Who We Are

Community Table supports entrepreneurs wanting to farm and start businesses that contribute to a local food system. Primarily, we are an association of food businesses. We are here to help facilitate the creation of a viable local food system by connecting growers, processors, distributors and markets to one another and to the information and resources they need to thrive in a local food economy.

Our Mission and Vision

Our Mission: Community Table seeks to address nutritional, economic, environmental, and social community needs by building a local and sustainable food system that connects the chain between growers and consumers.

Our Vision: Created to address the food production, processing, transportation, and distribution needs of the Twin Cities communities, we are an integrated network of community members and cooperative businesses owned and operated by community members and their supporting partners. Operating under basic co-op principles of equity, transparency, and trust, our goal is to grow food, nurture community, and make it economically vital.

Our Members

The members of Community Table grow, process, and sell only locally grown food, practice fair exchange for labor and for food, are culturally inclusive, and adhere to sustainable practices in all we do. Please see Become a Member if you are interested in learning more about membership.

The Story of Community Table

Community Table began with a bunch of people who gathered in June 2010 in Minneapolis to discuss their interest in starting a local food system cooperative. Since then, groups have met weekly to brainstorm, plan, and network. Hundreds of community members have attended these meetings, coming from all parts of the Twin Cities, with most coming from St. Paul and Minneapolis. In these many months we have had many discussions about how to best serve the community and about what Community Table should become. We have taken action steps such as establishing the structure of the organization, linking farmers with opportunities, finding markets for selling, and more. Using cooperative principles of equity, transparency, and trust, we are moving forward to provide services for local food system cooperatives and to support the effort in building a local food system in the Twin Cities area.