Everyone in Spain has felt the cost of living crisis. Whether it be the price of meat or even simple foodstuffs like milk, eggs and olive oil, buying food in Spanish supermarkets is markedly more expensive than it used to be.
But what can we do about it? Sadly, not a great deal. Unless you're lucky enough to have your own land and grow all your own food, we have to buy our food somewhere.
Fortunately, in recent years a new trend has taken off to try and free Spaniards from the price-gouging grip of chain supermarkets and give them greater control of the sorts of products they want to buy: co-operatives.
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But what is a co-op supermarket? What are the benefits? How does it work? And where in Spain can you find them?
What is a co-op supermarket?
Co-op supermarkets are essentially community driven, locally run, not-for-profit supermarkets that serve local areas, a model that allows them to offer products at almost cost price and far cheaper than the big chain supermarkets.
In short, when you are part of a co-operative supermarket you are more than just a customer, you become a part-owner, an employee and a customer all at the same time.
Members of co-ops agree to contribute a few hours of work per week and in return they get access to the cheaper products, the power to choose (or reject) certain suppliers, as well as the right to participate in decision making. They may also have to pay an initial fee to form part of the supermercado colaborativo.
In some cases, anyone can shop at these co-ops, but they won't get discounts as non-members.
Co-ops generally sell everything you could need from fruit and veg to alcohol and toiletries. They try to offer a wide selection of products in order to be able to compete with the big supermarkets.
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They also emphasise sustainability, recycling and a circular economy. Products tend to be local and minimally packaged, and the model is not based on discount offers or advertising. 80 percent of the products offered in cooperative supermarkets are produced in Spain.
As Fernando Navalón, Coordinator of the Network of Co-operative Supermarkets in Spain, puts it: "Co-operative supermarkets are shops where people can do all their shopping, with the particularity that the customers are the owners and make the decisions about what types of products we want, what is done with the profits generated, or what price we put on our products".
Where are Spain's co-op supermarkets?
Spain's network of co-op supermarkets is made up of 10 co-operatives throughout the country, which reflects how this kind of collaborative grocery shopping is still in its early days:
A Vecinal (Zaragoza)
Biolibere (Getafe)
Biotremol (Castalla, Alicante)
Yecla (Murcia)
Food Co-op (Barcelona)
La Ortiga (Seville)
La Osa Co-op (Madrid)
Landare Asociación de Consumidores de Productos Ecológicos (Pamplona)
Som Alimentació (Valencia)
Árbore (Vigo)
Almocafre (Córdoba)
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