Patricia Cumbie

Patricia Cumbie is a writer who has worked with co-ops for many years. She is the editor of Mix, the bimonthly tabloid publication of Twin Cities Natural Food Co-ops. content bottom

Articles by Patricia Cumbie

Learning from Co-op Startups

Issue: 157 November 2011

In the years since 2005, when the Food Co-op 500 pilot project began to challenge the sector to have 500 food co-ops by 2015, a lot has been accomplished in an attempt to achieve this goal. As a...

Elk Grove Case Study

Issue: #133 November - December - 2007

The Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op (SacNat) location in Elk Grove, Calif., was a long anticipated state-of-the-art second store that opened with high expectations in June of 2005, but closed in...

Competition Drives Co-op Improvements

Issue: #132 September - October - 2007

This article refers to graphs not available in this online version. The complete article is available here...

Mentoring Startups

Issue: #131 July - August - 2007

Two years ago food cooperators made a bold pronouncement—we will help launch at least 200 new co-op stores over the next 10 years—bringing the total number of food co-ops nationwide up to 500...

Co-op Expansions Raise the Bar

Issue: #121 November - December - 2005

Every expansion is unique in some respect, but the universal truth is that building a larger facility includes taking on a bigger role in the community. More and more food co-ops are remodeling,...