What is a Co-op? Print E-mail
Cooperatives are member-owned, member-governed businesses that operate for the benefit of their members according to common principles agreed upon by the international cooperative community. In co-ops, members pool resources to bring about economic results that are unobtainable by one person alone. Most simply put, a cooperative is a business:
  • voluntarily owned by the people who use it, and
  • operated for the benefit of its members.

Regardless of the goods and services provided, co-ops aim to meet their members' needs.

Most grocery store  co-ops are consumer cooperatives, which means that they are owned by the people who shop at the stores. Members exercise their ownership by patronizing the store and voting in elections. The members elect a board of directors to hire, guide and evaluate the general manager who runs day to day operations.

All co-ops contain the following elements:

  • Co-ops are owned and governed by their primary users (the member-owners).
  • Co-ops are democratically governed (one-member, one-vote).
  • Co-ops are businesses, not clubs or associations.
  • Co-ops adhere to internationally recognized principles.

Consumer cooperatives are very different from privately owned "discount clubs," which charge annual fees in exchange for a discount on purchases. The "club" is not owned or governed by the members and the profits of the business go to the investors, not to members. In a cooperative, the members own the business and the profits belong to the community of members.

The specific goals of a cooperative are determined by its members, but all cooperatives adhere to the principles of cooperation that are based on practices of the first successful consumer cooperative, The Rochdale Pioneers Equitable Society , in Rochdale, England (founded in 1844). There are consumer, producer co-ops (usually agricultural) and worker-owned cooperatives. There are also housing co-ops, health care co-ops (the original HMOs were co-ops) and financial co-ops (credit unions). The overall goal of the cooperative movement is to create organizations that serve the needs of the people who use them. Cooperative businesses provide goods and services in a way that keeps community resources in the community.

13 Rochdale Pioneers
The Rochdale Pioneers founded the first successful consumer cooperative in 1884.
 

Subscribe

Co-op News

Greetings,

The Bloomingfoods Garden Center, located at the Bloomingfoods East store, 3220 E Third St, got off to an encouraging start this year.  Now, as the growing season winds down, we’re already turning out attention to how we can make it even better next year.  We believe that one of the best things we can do is to dramatically increase the number and variety of locally produced flowers, shrubs, and other products (including an enhanced offering of native plant species) we offer our customers. Bloomingfoods is strongly committed to promoting a sustainable, local economy, and one of the ways we do that is by providing local producers a venue for their products.  Abundant evidence of this can be seen throughout all departments of our stores, and next year we want that local presence to extend more prominently into our Garden Center. In conjunction with our expanded plant offerings, we are also considering the development of a gardening education series for both adults and kids.

We know that to do this, we need to begin working closely now with local growers, as you wrap up this growing season and begin to plan what and how much you’ll produce next year. We’d love to be an integral part of your plans, as you will be ours. So to get this relationship started, we’d like to invite anyone who produces a product he or she believes is suitable for sale in a garden center to join us on September 15th, from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at the Monroe County Extension Office Meeting Room (3400 S Walnut). There, we will  explore ideas concerning next year’s plant and product offerings, and we will discuss with local producers how we can cooperate together to bring these items to the Garden Center in a way that is efficient, sustainable, and mutually beneficial for both the grower and the co-op.

Specific topics we’ll cover include:

·      Arranging both wholesale or a consignment agreements

·      Types of plants that will stock

·      Education programs for next year

·      Fertility of plants - what we expect for resale

·      Container sizes for each plants

·      POP Materials - producer supplied or GC supplied

·      Photos of each producer and a write up about them, to be displayed at the GC

·      Plant signage for the Center, and how that will benefit local producers

·      Scheduling for plant materials to be received at GC

We’re delighted by the early success enjoyed by the Bloomingfoods Garden Center, and we’re excited by the prospect of working closely and in harmony with you, the growers, as we offer our shoppers the finest in locally-produced plants and other products.  Please join us on September 15th so that our work together can begin. If you will be joining us, please call or email JD at the number or email below.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

JD Lucas, Manager of the Bloomingfoods Garden Center

812-345-6750   This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it