building a
Cooperative Community
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cooperativecommunity.com Publisher: George Keller © Copyright Fall 2011 Layout & Design by: FascinationDesign.com Contact us at: Co-op Network Attn: George Keller 3381 Royalton Turnpike Road S. Royalton, VT 05068 georgekeller@innevi.com (802) 763-7472
Table of Contents
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Page 3 Introduction 4 The Co-op Spirit 8 Co-op Innovation 10 Co-op Member Labor 12 Co-ops in the Community 15 Co-op Help 17 Trading Partners
Celebrating Co-ops & Community
My soul cries for man’s condition I mourn life’s lost dream I keep on wishing That our hearts would be filled with compassion And life would have meaning again
It is going to take a lot of heart to undo the greed of this society but people across the country are learning to work together and help each other break their dependence on big business and industrial agriculture. They are creating co-ops to act as a hub of activity for building a local economy and a sense of community. Cooperatives fit well into a local economy as they share the goals of democratic control and local ownership. There are many different co-op structures available to fill the needs of a sustainable community. Jake Karlyle on his website (http://pia.org.au/karlyle/ ACooperativeEconomyKarlyle.pdf) suggests that in a cooperative economy all companies should be cooperatives except for small companies with one or two people and large public institutions. Building A Cooperative Community magazine and website present examples of the many kinds of co-ops that can make up our cooperative community. We celebrate the new wave of food co-ops presenting in their own words their spirit and their innovations. We present examples of other kinds of co-ops that can
be models for building a community and organizations that can help get co-ops started and assist in their growth. Finally we present companies whose business practices are a model for our community to use when choosing trading partners outside the community. We solicit your input and feedback as we build a website and continue to publish Building A Cooperative Community. Next year we plan to publish an issue in May and October and increase our circulation into the community. Share your co-op inspirations and experiences to participate in our quest to promote cooperative communities and a cooperative economy. Contact us through our website at: www.cooperativecommunity.com If you are inspired to start a co-op go to: www.foodcoopinitiative.coop for lots of help in getting started. Learn about your Being Learn to Love your “special gifts” Then learn to share your “special gifts” with others As they share their “special gifts” with you. Tired of all the bad news in the world. Here comes some good news.
Celebrate the New Wave uuu
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The Co-op Spirit
Coop Organizations have long been focused on Buying Local, Being Sustainable, Building Community and the associated concepts that have become buzzwords with mainstream America since the 2008 recession. The established co-ops from the seventies wave of natural food co-ops have been embracing these concepts and incorporating them into their daily operations. Inspired by these efforts and responding to hard economic times a new wave of co-ops has emerged in the last few years. Here in their own words a few of these new coops reflect the Co-op Spirit of the 21st Century:
Mountain Community Co-op, Eatonville, WA www.mountaincommunitycoop.wetpaint.com
Vision - The Mountain Community Co-op is a model example of the positive effects a “community Cooperative” can have on a region. The community supports and embraces a local, living economy with a healthy, informed and engaged citizenry. Individuals are valued and their unique skills and talents are utilized to their highest potential. The Co-op is socially responsible and nurtures the health and well being of its members. It works to maintain a small town feel, protect the natural environment, and honor the communities’ cultural heritage.
contributes to the larger cooperative movement. The MCC promotes personal well being and community vitality by providing socially and environmentally responsible lifestyle choices, with opportunities to participate in a local, living economy.
The MCC meets people’s needs for: • Access to affordable, natural food and healthy products • Information, education, and services related to our mission • Public service opportunities • Cultural and community activities Mission - The Mountain Community Co-op (MCC) • Developing and sustaining a market and econembodies the spirit of the cooperative model in omy for locally produced goods and services its service to the greater Eatonville region and • Individual growth and self-determination
Just Local Food, Eau Claire, WI 54701 www.justlocalfood.blogspot.com
Just Local Food is a worker owned business that supports the local economy by connecting people with quality food and the farmers who produce it. Our mission is to provide delicious food, local products, and loving and dedicated service in order to promote healthy people and a healthy planet.
