In July 1967, Mexican-American farm workers in the Yakima Valley started the United Farm Workers Cooperative in Toppenish. At the time, the Co-op was not affiliated with the United Farm Workers (UFW) movement led by Cesar Chavez. The Co-op sold shares for $5 and by August 1967, 150 families had purchased shares. Co-op prices averaged 7% less than grocery stores in the area; at the time farm workers made about $1.40 per hour. Many co-op members said savings of even a few percent were significant when trying to feed large families on a limited budget. In addition to selling staple foods, the Co-op served as a community center. It provided aid in pay disputes, assisted farm workers who were injured or needed food stamps, and helped Mexican-American students enroll at UW. In the 1980s, the Co-op officially became part of the UFW and was renamed the United Farm Workers of Washington State.

This image shows Tomas Villanueva (facing camera) in the Co-op. Villanueva was a major force in starting the Co-op and in 1986 he became the first president of the United Farm Workers of Washington State.

Caption information source: “Yakima Field Hands Fight Food Prices With Own Store,” by Bill Sieverling, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, August 6, 1967, page 15.
Caption information source: “The Fusion of El Movimiento and Farm Worker Organizing in the 1960s,” by Oscar Castañeda, Civil Rights and Labor History Consortium, retrieved from https://depts.washington.edu/civilr/farmwk_ch6.htm