Isla Vista Food Cooperative

As the only consumer cooperative in the County, our purpose as a community-owned business is to be a trusted source of natural & organic products and a reliable resource for consumer information–driven not by profit, but by a motivation for community autonomy, mutual aid, and environmental justice. The Co-op is proud to be certified as a SB County Green Business!

Established in 1972.
In Feb1970, the Isla Vista branch of the Bank of America was burned to the ground. The Bank had become a symbol for a population disillusioned by the capitalism and corporatism that seeped into all existence between the University and the USA. As leaves fell from the trees in the Autumn of 1970, community members began to reclaim the streets of Isla Vista. a group of people decided that the best “NO!” they could give the corporate system was by never buying food from “the man” again. And the Whole Wheat Buying Club was born. At the height of the Club, over 450 households were meeting every Saturday, receiving all necessary foodstuffs to get their families through another week of living outside the confine of the corporate food chain. The storefront originated as a UCSB student project, & many of the organizers of the Buying Club found appeasement with the thought of a fully operational community-owned venture. in January of 1972, the Isla Vista Füd Co-op was open for business.

Community Owned O.
Business Owner
The Isla Vista Food Co-op is Santa Barbara County’s only community-owned grocery store. The Co-op was founded over 40 years ago by students and Isla Vistans who wanted to ensure that the community would always have neighborhood access to high quality and affordable food, and that our local farmers and producers would have a dedicated store to sell to. The Co-op is open to the public and participates in many campus and community events to help share resources to make grocery shopping fun and affordable, and most importantly, to keep investing back into Isla Vista so that everyone can benefit from having a grocery store that everyone owns together. We’ve accepted Cal-Fresh since the day their doors opened in 1972.