Food Co-ops: Making Healthy, Local Food More Accessible Micha Josephy & Bonnie Hudspeth NOFA Summer Conference // August 11, 2013 1
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 2
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 3
The Solution? 4
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 democraticallycontrolled enterprise International Co-operative Alliance 5
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, onevote). User-Benefit: The people who use the co-op receive benefits such as patronage dividends, improved price, goods and services & employment. 6
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 privately 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 7
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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 9
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 10
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 11
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 12
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. 13
Vision Thriving Regional Economy Focus Areas Collaboration among Co-ops Healthy, Just & Sustainable Food System Strategy Network Partnerships 14
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 15
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) 16
CFNE Impact 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 17
Millions Mfg. Housing Co-op 8% Nonprofit 9% Worker Co-op 11% CFNE Borrowers 4-30-2013 Housing Co-op 18% Food Co-op 43% CFNE Portfolio 1975-2012 CFNE Investors 4-30-2013 Individual 31% Co-op 9% Government 15% Bank 5% Foundation 9% Other Co-op 8% Cohousing 3% $14.0 $12.0 $10.0 Trust 6% Faith- Based 25% $8.0 $6.0 $4.0 $2.0 $- 18
Structural Challenges Revisited 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
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 20
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 21
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! 22
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 23
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 24
A Neighboring Approach - Brattleboro Food Co-op - Monadnock Food Co-op - Putney Food Co-op 25
Co-Branding = Bigger Impact 26
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) 27
Successes & Strengths Willingness to do it Community and member based entities Vision of inclusion Co-op model allows flexibility 28
What s Next? 1. Toolbox 2. Technical Assistance 3. Peer-to-Peer Audits 4. Coordinated roll-out 5. Partnering for success 29
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 30