Get Involved

Everyone has a place at the table! There are many ways to get involved with Community Table.
Informational meetings are currently held on the second Wednesday of each month at 6:30pm at NY Plaza, 1304 E Lake St., Minneapolis, MN 55407.

Start a Business

A local food system depends on the integration and cooperation of many different types of businesses. Each has a vital part to play in a healthy and functional local food economy. Community Table helps people organize business cooperatives.

Here is a list, by no means exhaustive, of some of the kinds of businesses that you might consider starting:

  • Farmer: seeds, seedlings, produce, animals products
  • Processor: packaging fresh produce by serving size, canning, freezing, drying, meals, signature products
  • Distributor: by truck, by bike, storage warehouse
  • Marketing/Selling: finding, establishing, and maintaining relationships with customers
  • Education: growing, processing, energy-conservation, consumer health, food systems

Become a Member

Community Table is in the process of developing a membership structure that will provide a number of services and benefits for our member cooperatives. In this stage of our work, we are making connections and helping small businesses develop into cooperatives as a way to create the basis for a healthy and vibrant food system.

Please contact us for information about making your business a valued member of Community Table. We are here to help provide the resources and support you need to join us in creating a new local food economy.

Volunteer

Whatever your particular talent or interest, if you are passionate about creating a new local food system, we can use your help. If you would like to help Community Table directly with planning, organizing, marketing, and administrative tasks, we would love to have you join us. We have committees addressing various needs. We have a limited number of seats on our board of directors for people who are not business members of the association. We need dedicated people to work on helping co-ops establish their structure, building relationships with start-up cooperatives and helping them with the process of getting their business going strong. Please contact us if you are interested in getting involved, or come to an informational meeting, and we will be happy to tell you about current opportunities.

Some volunteers currently needed include:

  • Farmer Ambassadors (Spanish, Hmong, or French speakers especially)
  • Grant Writers
  • Financial Wizards
  • Member Qualification Handbook developers (research, writing, design, publishing)

Community Table is a legally registered business which operates as a volunteer-run cooperative. If you would like to support these efforts with a monetary gift, please do. Our network of community members and small business owners thank you for your dedication to helping build a local food system.