Just Local Food Co-op Mission Statement: Just: Justly produced and distributed. Local: Sourced locally first. Food: Energy for enjoying and sustaining life. Cooperative: Worker owned, community supported.
Just Local Food Cooperative provides sustainable • Unprocessed and unadulterated 5 local food at a fair price—for the good of our land, • Produced or distributed by cooperatives, economy, and communities. worker-managed businesses, small businesses and cottage industries Just Local Food Co-op Food Policy • Grown, produced or (adopted by the worker owners in packaged in an envi2006) ronmentally beneficial manner We will do our best to • Not produced or disprovide food that is: tributed by the exploi• Locally produced or distributed tation of workers • Organically and sustainably grown • Low cost and high quality
Lake County Community Co-op, Clearlake, CA www.lakeco-op.org
The Lake County Community Co-op began in January 2008 as a result of a few visionaries that moved forward in community. The basic questions asked were, “What does community want?” and “What will community sustain?” As a result of these initial questions, the community has created a viable buying club with a modified CSA focusing on purchasing locally grown organic produce; a fa-
cilitated online ordering and distribution system (FOODS) launched in 2010; and a coordinated dry/bulk goods buying group that receives deliveries once per month from Azure Standard. In addition, the Co-op has sponsored four successful seasons of the Friday Night Farmers’ Market in Clearlake, launched the ongoing “The Lake County Community Co-op Presents...” educational series, and is currently in the planning stages with the Highlands Senior Service Center for a community garden at the City of Clearlake owned senior community center in Clearlake. The larger vision includes a storefront or mobile co-op in Lake County.
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Waimmanalo Market, Waimmanalo, HI www.waimanalomarket.com
We are a group of Waimanalo residents that We have a vision of a community supporting want to support buying local, living healthy and itself based on the ancient Hawaiian concept of giving back to our community. We strive to be an ahupua’a. Farmers supply and we buy, thus environmentally sustainable while supporting keeping our money within our community. To our local agriculture community. promote self-sufficiency within Waimanalo, we Food sustainability for an island is not just a will offer an outlet for other small businesses to dream; it is a necessity. Did sell their products. This is you know that over 70% of a grass-roots effort to help This is a grass-roots the food we eat in Hawaii build local wealth, create effort to help build is imported? There is less jobs and revitalize our lothan 10 days supply of food local wealth, create jobs cal economy. Ultimately, we available should shipping will serve as a community and revitalize our be interrupted. resource providing grants We will give back to the and micro-loans, educalocal economy. community by allocating tion and economic opporall profits from the co-op to tunities. Waimanalo Market support the many grass-roots programs that take will be the local living economy that supports a care of our youth and our kupuna. By doing so, quality of living that comes from respecting our we are gaining control of our community assets. health, each other and the ‘aina that nurtures us.
Harvest Moon Natural Foods Cooperative, Long Lake, Mn www.harvestmoon.coop
Our Commitment: To grow, gather and give. Harvest Moon was founded on these core commitments, all even more true today than when the inspiration of a local food co-op first sprouted in 2006: • TO GROW a local market offering fresh, quality, nutritious food, supporting a healthy and connected community. • TO GATHER a harvest of naturally grown foods, unique products, caring people, cultural exchanges, friendly services and healthful events - all under one roof. • TO GIVE back by living gently with our environment, offering leadership and education that inspires healthy living and creates connections in a spirited community hub - where each visit is a delightful experience.
Pocatello Co-op, Pocatello, ID
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www.pocatellocoop.com
Vision: To provide natural foods and products to the Pocatello and surrounding community in a manner that is locally and cooperatively owned and controlled, provides a hub for community involvement, and reflects member values.
• Educate about cooperatives and provide support for other cooperatives, • Support community projects and businesses that improve the personal and ecological health of the community.
