West Oakland welcomes co-op's healthy foods...Mandela Foods Cooperative, which opened June 6 across from the West Oakland BART Station in the Mandela Gateway affordable housing complex.
Mandela is stocked with bins of fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and grains sold in bulk, snacks that eschew high-fructose corn syrup, organic dairy products, hormone-free meats and an array of grocery items. Canvas bags and T-shirts created by a local artist hang on the walls.
The owners earn a living wage and eventually will share in two-thirds of the store's profits. One-third of the profits will be returned to the community as matching funds to people who open accounts at the credit union next door.
