Bonnie Hudspeth, Outreach Coordinator for the Neighboring Food Co-op Association & Micha Josephy, Program Manager for the Cooperative Fund of New England, share how twenty-nine New England food co-ops are collaborating to make wholesome, nutritious food more accessible to all community members. This presentation explores the capacity of food co-ops to increase access to healthy food for individuals/families with limited food budgets, and strategies to increase collaboration among food co-ops for a larger collective impact.

1. Food Co-ops:
Making Healthy, Local Food
More Accessible
Micha Josephy & Bonnie Hudspeth
NOFA Summer Conference // August 11, 2013
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2. Overview
• Introductions
• Problem: Hunger in our Communities
• Solution: Co-ops!
-- What are they?
-- Why can they address hunger?
-- What challenges to co-ops face in this area?
• Food Co-ops & Healthy Food Access
-- Partners
-- Projects
• Questions and Discussion
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3. The Problem
• In the Northeast, over 2.9 million households (13.5%) are food
insecure, meaning they lack the resources to access enough
food.
• Households with children or seniors are more likely to be food
insecure, and are the most vulnerable to hunger’s impact on health
and well-being.
• In the US, 2.3 million households have limited access to
supermarkets and grocery stores. Many of these households
are low-income and food insecure.
• The need is spread through urban, rural, and increasingly
suburban communities
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4. The Solution
?
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5. What is a Co-op?
A co-operative is:
* an autonomous association of persons united
voluntarily
* to meet their common economic, social, and
cultural needs and aspirations
* through a jointly-owned and democratically-
controlled enterprise
International Co-operative Alliance
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6. “User” Focused
• User-Owned: The people who use the co-op’s
services also own it.
• User-Controlled: The people who use the co-op
control it on a democratic basis (one-member, one-
vote).
• User-Benefit: The people who use the co-op
receive benefits such as patronage dividends,
improved price, goods and services & employment.
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7. Co-ops Today
Are more common than we think
• 1 billion members worldwide (1 in 4 in the US)
• More people than own stock in publically traded corporations
• Majority of US farmers are co-op members
Are innovative
• Healthy food, organic agriculture, Fair Trade, re-localization, regional
aggregation & distribution
Are successful
• 30,000 co-ops in all sectors of US economy
Are resilient
• Survived and grew during the global recession
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8. 8

9. Co-ops in New England
• 1,400 co-ops across industries
(Food Co-ops, Farmer Co-ops, Credit Unions, Worker Co-ops,
Energy Co-ops, Housing Co-ops, etc.)
• 5 million memberships
• Employ 22,000 people
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10. The Birth & Growth of the
Co-op Movement
• Rochdale Pioneers
• Begin with a store
• Accumulate shared capital
• Leverage purchasing power
for new Co-op enterprises
• All about HEALTHY FOOD
ACCESS
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11. Co-ops & Resilience
Community ownership & control
+ Focus on service, meeting needs before profit
+ Development of local skills & assets
+ Regional economic efficiencies
+ Ability to assemble limited resources
+ Difficult to move or buy-out
+ Root wealth in communities, not markets
+ Member, customer loyalty
+ Low business failure rate & are long-lived
------------------------------------------------------------------
= More stable local food systems, infrastructure,
employment, services & economy
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12. Structural Challenges
• Balancing various goals
 Planet, People, Profit
• Economies of Scale
 Economic Competition against Big Boxes
• Barriers to Entry
 Limited Capacity of individual co-ops
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13. Food Co-ops and Healthy Food Access
• Increase access to healthy food and co-op
ownership for low-income families in New
England.
• Facilitate information sharing among co-ops.
• Highlight the role co-ops play in healthy food
access.
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14. Vision
Focus
Areas
Strategy
Thriving
Regional
Economy
Network
Partnerships
Collaboration
among
Co-ops
Healthy, Just &
Sustainable Food
System
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15. VERMONT
• Brattleboro Food Co-op, Brattleboro
• Buffalo Mountain Food Co-op, Hardwick
• City Market / Onion River Co-op, Burlington
• Co-op Food Store, White River Junction
• Granite City Grocery, Barre
• Hunger Mountain Food Co-op, Montpelier
• Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op, Middlebury
• Plainfield Food Co-op, Plainfield
• Putney Food Co-op, Putney
• Rutland Area Food Co-op, Rutland
• South Royalton Food Co-op, South Royalton
• Southshire Community Market, Bennington
• Springfield Food Co-op, Springfield
• Stone Valley Community Market, Poultney
• Upper Valley Food Co-op, White River Jct.
CONNECTICUT
• Elm City Co-op Market, New Haven
• Fiddleheads Food Co-op, New London
• The Local Beet Co-op, Chester
• Willimantic Food Co-op, Willimantic
NEW HAMPSHIRE
• Co-op Food Store, Hanover
• Co-op Food Store, Lebanon
• Great River Co-op, Walpole
• Littleton Food Co-op, Littleton
• Manchester Food Co-op, Manchester
• Monadnock Community Market, Keene
MASSACHUSETTS
• Assabet Village Food Co-op, Maynard
• Dorchester Community Co-op, Dorchester
• Green Fields Co-op Market, Greenfield
• Leverett Village Co-op, Leverett
• McCusker's Co-op Market, Shelburne Falls
• Merrimack Valley Food Co-op, Lawrence
• Old Creamery Co-op, Cummington
• River Valley Co-op Market, Northampton
• Wild Oats Co-op Market, Williamstown
RHODE ISLAND
• Urban Greens Food Co-op, Providence
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16. NFCA Member Impact
• A Co-op of 20 food co-ops and 12
start-up projects
• 90,000 individual members
• 1,400 employees (2010)
– 1,200 in 2007
– VT members among top 25 employers in
the state
• Paid $28.6 million in wages…
– Average wage was 18% higher than the
average for food and beverage industry
in same states.
• $200 million revenue (2010)
– $161 million in 2007
• $33 million in local purchases
(2007)
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17. • Founded in 1975
• Finance co-ops and nonprofits
• Loaned over $30 million
• 99.2% repayment rate
• 100% repayment rate to
investors
• Created/saved 8,415 jobs and
4,462 housing units
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CFNE Impact