Mission: • Provide natural, organic, fair trade, and sustainable foods and products, • Bring together local producers and consumers, • Provide education, through various formats, about healthy choices for personal and ecological health,
NON GMO
Project
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Co-op Innovation
Not all of the new co-ops are retail store fronts. Some of these new co-ops have tried putting together combinations of farmer’s markets, CSA’s, Buying Clubs and other ideas to provide for their communities needs. One of the most important innovations from the new wave is the Online co-op. Here two online co-ops talk about their experience: (Editor’s Note: Hey Vermonters – Let’s start one of these)
Oklahoma Food Cooperative, OK www.oklahomafood.coop
The first order of the Oklahoma Food Cooperative took place in November 2003 with 35 orders. We have grown to a membership of about 4,000 and have sold approximately $3.6 million in local food and handcrafted products. Over the years, we have fine-tuned our model, but have stuck with the Oklahoma-only concept, in the name of consumer transparency, economic viability, and sound environmental practices. Our endeavor is made possible via an online ordering system and a network of volunteers across the state. According to the co-op’s president, Chelsey Simpson, one of the system’s key benefits is the ability to know your farmer. “I always tell people that the Oklahoma Food Co-op is like a monthly, online farmer’s market,” Simpson said. “When you buy something through the co-op you are always buying from a specific farmer, and you can read about their growing practices and even contact them if you have questions.” Farmers and producers list products for sale on the co-op’s website, oklahomafood.coop.
Members can log in, open a shopping cart and select where they want to pick up their order. The ordering period starts on the first day of every month and closes on the second Thursday. Delivery day is always the third Thursday, when farmers and producers deliver their products to our operations center in Oklahoma City. Co-op volunteers sort everything into customer orders, which then later in the day go out to our 40 pickup sites across the state. There is a one-time fee ($51.75) to join the co-op; that buys one share. From the beginning, we have been completely self-financed by the sale of membership shares. The co-op also charges producers 10% for selling through the co-op, and customers pay 10% for buying through the co-op. We use this money to pay for our operating expenses (like mileage, dry ice, postage) and use the share revenue to pay for capital expenditures (like software development, ice chests, etc.). We have an account for members who would like to donate funds toward lowincome memberships.
At the Oklahoma Food Cooperative, we do not sell any mystery food. Customers know exactly who produced the food, where it was grown or raised, and what production practices the farmer or rancher uses. Our food has a story, and our customers are part of that story. We are a unique cooperative, in that our membership is comprised of both producers and customers. We as a cooperative are re-creating a local food system here in Oklahoma and our customers are discovering the unique and authentic regional tastes of this area. We are rejecting the idea of food as a commodity, as mere fuel, and are rediscovering the importance of local food production to healthy local communities. Among our producer and customer members we find a diversity of lifestyles, beliefs, cultures, and religions. Even so, we find common ground based on our mutual need for a marketplace where we can find good, healthy, nutritious local foods.
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Note: The Oklahoma Food Cooperative offers help to those considering starting an online coop. See their website: www.oklahomafood.coop
Idaho’s Bounty, Ketchum, ID www.idahosbounty.org
Idaho’s Bounty organized in 2006, produced a very successful feasibility survey, and applied for a USDA planning and development grant. Idaho’s Bounty Online Food Market opened for its first Delivery Day on October 10, 2007. The Co-op continues with retail and wholesale online-orders each week. Membership expands weekly, and additional producers are recruited to fill emerging needs. With each order cycle, the Co-op learns more and works to make their system smoother for everyone. Regular meetings with current and future producers, Idaho’s Bounty employees and new contacts keep their new food shed’s new system moving forward! Events such as dinners with local restaurants, events
with local businesses, potlucks and educational seminars continue to take place each month. Sales have increased at a rate of 30% over each previous year. The numbers of producers has grown to 60 and paid members to 1000. The direct benefits to the Farmers and Vendors are numerous. Idaho’s Bounty’s web-based marketing and distributing system helps farmers/vendors sell their produce year-round within an eight county hub in south-central Idaho. This reliable distribution system will encourage the farmer/vendor to increase their production level to meet the demand of the consumers in existing and new marketplaces.
