The cooperative business model has been revolutionizing the way people buy groceries, decades before any mobile app. Food co-ops place store ownership in the hands of the people who shop there. When a customer becomes a member-owner, they are given a share in store decision-making and a share in the store profits.
The modern food co-op looks a lot like any other grocery store, but it is fundamentally different. Co-ops are deeply tied to the communities they operate in, not only selling food and household goods, but cycling money into the local economy on a larger scale than conventional grocers. When $1,000 dollars is spent at a food co-op, $1,604 is generated in the local economy. Food co-ops spend 6% more on local wages and benefits than conventional grocery stores, and do 2 ½ times more business with local farms and producers.
From food co-ops organizing truck deliveries of fresh and bulk produce in the 1960’s to the modern grocery stores we encounter today – food co-ops have been constantly rethinking how local communities access and buy the food products they desire. What makes food co-ops so unique is they give customers the voice and choice in their grocery shopping experience; and because the customers are the shareholders of the business, they are the ones who benefit when the food co-op is profitable.
“Food co-ops do 2 ½ times more business with local farms and product makers than conventional grocers!”
What is INVESTED, BUILT, GROWN, MADE and SPENT with a co-op directly benefits the local community – make a bigger impact when you choose local co-ops.
Combat the widening wealth gap by empowering global communities with ownership and voice in the businesses that shape their lives.
hello@betterworld.coop
PO Box 5236
Manchester, NH 03108
Copyright © 2021 Cooperatives for a Better World. All Rights Reserved.
