Marketplace Overview and the ‘New Normal’
For the first time since chain natural food stores rose to prominence in the 1990s, natural food grocery stores have lost market share to conventional competition. The golden era of runaway growth for natural food [...]
Appreciating the Diversity of Member Needs and Motivations
By Marilyn Scholl 140 January - February - 2009 In my work with food co-op boards and staff over the past 30 years, one of the questions I have often encountered is this: How [...]
Analyzing Your Store’s Systems
By Mary Myers, Walden Swanson 042 September - October - 1992 This is the third in a series of articles based on Business Planning For Cooperatives, a manual published by Cooperative Development Services that provides [...]
Boycotts and Democracy – The Eden Foods Product Boycott as an Opportunity to Renew Co-op Participation and Democracy
By Todd Wallace In the summer of 2014, a Supreme Court ruling in the case of Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby led the CEO of Eden Foods, a prominent organic foods producer, to revive an earlier [...]
Operational Wisdom from General Managers
By Thane Joyal 181 Nov-Dec 2015 Successful cooperatives are guided by strong boards, and those boards rely on strong individuals to manage the cooperative’s business enterprise with excellence. The nature and quality of the board-general [...]
Cooperative Acronyms
4-in-3 — Four Cornerstones in Three Stages :A development model for food co-ops. 4PCG — Four Pillars of Cooperative Governance :A governance model for co-ops. ACBA — Austin Cooperative Business Association :a joint project between [...]
Components of a Successful System of Accountable Empowerment
Accountable Empowerment It is always important for a co-op board of directors to have good systems of accountability in place to provide proper and strategic oversight of the general manager. With strongly increasing demand for [...]
The Decision Matrix
By: Carolee Colter & Jeanie Wells When an organization is going through rapid change, roles within the organization change, too, and not always in a consciously thought-through manner. Expansions can result in forming new [...]
