Newsletters: September - October 2007
Co-op America
Natural Times-September/October 2007
By Gretchen Hein
October is the month we celebrate co-ops. The history of the cooperative movement is an interesting one. Many parallels can be found between the impetus that gave rise to co-ops historically and that which gave rise to our own food cooperative movement in the late 1960s.
During the industrial revolution in the 1800s, economic conditions gave rise to the cooperative movement. Mechanization was changing the fabric of life and threatening the livelihood of skilled craftspeople. To survive, compete, and maintain quality of product, the first documented co-ops were formed, founded on the principles of democracy and serving the needs of their members. Co-ops have withstood the test of time, emerging in many sectors of the marketplace and in many parts of the world while continuing to uphold the founding democratic principles.
Food co-ops were gaining a firm foothold in our country at the same time the health food industry was getting established. As the natural food industry became increasingly profitable and caught the attention of the business world, food co-ops were forced to compete for business. University of Wisconsin played a pivotal role during this time by offering a small, but important, cooperative education curriculum. Many future leaders in the cooperative movement received training from this program, and although the program is no longer offered, the education and networking acquired from it survived.
In the early years, cooperative warehouses were built to receive product and extend cooperative principles. These blossomed, but unfortunately their numbers have now sharply declined due to the demands of a rapidly growing and changing market. A few still operate, but over the last several years, some of the larger ones have had to close.
The formation of cooperative grocer's associations is the most current response to the ever-changing marketplace. In several areas where multiple food co-ops served the needs of large populations, co-ops began pooling resources to improve efficiency and extend the cooperative network. This idea soon took hold and regional cooperative associations were formed. Not only were ideas exchanged and support shared, but the co-ops began to pool their buying power. These regional associations recently joined together to create the National Cooperative Grocers Association, which provides services and support to co-ops across the country.
Local co-ops are responsive to the needs of their community. These needs in turn determine the services and support that will be provided to co-ops from both regional and national groups. The underlying structure at all levels of the cooperative pyramid is democracy-a testament to the cooperative movement and to democracy itself.
Cooperative Principles
New Leaf Market conducts its affairs in accordance with the following cooperative principles.
- Voluntary and Open Ownership
- Democratic Owner Control
- Owner Economic Participation
- Autonomy and Independence
- Education, Training and Information
- Cooperation Among Cooperatives
- Concern for Community
