by Kenna S. Eaton, General Manager

Recently I attended the 2023 Consumer Cooperative Management Association (CCMA) conference in Sacramento, California. This is a conference I’ve attended many times in my 40 plus years working at food co-ops, but for several reasons it was one of the most inspiring. Key to that inspiration was hearing from the Food Co-op Initiative (FCI) how many new start-up co-ops have opened their doors this past year. Typically, there are just a handful, but this year (and next year as well), 12 new co-ops are opening their doors. That’s significant! And the really inspiring part is that these co-ops are serving communities, both urban and rural, that previously didn’t have a grocery store to shop in at all. Some of these new co-ops include stores in North Flint and Detroit, MMichigan; Dayton, Ohio; and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

So, what has changed? Low Income, Low Access (LILA) communities, tired of limited or no access to grocery markets, have decided to take charge and create change for themselves. Additionally, there are multiple streams of funding that were previously unavailable, both from the federal government and from charitable foundations, who have both begun paying attention to the critical need for food access in underserved communities. The conference honored these new co-ops, who shared their stories of the hard work and community spirit that was needed to create a place to feed themselves and their neighbors. These markets offer their members the food they want and need, and no, that isn’t only natural/organic like the wave of co-ops that sprang up 50 years ago. However, the similarities are most important: these co-ops are member owned and operated, they meet the needs of their members, and they are using cooperative principles, just as we are. I love seeing the cooperative movement truly making a difference today just as it has since its inception in 1844.

International Cooperative Day is the annual celebration of the cooperative movement, celebrated on the first Saturday of July, which this year is July 1. The celebration aims to increase awareness about cooperatives and their contributions to economic and social development, as well as promote the movement’s ideas of international solidarity, equality, and world peace. Cooperatives are all about sharing resources and building a stronger community. For more information on this worldwide celebration, visit www.coopsday.coop or click on #CoopsDay. And for more information on how to start a co-op in your community visit www.fci.coop, where you can locate the resources needed at no charge! Co-ops truly do rock!