussino that identified food production, especially organic food production, as the biggest missing component for a sustainable Central Florida community, with a population growing in excess of 5 million people. In a community grappling with high unemployment, deteriorating health outcomes, and the environmental consequences of unsustainable development, we realized the common need to support local organic agriculture and other types of wholesome family-owned businesses.


After meeting with local farmers, we realized the financial struggle they faced, as real-estate changes increased their property tax burdens at the same time their products were forced out of market as the corporate food industry introduced to the marketplace cheap imports of foods from countries from thousands of miles away, with human rights violations and poor environmental regulations. Around the table, we agreed that if Central Florida was to remain economically stable and grow towards environmental sustainability, we must start building a sustainable local food network. So, after a year of research & development, Homegrown Local Food Cooperative launched our weekly online food distribution program in November 2007 with the participation of 10 local farmers. All activities took place within one 100 square foot room in the school's building. At peak, 65 individuals purchased food regularly through our then-weekly online ordering system.


Understanding the systemic problems epidemic to the commercial sources of food our society has grown dependent upon, we have spent the last four years clarifying a vision while actively refining a unique, decentralized model to replace our dying globalized industrial food system. Through our Online Farmer's Market, we have grown to connect over 2000 consumers directly with 45 Florida farms and artisan kitchens - many of which are new to farming and have been inspired by the success of Homegrown. Our Online Farmer's Market and home delivery distribution system has proven to be a low-capital model that is an effective economic engine for genuine social change.


Our leadership has met regularly with a long list of producers, small business consultants, government officials, food development specialists, and with others out of state working on similar projects for continued development ideas and direction. In January 2010, Homegrown Local Food Cooperative became an independent organization and incorporated as a not-for-profit cooperative. At this time, we also announced a ambitious development plans to relocate and expand, ensuring our ability to provide continued service to the Central Florida community. We received sponsorship from Florida Hospital, empowering us to transfer our operations from one room to a three-building, 3,000 sq ft facility. In April 2010, we relocated our operations to this location, and after months of renovation and development, in May 2011 we completed a major transition into this larger facility, with the launch of a five-day-a-week retail store and bi-weekly ordering/delivery service.


We now boast over 350 members are will soon be launching additional pick up locations. Events such as dinners with local restaurants, events with local businesses, potlucks and educational seminars continue to take place each month.


At the Homegrown Co-op, we firmly believe that from diligent efforts of all those involved, a clear picture of sustainable local food system in Central Florida is beginning to emerge. To date numerous ranchers and farmers have joined Homegrown with many local, ethically and sustainably produced foods. There is absolutely no doubt that given the will, organization and financial resources much of our food can be produced within 150 miles of our homes. See our Online Market for information about these producers and the foods they grow for your family.


As support grows with local markets, the varieties of products available will grow. We are on the look out to expand this list with our best and most local options for other valuable products such as oils, salt, organic ice cream, home-cooked foods, bio-diesel, and other value added products.


Check out our humble beginnings in this local documentary from 2007.


Our Board
  • Don Bartlett
  • Christine Henwood
  • Dave Plotkin
  • Emily Ruff
  • Michael Tiner
  • Megan Flocken - ex-officio


    • Our Staff


  • Market Director - Michael Tiner
  • Operations Manager - Christine Henwood
  • Assistant Manager-Membership - Jessica Showers
  • Assistant Manager-Retail - Amber Taylor
  • Operations Staff - Chelsea Bradley, Josh Archer, Sam Bourne, Sarah Benjamin
  • Home Delivery - Eric Cress
  • Farm Delivery - Michael Nunnery
  • Volunteer Coordinator - Chelsea Bradley / Megan Flocken / Sarah Beck
  • Team Member Volunteers - Hilary Brown, Jessica Showers, Scott Browning, Chelsea Bradley, Stephanie Donelan, Jenny McCabe, Chuck Ivey, Jessica Galloza, Sandrine Swartz, Sarah Beck, Jeanene Rochele, Jacob Wright, Kimberly Meeks, Lamae Sampson, Miranda Rowland, Sam Bourne, Leore Wohl
  • Bookkeeper - Chris Flocken
  • IT Coordinator - Jason Buckner

Press


Virtual Farmer's Market, Fox 35 News Orlando, April 29, 2011

Intersections with Mark Simpson: "Local Foods in Central Florida-Taste it!", WMFE 90.7 FM, December 2010

Growing awareness, Orlando Weekly, June 16 2011

Homegrown Food Co-op trying to raise $9,000 by year’s end, Orlando Weekly, December 13 2010


Betting on the farm, Orlando Weekly, April 21 2010

Best way to get local organic food, Best of Orlando 2008-Orlando Weekly, June 17 2008

Bylaws

Download our bylaws here.