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,” said Woodbeck.

Owners like knowing that their membership and patronage at Lakewinds helps support the co-op doing this kind of work, and creates a sense of belonging to a larger community focused on the same goals. “How do you get this huge group of people to feel like they’re all on the same track? Staking our ground at Lakewinds in our farming community and our regional food area has become a strategic direction for us to address this notion of belonging,” Woodbeck said. The video includes a short but moving clip of those that have been touched by the Lakewinds loan program.