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Co-op Member Labor
Member labor and volunteerism were used extensively by the emerging co-ops in the seventies. Over the years as these co-ops grew and prospered the use of member labor usually diminished. Hard economic times have made member labor and volunteerism popular with the current wave of co-ops as they work to reduce food prices. Bread & Roses Co-op explains their choice to use member labor.
Bread & Roses Food Coop, Talahassee, FL www.breadandrosesfoodcoop.com
Bread & Roses Food Cooperative is a memberworker, owned, operated, and managed nonprofit grocery store located at 915 Railroad Avenue, Tallahassee Fl 32310. Bread & Roses is organized on the principle of Mutual Aid: collective participation and the equal distribution of responsibilities and benefits. We will be unique in that we will be an organization
of the people, for the people and by the people of the Tallahassee Community. Participation in B & R is distributed evenly: each member of the Cooperative agrees to work a few hours each month (approximately 3 hours once every 4 weeks). In turn, the money saved by reducing overhead expenditures through collective effort will drastically lower the cost of groceries (an approximate average savings of 40% on all groceries for all members). Non-members are welcome to shop at Bread & Roses but will not benefit from the reduced Member prices, and will be charged standard retail prices. Our Goals: • Enrich the Tallahassee Community. • Broaden access to quality, healthy and organic foods. • Minimize our carbon footprint. • Maintain a vibrant democracy through nonhierarchical, egalitarian decision making processes. • Full inclusion of any person willing to participate regardless of class, race, gender, age or sexual preference. Our Core Values: • Mutual Aid. • Providing local, organic, and healthy foods. • Environmental sustainability. • Transparency and openness. • Social Justice
From The Editor: Why go Retail?? All of the co-ops started in the seventies wave of co-ops adopted a retail store structure but that is not the only choice available to our new wave of co-ops. A “Share The Expenses” structure may have the potential to produce greater savings for members on their purchases. In a retail structure markups are placed on products to be sold. All the expenses of the store are paid for by the accumulation of the markups received from the products sold. The store is dependent on sales volume to keep the store going. The energy of the co-op comes from the staff and management that are focused on constantly producing and increasing sales. In a “Share The Expenses” co-op periodic dues are collected from the members that completely cover the expenses of the co-op for the time period covered by the dues. There are no markups on any products so members save money every time they make a purchase. With markups in most stores currently averaging over 50% a family spending $900 a month on co-op purchases might save $300 for that month. If the monthly dues are less than $300 the family shows a savings. Now the energy of the coop comes from the members who are anxious to buy as much from their co-op as they can to accumulate savings that surpass their monthly dues. Members will think twice about stopping at other stores for convenience because of the savings they will lose. They will focus more of their buying power on the co-op and the buying power of the entire group will grow. The purpose of the store management and staff changes from being sales oriented to being service oriented as they work to assist members in buying as much as they can from their co-op to maximize their savings and meet other member needs. Members will be better able and anxious to participate in the co-op’s decision processes.
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They will want the co-op to carry the products they need. It is much easier to understand why your monthly dues increased then trying to understand the complexities of a large retail business. Seeing that the electricity went up or repairs were needed is comparable to working with your personal budget. Membership in a “Share The Expenses” coop is generally not for the casual shopper as dues would be prohibitive unless done on some kind of tiered structure. Non-members could be allowed to shop at the co-op but not recommended. The co-op would have to be very careful not to become dependent in any way on the collected markups received from the non-members and that would be difficult. How a “Share The Expenses” co-op’s operational expenses will compare to a conventional retail operation is not clear. Certainly the savings from not having to be concerned with sales would be significant but there could be new expenses involved with membership. Once co-op members experience how they can get significant savings simply by using a different structure they could start to explore more savings ideas like new distribution systems, preordering and pre-paying strategies. Savings will continue to grow. So before your jump into a Retail Business give “Share The Expenses” some thought. Bad economic conditions in this country demand that we explore new ways to work together. Note from George: I would be glad to assist any groups who are considering such a “Share The Expenses” structure. I can provide conceptual assistance and work on budgets to determine feasibility. Personal Note: Hey Barnard Vermont. Lets start one of these.
