Chris Dilley, General Manager, Peoples Food Co-op, Kalamazoo, Mich. You won’t want to miss this video of Chris Dilley, general manager of Peoples Food Co-op in Kalamazoo, Mich. Dilley speaks very eloquently about the impact of their co-op’s growth on the community and as well as how growth has begun to create a conversation about greater access to healthy food for everyone. He spoke [...]
Michael Healy Recorded at The Cooperative Cafe Michael Healy invites us to expand our thinking around participation in our co-ops, specifically how we look at measuring participation. According to Healy, there may be way more to examine if we can move beyond just counting voter turnouts and Annual Meeting attendance. Rather than looking at participation as something co-ops need to convince people to do, [...]
Fostering Belonging Dale Woodbeck, General Manager Lakewinds Food Co-op Chanhassen, Minnetonka, and Richfield, Minnesota Dale Woodbeck shares the story of Lakewinds Food Co-op’s success fostering a sense of belonging among its stakeholders through the Lakewinds Organic Field Fund. The fund gives assistance to farmers producing organically and to farming organizations providing sustainable agricultural support. “This is something that resonates totally with our owners,” [...]
Ever wonder how an economist would coach you to talk about growing your co-op? Now’s your chance! In this five-minute video=, Doug Hoffer, economic researcher and the State Auditor of Vermont, does a quick download of most of the key talking points supporting the opportunity to grow our co-ops. Hoffer points out that research supports the benefits of cooperatives in communities for the [...]
Terry Bowling, general manager, La Montañita Co-op, Albuquerque, N.M. La Montañita Co-op is a thriving retail and wholesale operation with six retail locations and a warehouse. Terry Bowling, the co-op’s general manager sees potential for the co-op to do even more by being a hub of community development. When the co-op decided to get into the distribution business, it has done a lot to [...]
People join co-ops to be a part of a community with shared values, and to belong to an association that enhances their well-being. Their sense of belonging is reinforced and grows when the co-op meets their needs, when they feel included, and when they understand that the co-op also belongs to them! Check out this short video by Patricia Cumbie on this important aspect [...]
In this 13-minute video Bonnie Hudspeth shares some key strategies in launching the community participation efforts at the startup Monadnock Food Co-op and how those ideas relate to all our co-ops. Hudspeth, a startup champion from the Monadnock Food Co-op in Keene, N.H., and a staff member at the Neighboring Food Co-op Association thinks long established co-ops and startups both need to continue to [...]
In this six-minute video Amy Fields, general manager of Eastside Food Co-op in northeast Minneapolis, describes the creation of their community participation project, Northeast Network. For more than three years, the co-op has hosted a monthly morning meeting to dig into topics important to their neighborhood. Creating the network was part of the co-op’s desire to expand beyond its immediate network and build neighborhood [...]
Theories of Participation Dan Arnett, general manager Central Co-op, Seattle, WA Theories of Participation Dan Arnett, general manager Central Co-op, Seattle, WA Dan Arnett shares his views on sustaining the cooperative identity through owner participation in co-ops. Expanding on the concept of Own, Use, Serve and Belong, Arnett sees the foundational aspect of the cooperative as an association and the [...]
The Language of Participation Emily Lippold-Cheney Cooperative Organizer, CooperationWorks! The Language of Participation Emily Lippold-Cheney Cooperative Organizer, CooperationWorks! What is the role of language in elevating the meaning of participation in cooperatives? Emily Lippold-Cheney takes us through some fascinating linguistic demonstrations and challenges the viewer to make intentional use of the language we choose. “Language is key to changing a paradigm,” Lippold-Cheney [...]
