Bonnie Hudspeth, in her role as Programs Manager for the Neighboring Food Co-ops Association, is here to bring you the tales of New England food co-ops SUCCESSFULLY working together to tackle the thorny issues of food insecurity, implicit bias, and the barriers we unknowingly put up around many of our food co-ops. Bonnie has several stories to share that highlight the great work being [...]
Systems & Structures within a cooperative are essential to creating and maintaining strong communication between co-op stakeholder groups. Rebecca Torpie shares some brief points about how these systems can better be leveraged to create and sustain meaningful engagement at your co-op.
Robin Seydel, Membership & Community Development Coordinator La Montañita Co-op, New Mexico
Shawn Furst, Development Manager People's Food Co-op, Portland, OR Shawn and her team of ~30 Co-Managers take inclusivity and openness very serious when they talk about providing "Safe and healthy food for ALL". Hear how the collective management at People's Co-op in Portland has led to a lot of difficult and important work around breaking down barriers to food access.
BriarPatch Co-op in Grass Valley, CA has experienced tremendous growth in a short period of time. Chris Maher, GM, shares his philosophy about growth, and how cooperatives must compete in the marketplace. His vision is clear: We lead with values, every time!
Steve Nance, General Manager Oryana Natural Foods Market, Traverse City, MI
In her work as a Participation & Engagement consultant for cooperatives, Rebecca Torpie gets to see many successful campaigns engendering authentic relationships between co-op stakeholders. From members, to staff, to community members, the connections between these groups is so powerful, and Rebecca shares with you some of the best strategies from co-ops around the US.
Now boards and management groups can easily access the expansion planning advice of CDS CC consultant Bill Gessner, food co-op general managers and board presidents through our newest Online Recorded Workshop titled Expansion Projects: Preparing Your Co-op for Successful Growth. In this video format, many of the frequently asked questions about expansion planning and strategic thinking for boards and managers can now be [...]
An historic proposal was floated among members of 3 Twin Cities food co-ops to merge their 3 distinct organizations into one co-op. Two of those co-ops chose to merge, in this video we get to hear from the one that chose NOT to merge. Eastside Food Co-ops John Lacaria and Carolyn Buzza share about their next steps in deciding how their co-op can create [...]
Martha Whitman tells the story of La Montanitas experience with growth through acquiring stores in new markets. Watch and learn about the leadership of the board of directors as they engaged their membership throughout the process.