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Co-ops in the Community
There are a number of co-op structures available to use in building a local economy. Here Organic Valley, Red Sun Press, Evergreen Cooperatives and CUNA write about the part they play in a community:
Putting community first www.organicvalley.coop
George Siemon, one of Organic Valley’s seven founding farmers and colorful C-E-I-E-I-O, is fond of describing this farmer-owned co-op as a social experiment disguised as a business. Looking back at the near quarter-century history of OV, his meaning is quickly evident. Formed in the late 1980s, during America’s worst-ever family farm crisis—farms were going out of business at catastrophic rates—the motivation for these pioneering Midwest farmers had to be rooted in belief in stronger community, because the business side of farming was nothing but dismal prospect. In this atmosphere, they teased out an elegant union—to nurture both community and coffers. It was evident to these farmers that consumers were fed up with the bland, nutrient-deficient products of agri-business and hungry for a return to the delicious goodness of agriculture. The key to success was reinvigorating the cooperative model and healing the nation’s soil, one farm at a time. Group power and market strength could return if farmers drew together, made better food, and rebuilt community from the ground up.
That’s the social experiment. Could farmers and consumers together step outside the unsustainable U.S. food-production model? Could they together nurture the earth, our communities and our food supply, creating value in the things that flow out of that partnership, rather than leaving the notion of value to the whims of a dehumanized commodity marketplace? So far, thanks to an inspiring community response, thanks to a strong connection with a more conscious, cooperative consumer looking to rebuild authentic links to better food sources, the answer is yes. Full disclosure: It doesn’t hurt that Organic Valley dairy foods are famously, fabulously delicious. Today the Organic Valley cooperative includes more than 1,600 family farms in 34 states and Canada. While that may seem like one big business, it’s really just a whole bunch of little local family businesses pulling together toward a common goal. Better food through cooperation. One for all and all for one: the OV experiment goes on. It’s good business after all.
Evergreen in Cleveland: Creating Jobs Is Top Priority www.evergreencoop.com
A network of cooperatives is growing in Cleveland. Its principal goal is creating employment for current residents of the Greater University Circle neighborhood, a mix of large institutions and poverty neighborhoods. The first Evergreen Cooperatives – the Evergreen Cooperative Laundry and Ohio Cooperative Solar – were launched in October of 2009 with just 14 employees between them. The laundry offers high-tech linen service for hotels, nursing homes and hospitals. Ohio Cooperative Solar installs solar panels and weatherizes older buildings. The model for Evergreen is the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation, which started with four
employee members in 1956 and grew to more than 80,000 in 256 companies by 2010. Having a primary goal of creating employment means companies must be profitable, but there is a difference. Layoffs are almost unheard of. Each member cooperative sends a small portion of profits to a co-op development fund. And there is more concern with whole lives of employees – members earn competitive wages but better than average benefits, benefits that can enhance an employee’s whole life and family relationships. There has quite a bit of excitement about the Evergreen approach within the anti-poverty community. Some have remarked that Evergreen is
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Celebrating Cooperation Farming for the future
The Ranck Organic Valley family farm, Mifflin, Pennsylvania
www.organicvalley.coop
11-11041 Cooperative Comm nwslttr AD.indd 1
© Organic Valley 2011-10041
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s we near a quarter-century as a cooperative of organic family farmers, we’re excited to join you in celebration of the International Year of the Co-op. Organic Valley shares your commitment to nurturing health and harmony between human and natural communities. We raise a glass to all of our sister cooperatives. Here’s to working together for a bright future.
