Since the Neighboring Food Co-op Association (NFCA) was founded fifteen years ago in 2011, at least 20 co-operative grocery stores have opened their doors in the Northeast U.S., reflecting greater public awareness, food system activism, and a collaborative network supporting growth and development.
At the NFCA’s 15th Annual Meeting in March, Executive Director Erbin Crowell recognized the contribution of co-op leaders, start-up organizers and a culture of collaboration to the growth and success of co-operatives in our region. “What we do think we have contributed to is a much stronger ecosystem of support and collaboration in this region with partners and many of you who provide peer support,” he said. “We believe we have helped create an environment of awareness where co-ops are seen as a solution and a successful model for participatory economic development that can serve our communities for generations.”
Since its founding, the NFCA has conducted an annual survey of food co-ops across our region to help communicate our shared impact to shoppers, activists and policy makers. In recent years, interns from the Department of Economics at UMass Amherst have helped track key indicators including shared revenue, members, employees, and support of local producers. Despite continuing consolidation of the retail market, a shifting policy environment, and political tensions, co-operative grocery stores continued to grow last year, increasing our contribution to a more healthy, just, and sustainable food system and economy.
In 2011, there were about 45 food co-ops in New England and New York State. Fifteen years later, there are more than 65, with nearly 300,000 members, about 3,000 employees, and shared revenue of $667 million. Recent surveys have shown that on average 30% of sales at these user-owned grocery stores are local products, compared to 2-5% in mainstream grocery stores, according to a recent study by National Co+op Grocers (NCG).
“Far from being anomalies, our co-operatives are engines of our regional food system,” said Suzette Snow-Cobb, NFCA Associate Director and former member of the management team at Franklin Community Co-op (MA). “They also root infrastructure in our communities, with the average food co-op staying in business for 35 years.”
For more information on food co-op impact and state by data, please visit https://nfca.coop/about.