Twenty-five years ago, Patty Pan Cooperative started selling ready-to-eat food at Seattle-area farmers markets. It was a good way to make a living: feeding our community and being fed by our neighbors. We built relationships, found our place in the local food economy, and developed a core group of recipes and products showcasing the amazing artisans and farmers who vend with us at the markets every week.

Patty Pan has been worker-owned since 2013, when a core group of employees stepped up to take an active role in management and decision-making. A worker coop is a mini democracy, where members have a real stake in crafting an organization that meets their needs and expresses their vision. 

As a collectively run business, we branched into provisioning Western Washington retailers, especially forward-thinking groceries that share our values around eating well, living well, and celebrating the agricultural bounty of the great Northwest.