9/2/11 9:11 AM
the first really new anti-poverty approach in 40 years. Evergreen was conceived cooperatively, at a conference of community leaders sponsored by the Cleveland and Gund Foundations. The vision of strengthening neighborhood and enterprise governance came from the University of Maryland’s Democracy Collaborative. And the Ohio Employee Ownership Center at Kent State University contributed its experience in establishing employeeowned companies and coops, as well as identifying two experienced CEOs for the first two coops. 14
Since 2009, employment in the co-ops has roughly tripled, and the Neighborhood Voice newspaper (www.neighborhood-voice.com) began publication. A new co-op, Green City Growers, is constructing a new greenhouse to supply fresh greens to the city. Under consideration is a land trust to stabilize real estate values so companies, employees and their families can continue to live in the Greater University Circle while they welcome new neighbors to renovate neglected older housing and lease newly built apartment units.
Red Sun Press
www.redsunpress.coop
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Red Sun Press is a worker owned printing and revitalization of the inner city. It makes us accesgraphic design company dedicated to social jus- sible to our customers and gives us the ability to tice. In 1974, Red Sun Press was founded with employ the diverse workforce that distinguishes $350 and a small press in a basement. The found- us from the others in our industry. ers, who were active in the civil rights, anti-war, Red Sun Press has been linked to the moveenvironmental and women’s movements, envi- ment for social change for over 35 years. We sioned a full service print shop that would support are proud to have produced many of the matethe movement for political and social change. rials that have communicated the goals of this Our commitment to social justice is woven movement: equal opportunity for all, building a through every aspect of how we run our compa- sustainable world, fair distribution of wealth, and ny. Our cooperative business structure ensures working for peace. that we share the responsibilities and benefits of business Providing printing and graphic design to ownership with our entire staff. people and organizations dedicated to peace, As union members we demonjustice and a sustainable world since 1974. strate our solidarity with the la94 Green Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 bor movement and our desire 617.524.6822 | www.redsunpress.coop to provide a just working environment for all our employees. Offset Printing Our donation program supports community and grassDigital Printing roots organizations working to Graphic Design improve society. Our urban location reflects our belief in the
Credit Unions www.CUNA.org
Credit unions offer great value and service, rooted in their philosophy and structure as not-forprofit, member-owned co-ops. For other co-ops looking for financial services, credit unions are a natural choice, with shared history, philosophy and principles.
Each year, consumers save about $6.8 billion a year in better rates and lower fees by using credit unions. And credit unions consistently score higher than other financial institutions in consumer satisfaction and trust. What does having the choice of a cooperative
financial institution in the market place mean for consumers and other co-ops? It means they have an institution that gives them a voice, that provides great value, and that offers stellar service. Because credit unions are not for profit and member owned, they do not answer to outside stockholders. They are controlled by volunteer directors elected by and from the membership, elected on a one member/one vote basis. Credit unions’ earnings (after setting aside what they need to operate and build capital) go back to their members in the form of higher savings rates, lower loan rates, and lower and fewer fees.
There is no need for a co-op to start a 15 credit union of its own. It can be served by an existing credit union as a “select employee group.” Or the co-op may fall within the boundaries of a credit union whose members all live or work in a specific geographic area, like a city or county. To learn more, contact your state credit union league. A listing is at www.cuna.org Or use the credit union locator tool on a new website launched to help people learn more about credit unions and find one they can join: www.aSmarterChoice.org.