18. 18
Worker
Co-op 11%
Nonprofit
9%
Mfg.
Housing
Co-op 8% Housing
Co-op 18%
Food
Co-op 43%
Cohousing
3%
Other
Co-op 8%
CFNE Borrowers 4-30-2013
Govern-
ment
15%
Bank
5%
Found-
ation
9%
Faith-
Based
25%
Trust
6%
Individual
31%
Co-op
9%
CFNE Investors 4-30-2013
$-
$2.0
$4.0
$6.0
$8.0
$10.0
$12.0
$14.0
Millions
CFNE Portfolio 1975-2012

19. Challenges Revisited
Structural Specific to HFA
1) Balancing Goals 1) Time/Cost of designing
and implementing
affordability programs
2) Economies of Scale 2) Reaching prospective
co-op shoppers/members
3) Barriers to Entry 3) Perception of co-ops as
expensive
4) Pricing 19

20. 1) Time / Cost of Design and
Implementation
Sharing Resources:
– Planning timeline
– Pro-forma for financial projections
– Marketing materials
– Educational program design
– Staff training
– NFCA/CFNE Role
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21. 21
2) Reaching Prospective
Shoppers/Members
Smart Partnerships: Hunger Free Vermont
Nonprofit education & advocacy organization
whose mission is to end the injustice of hunger
and malnutrition for all Vermonters.
• The formula:
• Children are fed healthful food wherever they are in their day.
• Individuals and families have access to enough 3SquaresVT
(SNAP) benefits to purchase nutritious food for their family.
• All those who need education on cooking & nutrition have access
to it.
• Charitable food is used only for emergencies.
www.hungerfreevt.org

22. 3) Perceptions about Co-ops
• Education on variety and value
• Using welcoming/inclusive language in all
communications (in store and in advertising,
marketing, etc.)
• Host community events & do store tours: get
people in the door!
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23. 4) Pricing
• Affordability Programs
– BASICS
– Food For All
– After school programs
• Membership installment plan
• Classes on cooking, food prep, etc.
• Shopping on a Budget, bulk section tours
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24. Framework: Aspects of
Healthy Food Access Programs
1. Collaboration with Partner Organizations
2. Inclusive Marketing
3. Education of Individuals
4. Product Affordability
5. Accessible Ownership
6. Infrastructure
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25. - Brattleboro Food Co-op
- Monadnock Food Co-op
- Putney Food Co-op
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A Neighboring Approach…

26. Co-Branding = Bigger Impact
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27. HFA Challenges & Responses
Challenges:
• Reaching prospective
co-operators
• Pricing
• Perception re: co-ops
as expensive
• Time/Cost of designing
and implementing
affordability programs
Responses:
• Smart partnering
• Basics, discounts, bulk,
education re: cooking.
• Education re: variety &
value
• Sharing resources
among co-ops
(CFNE/NFCA)
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28. Successes & Strengths
 Willingness to do it
 Community and member based entities
 Vision of inclusion
 Co-op model
allows flexibility
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29. What’s Next?
1. Toolbox
2. Technical
Assistance
3. Peer-to-Peer
Audits
4. Coordinated
roll-out
5. Partnering for success
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30. Contact Us
Micha Josephy, Program Manager
Cooperative Fund of New England
micha@coopfund.coop // www.coopfund.coop
Bonnie Hudspeth, Outreach Coordinator
Neighboring Food Co-op Association
bonnie@nfca.coop // www.nfca.coop
www.facebook.com/neighboring
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