Read more details and see photos on this blog post.

I interview Narendra Varma, cofounder of Our Table Cooperative in Sherwood, Oregon, a cooperative model for community food systems. Our Table grows organic products and offers education and supports food security through their nonprofit.

Narendra and his wife Machelle started Our Table in 2013 after working in the tech industry and moving to Portland from the Seattle area. Narendra grew up in a very strong household culture of cooking, since his mom was a caterer. He and his wife were interested in creating what they call a holy nexus between food and community. They came up with a vision for a more resilient and interdependent local food culture on a community scale.

They set out create a community owned food system that was rooted in personal and cooperative relationships among all of the people involved, as well as the natural systems at play.

Our Table is a multi-stakeholder cooperative, the only one in the food industry that includes consumers and food producers. Narendra describes the cooperative as a work in progress and an experiment, because they’re not sure if it will work in the long term. He hopes others will be inspired to learn from their mistakes so they can make their own.

Our Table consists of three stakeholder groups: (1) the workers (farmers, storekeepers, cooks, etc.), (2) independent farms or producers of food not made directly on Our Table’s farm, and (3) the people who eat the food. Each person has a seat at the table and one vote in the business. Our Table is unique as a cooperative, because each member has one vote, no matter their role or commitment level.

The cooperative has a 60-acre farm in Sherwood, Oregon, the base of operations, where they grow 50 to 60 different varieties of vegetables, berries, and flowers, and occasionally rear livestock. They also have 16 other producer members who grow grain and meat or make kombucha, pickles, and other items. That food gets sold at the full-service grocery store on the farm. Our Table has a CSA program, and they sell products to restaurants, grocery stores, etc. They also offer farm dinners and educational events.

Our Table believes diversity leads to resilience, so they plant a high diversity of crops and implement diversity in their business structures as well. They have a 501(c)3 nonprofit, which focuses on education and food insecurity mutual aid. They also work with local schools to develop a farm-based education curriculum.

We talked about organic vs. conventional farming and soil health, and Narendra pointed out that farm workers are heavily exposed to chemicals in agriculture. Farm workers have the highest incidence of poisoning and death and health impacts from exposure to pesticides and artificial fertilizers. 

We discussed the difficult working conditions for our nation’s food producers and farmers. Our Table strives to pay their workers a fair wage based on a living wage calculator, at least 30 percent higher than the state minimum wage. In addition, all employees become member owners of the cooperative, with the option to become salaried.

I asked Narendra what lessons they can pass on to others who’d like to replicate what Our Table is doing. “The first lesson I would say is patience. It takes time. Second, it all hinges on community…when you build communal ties, other things fall into place…but it takes time to build community.”

Listen to the podcast to learn Narendra’s ideal meal, how he was raised to view food as he grew up in India, and his hopes for the next five years.