Co-op Help
There are many organizations that help co-ops in a number of ways. Here the Cooperative Fund of New England is representative of organizations that offer advice and financial support to co-ops. The Neighboring Food Co-op Association helps a particular set of co-ops work together: See www.foodcooperativeinitiatives.coop and our website www.cooperativecommunity.com for more information about supportive organizations
The Cooperative Fund of New England www.coopfund.coop
The Cooperative Fund of New England (CFNE), makes loans, provides business advice, and engages partners to support co-ops, workerowned businesses, and community-based nonprofit organizations in New England and eastern New York State. Founded in 1975, CFNE’s mission is to advance community-based, cooperative and democratically owned or managed enterprises with preference to those that serve low income communities. CFNE was founded to fund food sector cooperatives, particularly food co-ops, though has since expanded to other coop sectors. Many of CFNE’s investors and borrowers know that by supporting CFNE, they ensure that lending resources will be available to meet future cooperative needs. Since inception, CFNE has raised over $24 million from social investors, including individuals, cooperatives, and institutions, to make over 560 loans to new or expanding co-ops and community organizations, including over $14 million to the food sector. Borrowers have used these loans to create or sustain over 7,100 jobs, 4,100 affordable homes, and thousands of member-
ship and ownership opportunities. In addition, the businesses financed by CFNE bring necessities including healthy food and healthcare into underserved rural and urban communities. To supplement its financing, CFNE provides multi-faceted technical assistance to its borrowers, including: facilitating peer-to-peer support, particularly between established and start-up co-ops; supporting local and regional networks of co-ops, including the Neighboring Food Co-op Association (NFCA) and the Valley Alliance of Worker Cooperatives; assisting applicants with the loan process; and sharing best practices from the sector. In 2010, CFNE launched its Healthy Foods/Cooperative Communities project to help food co-ops better serve low-income communities. To launch the project, CFNE and NFCA surveyed food co-ops to understand needs and best practices in this area, and are now developing materials to publicize best practices nationally. During its first fifteen years, CFNE lent exclusively to the food sector – producers, warehouses and retail outlets. Virtually all of the food co-ops in
its market area were financed by CFNE, at one point or another. Over 60% of CFNE’s loans have been to the food sector. Conversely, as an expression of confidence, food co-ops have invested over $900,000 in low interest loans to CFNE to relend to other co-ops. CFNE’s current food sector portfolio includes food co-ops, producer co-ops, produce transporters and incubator kitchens for start-up food processors and caterers. 16
For more information on investing in CFNE, borrowing from CFNE or the Healthy Food/Cooperative Communities project, please contact CFNE at: cfne@coopfund.coop or 1-800-818-7833.
Neighboring Food Co-op Association, MA www.nfca.coop
The Neighboring Food Co-op Association (NFCA) is more than 20 food co-ops in Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut that are working together toward a shared vision of a thriving regional economy, rooted in a healthy, just and sustainable food system and a vibrant community of co-operative enterprise. Our co-ops are member-owned and democratically governed community grocery stores ranging in size from large, multiple storefront retailers with thousands of members to smaller markets with just a few hundred. Most of these co-ops have been in operation for more than 20 years with some being founded in the 1930s and ‘40s. Despite the challenges of the current economy, many of our member co-ops are expanding and new stores have opened their doors in just the past few years. The members of the NFCA are working together to measure our economic and social impact, conduct education, outreach and regional
sourcing activities that benefit our members, and partner with likeminded organizations to advance shared goals. The NFCA has collaborated with groups across the region such as the Northeast Organic Farming Association, the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group and Vermont’s Farm to Plate initiative. Our association is an affiliate member of the New England Farmers Union, reflecting our shared commitment to a healthy regional food system, family farming and co-operative enterprise as a tool for community ownership, sustainable agriculture and economic resilience. The NFCA works in partnership with the National Cooperative Grocers Association and the Cooperative Fund of New England, and is committed to collaboration among co-operatives. In addition to working together as food co-ops, we support a vibrant, innovative and cross-sector co-operative economy in our region
Trading Partners
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The principles of Fair Trade can help our community in choosing trading partners. All Fair Trade companies strive to practice fair and sustainable practices in their businesses. Some companies practicing Fair Trade choose to be certified.
