Some people thought we were crazy to go from a 4,000-square-foot store to an 18,000-square-foot store. It definitely took a lot of courage from all levels of our organization. We just knew we...
Organic food is still growing at a remarkable clip, especially now that this “pure product” has made the leap from food co-ops to megastores like Wal-Mart, which is infamous for driving down...
The face of Britain’s consumer cooperatives has changed dramatically over the past decade. A once shrinking sector is on the move. A generation of co-op leaders born around World War II (1939–45)...
The big news this fall is spinach, salad mixes and E. coli. Retailers of organic products will need to be able to address this issue. In order to do so, staff must know about the sources of the...
Our National Cooperative Grocers Association (NCGA) had much to celebrate at its General Assembly in Austin, Texas, this September. We welcomed new staff, commemorated...
Food co-op members know how important it is to “source” a product. One of the main reasons many of our members choose to shop at the co-op is because they can be sure that co-op products...
One of Neighborhood Co-op’s board members recently said, “We’ve achieved the co-op in 2010 in 2006!” With this curious statement he was referring to the result of a “Future-Back” planning process...
How can food co-ops in North America achieve greater alignment and forge a common identity? One way is by learning from co-op movements in the rest of the world. The United Kingdom has 160-plus...
Domestic or international? One of my most lasting memories from my visit with the Federation of Southern Cooperatives in Georgia last summer was a profound sense of commonality.
Thanks to the wonders of anesthesia, a trip to the dentist’s office to have a cavity filled is no longer a painful experience, but it is still anything but pleasant. The high-pitched whine of the...
The Community Food Co-op (CFC) in Bozeman, Montana, with an active membership of over 19,000, is 27 years old. This bustling co-op serves the Bozeman community and...
In recent years, the international Fair Trade movement has gained momentum, reaching more producers, traders and consumers with its message of fairness and equity in global trade. Representing a...
In early October, the mayor of Lincoln, Neb., Coleen Seng, and Open Harvest Cooperative Grocery announced that the cooperative and the city parks and recreation department had received a federal...
