Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. (ABLE) is a non-profit regional law firm that provides high quality legal assistance in civil matters to help eligible low-income individuals and groups in western Ohio achieve self reliance, and equal justice and economic opportunity.
A cooperative grocery store will lessen food insecurity in a central city food desert and provide access to healthy, fresh food.
Worker-owned cooperatives are not new, but utilizing this legal model is emerging as a viable solution to food insecurity. After two major food chains left their neighborhoods, community members asked ABLE to research legal models to make sure that another grocery wouldn’t come and go again.
Gem City Market emerged after years of community engagement and planning – with a nonprofit and by-laws that give workers and neighborhood board members responsibility and control. Gem City recently broke ground, and we are so proud to be a part of this project-rooted in the community!