Mountcastle International Trading Co., Ltd. www.mountcastle.com
Villager and Refugee Folk Art Kenyan soapstone, Indonesian carvings, Russian nativities, ornaments, Thai purses, Kashmiri ornaments, Kenyan and Indonesian jewelry and ethnic folk-art gifts from many other countries. Importer for over 25 years. In Thailand, Cheryl and Dan Mountcastle discovered the intricate quilting of the Hmong hilltribe refugees of Laos. The beautiful quality of this work and the creative use of color prompted Cheryl and Dan to use their savings to buy Hmong cushion covers and quilts and to create a market in the U.S. to help bring more income to the Hmong women. Since 1988, Mountcastle International has greatly expanded its product line to include items made of wood, soapstone, iron, birch bark and glass, from countries including Thailand, Kenya, Indonesia, Russia, Peru, Bangladesh, Chile, Haiti, Botswana, Poland, Sri Lanka, Guatemala and more. Mountcastle International wholesales this folk-art to museum stores and retail gift boutiques across the U.S., ranging from small beach shops to the most prestigious museums in the country. The Mountcastles and their five childdren are currently working overseas. Mrs. Irena Bogusiewicz is the General Manager of Mountcastle International, and she operates
its wholesale warehouse and small retail store in St. Pete Beach, Florida. To order these Fair Trade products, contact Irena for a printed catalog or log on to the wholesale section of their website to view the Online Catalog and NEW PRODUCTS: http://www.mountcastle.com Mountcastle International Trading Company, Ltd. 107 - 8th Avenue, St. Pete Beach, FL 33706 Ph (727) 360-4743 • Toll Free (800) 343-5844 Fax (727) 367-5820 Email: mtcastleaw@aol.com
Fair Trade Federation and Museum Store Association members for 20 years.
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Fair Trade Chocolate - It’s Divine
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www.devinechocolateusa.com
Researchers have found that American wom“Fair trade has helped us a lot. Because of en appear to crave chocolate more than women fair trade, women can come out boldly and take elsewhere in the world. part in every event. Before, it was not like that. But for women cocoa farmers in Ghana, Before, we would stay at home and watch the chocolate is much more than a craving. For the men. And we would work with our husbands and women of Kuapa Kokoo, a Fair Trade farmers’ they would take the money, put it in their pockcooperative and co-owners of Divine Chocolate, ets, and when it came time to buy food or pay chocolate is the way to a bright future. school fees they would say the money is gone. Fair trade means that farmers are paid a “But Kuapa has opened our eyes to see that fair price for their everything should crops and rebe 50-50. So if a ceive premiums man has one vote, to invest in their a woman has one communities. An as well. If the men equally important come together to part of Kuapa Komake a decision, koo’s commitment then the women to Fair Trade is are there to take the advancement part as well. So of democracy to now we are emempower farmers powered, and the in the local and men, they cannot global markets. cheat us again. Democracy “Also because makes it possible of fair trade, we for the farmers of have many projKuapa (45,000 ects for women. members in 1,200 villages) to discuss how to im- We make soap, t-shirts, batik. We grow other prove their communities in ways that benefit the foodstuffs and sell in the market and then put greatest number of people. In a world where co- some money into the credit union for hardship coa farmers are exposed to times or to pay our chilthe vagaries of a market bedren’s school fees.” Researchers have found yond their control, farmers Divine Chocolate is cothat American women value the ability to speak up owned by the farmers of for themselves, say what is Kuapa Kokoo in Ghana, appear to crave chocoon their minds, and set the so women and men farmlate more than women chart for their own futures. ers are involved in decision Democracy also requires making at every level. elsewhere in the world. that both men and women So, women, as if we take part. need a reason to eat more Cecilia Appianim is a cocoa farmer from the chocolate, think of Divine as more than a way to village of Asemtem in the Central Region of Gha- satisfy your cravings. You can purchase Divine na. She is also a member of the national execu- Chocolate and support democracy and the emtive council for Kuapa Kokoo, and she visited the powerment of women in Ghana. United States recently to help promote Divine. Written by: Erin Gorman is the CEO for DiShe explained the importance of women taking vine Chocolate part in this way:
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