Urban Recipe

Urban Recipe Creating food security and building community through food cooperatives since 1991.

Urban Recipe's Cooperative Model

Urban Recipe’s food co-ops for low income families provide a unique alternative to many traditional food-centered ministries. Under our model, each family we serve becomes a member of a 50 family food co-op that meets every other week and is convened completely by the members themselves. Because of the consistency and sense of ownership the model offers, co-ops th

at are created to provide food security for those in need have become a place where relationships are formed, dignity is affirmed and community is strengthened. A Typical Day…

Members arrive at their appointed hour, check in and begin to help in a range of ways. They may help set up the room, set out the food, sort the food by different types or simply visit with other food co-op members. A member led meeting is then held where members discuss issues they choose to bring up and make decisions that help run their co-op. The meetings may include a reflection or devotional time, community announcements and at times, speakers. Then boxes are distributed and members leave until they gather again in two weeks.

05/31/2026

Hendrick, our Operations Manager is ready for summer! Are you? So many families are impacted by unexpected expenses in the summer, higher electricity bills, and the tighter cost of living with the kids being home. We are proud to operate our free food co-ops all year to help alleviate that stress!

Parish Grove co-op says hi! Parish Grove is one of our CPP co-ops. That means they are run by our partner, Intown Cares,...
05/29/2026

Parish Grove co-op says hi! Parish Grove is one of our CPP co-ops. That means they are run by our partner, Intown Cares, after they completed our Cooperative Patheway Program. With us providing logistical support, food, and reporting and Intown providing co-op leadership, funding, and space, we together serve our co-op members at Parish Grove Retirement home! These members meet every two weeks to swap food, laughs and stories across multiple languages. Their biggest food request: nothing too spicy!

Parish Grove co-op says hi! Parish Grove is one of our CPP co-ops. That means they are run by our partner, Intown Cares,...
05/29/2026

Parish Grove co-op says hi!

Parish Grove is one of our CPP co-ops. That means they are run by our partner, Intown Cares, after they completed our Cooperative Pathway Program. With us providing logistical support, food, and reporting and Intown Cares providing co-op leadership, funding, and space, we together serve our co-op members at Parish Grove Retirement home! These members meet every two weeks to swap food, laughs and stories across multiple languages.

Their biggest food request: nothing too spicy!

Participation. We use that word a lot, but what does it really mean? One unique thing about co-ops is every co-op member...
05/19/2026

Participation. We use that word a lot, but what does it really mean?

One unique thing about co-ops is every co-op member receiving food also participates in the co-op. That at a baseline means showing up and being present in the community at a co-op. Members can then choose how to further participate each week: welcoming members, setting up, cleaning up, sorting food, bagging produce. These bi-weekly tasks happen every meeting and form the basis of the community.

But, that’s not all! Co-op members also participate in their leadership. They elect a steering committee - a group of volunteers who together lead the bi-weekly meetings. They vote on decisions like what food to keep, how to optimize processes, and ways to welcome new members.

Some of our co-ops participation even extends further with holiday potlucks or meal trains when their community is in need.

Truly, participation is what makes an Urban Recipe Food Co-op unique. Learn more about our unique programs by subscribing to our email list: urbanrecipe.org/subscribe

05/15/2026

Co-op is not just free food (though it is that!) - Urban Recipe Food Co-ops provide opportunity to help others in your community.

Thaddeus, a co-op member at Haven, uses his membership to not only feed his children, but also to teach them a life lesson in generosity. The Urban Recipe Food Co-op model relies on our co-op members to volunteer their time to serve one another.

And as Thaddeus says, serving your neighbor brings peach and joy. Why not add those to the table alongside fresh produce and various food staples?

We have 11 co-ops in the Atlanta area, serving free food to families in need. To stay informed of our programs, make sure you are on our email list: urbanrecipe.org/subscribe

Daniel is a member of Co-op 2. He not only has found food, but also depth of community at co-op, and has taken the oppor...
05/14/2026

Daniel is a member of Co-op 2. He not only has found food, but also depth of community at co-op, and has taken the opportunity to serve his peers in the co-op’s steering committee.

He shared,

Co-op is “a community…You meet many different people, personalities, attitudes, ideas, but we're all working together to do a single project...We help each other out and do whatever's needed. So like the term says, it's a cooperative community…It's almost like a family.”

Read all of Daniel's testimony on the blog!

https://urbanrecipe.org/a-food-co-op-something-regular-in-a-sea-of-chaos/

Happy Monday! It's a fresh start to the week! What are you looking forward to this week?
05/11/2026

Happy Monday! It's a fresh start to the week! What are you looking forward to this week?

Let’s talk numbers! April was a great start to Quarter 2! The funds saved by participation in co-op were free for member...
05/09/2026

Let’s talk numbers! April was a great start to Quarter 2!

The funds saved by participation in co-op were free for members to use in their homes at their discretion: to pay rent, to pay bills, to purchase healthy groceries to supplement the food they get at co-op, to make a doctor’s appointment… The impact every donated dollar has cannot be expressed!

Thank you for helping make a huge impact on our families this month!

Sometimes, you just need a few words to sum up something good! When challenged to describe Urban Recipe in 3 words, our ...
05/07/2026

Sometimes, you just need a few words to sum up something good! When challenged to describe Urban Recipe in 3 words, our co-op members showed some consistency.

What can we say?

Co-ops are a lot like a loving, caring, family or community!

05/05/2026

Our founder, Rev. Chad Hale, really emphasized co-op member participation from day one. We are proud that continues in our model today! To learn more about co-ops, visit our website at urbanrecipe.org

Address

970 Jefferson Street NW, Suite 7
Atlanta, GA
30318

Telephone

+14046880871

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