Worker-Owned Corn Processing Co-Op Planting Seeds in the Philly Region

For the next expansion of its work in support of undocumented workers, South Philly Barbacoa is incubating and spinning off Masa Cooperativa, a worker-owned masa processing cooperative. It’s still early, but they are already selling masa to individuals and restaurants in Philly and as far as Boston. Over the past few months, they’ve visited farmers in their region to establish business partners who can plant the heirloom varieties of corn they want to purchase. And they’re making moves to secure the space and storage capacity to process at least six acres of that corn this fall.

“The majority of the restaurants around here use a factory-made tortilla,” Lopez says. “This is a good product, we should be able to sell it.”

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