October is Co-op Month. What exactly is a co-op anyway? There are different types. BriarPatch is maybe one of the most recognizable types, a food retail cooperative.
First and for most, cooperatives are businesses. They are owned and controlled by their members, not by investors. They return surplus revenues to members proportionate to their use of the cooperative, and they’re motivated by service to members. They also follow the Seven Cooperative Principles: voluntary and open membership; democratic member control; member’s economic participation; autonomy and independence; education, training, and information; cooperation among cooperatives; and concern for community.
In 2003 a national survey of 2,031 Americans found that the majority believed businesses that are owned and governed by their customers are more trustworthy than those that do not. More than two-thirds agreed that consumer co-ops are ethically governed. Only 45 percent felt that way about publicly traded corporations. 77 percent felt that consumer co-ops have the best interest of consumers in mind when conducting business, and co-ops outscored publicly traded corporations by wide margins on questions of value, quality, price, and commitment to their communities.
The National Cooperative Grocery Association has listed some of the benefits from co-ops’ commitment to their communities:
Your local food co-op is one of your best bets for fresh, local and organic food year round. It’s a fun place to shop, too. But did you ever stop to think about the significant impact the co-op has on your local community? The term “ripple effect” is aptly used by economists to describe it.
It makes sense that your co-op is a vibrant and responsible member of the community, when you consider co-ops exist to serve their members. Because it’s owned by members of the community, the co-op is responsive to and makes decisions on behalf of the interests of members and the community. Concern for community is a key cooperative ideal, in fact, and community building is part and parcel of cooperative businesses.
Food co-ops contribute to communities by:
- Boosting neighborhood efforts and fostering community spirit. Co-ops donate (with monetary, in-kind contributions and volunteer labor) to a number of local causes—from providing new playground equipment to schools, to creating community gardens to supporting reading programs for libraries. Co-ops also sponsor and/or participate in events, such as local farm tours, parades, blood drives, and fun runs. By volunteering and participating in such events, co-ops offer ways for community residents to enrich their personal lives while connecting with others who share similar interests.
- Offering education. Many co-ops offer cooking classes, workshops and information/recipes to teach shoppers how to prepare a wide array of healthy, delicious dishes, focusing on “quick and easy,” ethnic or in-season local ingredients. You might also learn about a myriad of health topics, including food safety, additives and label reading, as well as special diets for diabetics or those with heart or celiac disease. In addition, co-ops typically offer the community opportunities to learn more about many of the causes they work on, likes organic integrity, sustainability and Fair Trade.
- Supporting local suppliers. For decades, co-ops have supported local farmers by purchasing produce, dairy and meat products from them and often by helping them find additional ways to market their produce. Local producers of fish, meat, seafood, wine, beer, baked goods, dairy products, eggs, textiles, pottery and other craft items often receive substantial support from co-ops who purchase from them and advertise their goods. (Stores often feature local producers or host events to publicize the suppliers and their products.)
- Providing for a healthy community. By offering fresh, healthful food, the co-op supports the wellness of its community members. It also protects the community’s environmental health by supporting local, organic agriculture and policies that favor sustainable development. The co-op provides an important sales channel for farmers, a critical component in a farmer’s decision to commit to organic agriculture, diversifying their crops, and protecting their land and their health.
- Making a direct financial impact. Co-ops are structured to return profits to their member-owners via patronage refunds in direct proportion to their dollars spent at the co-op. (Think of it much like a profit-sharing plan.) As local businesses, they also contribute to the financial health of communities by providing fair wages and benefits to employees, contributing to state and local tax bases, and paying income and property taxes. And when they purchase from local service providers, wholesalers, and producers, those purchases support the local economy, too.
In a recent study, University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives surveyed 101 U.S. food cooperatives with 14,000 employees and 487,000 members. Those co-ops generated revenue of $865 million and wages and benefits of $171 million in fiscal year 2007. Extrapolating to the entire population of 290 U.S. food cooperatives, the group concluded that consumer grocery cooperatives account for close to $2.1 billion in sales revenue and over $252 million in wages and benefits paid. And these, say the authors of the study, are conservative estimates.
Of course, there are huge numbers of co-ops that fall outside the food co-op sector, which have an even larger impact on our economy. All Commercial Sales and Marketing Sector businesses, which include over 3,000 firms that operate more than 5,000 establishments in agriculture, consumer goods, arts and crafts and biofuels, for example, yielded total revenue of $201 billion and 425,505 jobs. The University of Wisconsin study estimates that all 30,000 cooperatives operating at 73,000 establishments in the U.S. (think cooperative credit unions and utility co-ops, for example) account for more than 2 million jobs, $75 billion in paid wages and benefits, $654 billion in revenue, and nearly $3 trillion in assets.
A ripple effect, sure, but the trigger isn’t a pebble; it’s a boulder. Shop at and join your local food co-op, and you’ll make quite a splash.
No related posts.
