1. Kevin Edberg Executive Director Cooperative Development Services St. Paul, MN

2. Cooperative Development Services Annual Meeting of Harvest Moon Cooperative September 21, 2014

3. The Powerful Contributions of Food Cooperatives

4. What is a Co-op?  A co-op is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their economic and social needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.

5. The Family of Food Co-ops  About 400 food co-ops in the US today  About 80 new start-ups in the last 5 years  Another 100 communities with active steering committees trying to create a food co-op in their town  Mostly natural foods co-ops, but not all

6. National Cooperative Grocers Association (NCGA)  An association of 142 co-ops in 38 states  With over $1.6 billion in combined sales  And over 1.4 million owner-members  NCGA leverages the 6 th Principle of Cooperation by negotiating best pricing with food distributors for local co-ops

7. Twin Cities Food Co-ops  15 co-ops clustered in the Twin Cities operating 18 (soon 20) stores  In 2013 generated $189 million in sales  For 91,000 owner-members and an estimated additional 50,000 shoppers

8. Regional Support Organizations  Cooperative Development Services: A non- profit that supports start-up and on-going development of co-ops in several sectors  Food Co-op Initiative: A non-profit that supports start-ups of new co-ops  Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund: a cooperatively owned loan fund  Others

9. What is a Co-op?  A co-op is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their economic and social needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.

10. Impacting Local Food Economies  CDS studied the Twin Cities food co-ops and their impact on local foods purchasing  $189 million in 2013, growing 10%/year  30% of sales are for local products, or  $54 million in retail sales, equal to $31 million in farm gate income  UNFI and Co-op Partners Warehouse

11. Your Co-op Makes a Difference!!  Through your work together, consumer- owners obtain the foods they want at best possible pricing  Your food co-op purchases directly strengthen 300-350 local farmers and businesses  Food co-ops are the friendliest buyers for local farmers  You make an alternative food system possible

12. Co-ops Exist All Over the World  You purchase from co-ops around the world

13. You Create Cooperative Economies on a Global Basis! Coffee, tea, dairy, cocoa/chocolate, nuts, spices

14. Organic Cashews- One Story  Nuts are harvested, sorted, roasted

15. Cashews-continued  Nuts are cracked by hand, then bagged

16. Cashews-continued  Bagged and ready for export

17. Your Co-op Makes a Difference!!  Organic and Fair Trade premiums support small landowners  The co-ops directly improve the lives of their owner-members and communities through - Increased income - Education - Clean water - Electricity

18. And Impacts in Other Ways Too  When you purchase from Harvest Moon, you meet your own needs, and support food systems and cooperative economies in the US and beyond.  But the work of cooperation itself impacts our communities as well.

19.  A co-op is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their economic and social needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise. What is a Co-op?

20. Co-ops as Businesses  Cooperative enterprises and cooperative economies are capitalistic in origin: - Co-ops are private businesses - They require member investment and use - They need to generate surplus in order to be sustainable over time

21. Creating a Generative Economy  Co-ops are mission-driven  They link ownership, use and benefit  By aggregating market power and returning benefits to owners based on patronage, they keep control and assets “local”  This creates “generative” economies instead of “extractive” economies

22. Reclaiming Our Democracy  One Member- One Vote  Distribution of Surplus based on Patronage  Re-learning “Governance” vs. “Politics”  All of this creates the potential for us to learn and practice better ways of sharing and protecting the things we hold in common

23. Your Work Today Matters  You gather at Owners and Members to steward an asset you hold in common  You will elect leaders on a One Member-One Vote basis  Your work completes a circle of accountability between “owners”, “governors” and “managers”

24. Three Things I Ask of You  Participate in your co-op - Use the co-op and its services - Ask for products that you need and want - Be knowledgeable of its needs - Create shared vision and leadership - Invite others to join as member-owners - Celebrate what this community can achieve through cooperation

25. Three Things I Ask of You  Grow the cooperative economy - Look for cooperatively produced products - Join a credit union - Look for other community needs that can be met through cooperative action - Direct a portion of your charitable giving to support non-profits in the co-op sector

26. Three Things I Ask of You  Grow your personal knowledge of co-ops - Read a book for your book club “Owning Our Future” by Marjorie Kelly - Participate in cross-sector events: movie nights, book signings, speaker events www.CoMinnesota.coop

27. Thank You for Your Kind Attention!