Below are some resources to help your food co-op celebrate Co-op Month and promote the difference that you make in your community every day. Please let us know your plans so we can spread the word!
Updated for 2026 except where noted.
CORE MESSAGING & MATERIALS
- Co-op Month Logo. Use the cross-sector Co-op Month Logo above in your co-op’s website, advertising, newsletters, flyers and other materials during October.
- Use the Theme. Use NCBA CLUSA’s Co-op Month theme in your promotions and social media communications to help spread the word (coming soon).
- Tell YOUR Story. Download our customizable Co-op Month Press Release / Newsletter/ ENews Story for use in your food co-op’s newsletter, website or blog post, or as a press release. Look for updates soon and check out these past examples from Buffalo Mountain Food Co-op and Willimantic Food Co-op.
- Tell OUR Story. Share the story of our collective impact and power through your regional co-op federation, the Neighboring Food Co-op Association. Check out this example from Old Creamery Co-op and Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op.
- Publish Co–op Profiles in the October editions of your food co-op’s e-news. Check out this example of Real Pickles by Brattleboro Food Co-op and adapt the NFCA’s profiles of Deep Root Organic Co-op and Real Picklesfor your newsletter.
- Social Media. Help spread the word about Co-op Month this October by using the hashtag #CoopMonth in all your social media posts.
IN THE STORE
- Display the NFCA’s “Go Co-op” & “Impact” Rack Cards to promote Co-op Month to members and shoppers in your food co-op and at special events. Request a bundle by e-mailing info@nfca.coop.
- Use Our “Go Co-op” Shelf Tags to Promote Co-op Products on the shelves of your food co-op.
- Offer Co-op Buttons to Staff, Board Members and Volunteers doing outreach. Please e-mail us for some!
- Co-op Month Sales. Offer a discount and set up an endcap featuring co-op products during October. Visit www.nfca.coop/co-opproducts for a list of co-op suppliers.
- Demo Co-op Products from co-operatives in our region such as Cabot, Equal Exchange, and Dean’s Beans. E-mail info@nfca.coop for more information.
- Invite Other Co-ops to Table at Your Food Co-op or Event. Invite local farmer co-ops, worker co-ops, energy co-ops, credit unions, etc., to share information at a busy shopping day at your food co-op or at a special Co-op Month event.
- Fundraise for Co-op Development during Co-op Month. Set aside a day, week or the whole month to invite shoppers to round up at the register to raise funds for organizations such as the Cooperative Development Foundation, Cooperative Fund of New England, Food Co-op Initiative the Federation of Southern Cooperatives / Land Assistance Fund, or the New England Farmers Union.
ENGAGING SHOPPERS & MEMBERS
- Co-op Month Membership Drive. October is a great time to grow your food co-op or start-up membership with our Co-op Month Giveaway with Cabot Creamery Co-op! (email suzette@nfca.coop if you need more info).
- Co-op Month Talking Points. Your staff and members are your best ambassadors for your food co-op. Provide them with talking points on Co-op Month and how your food co-op builds community every day. It could be as simple as:
“Did you know that since 1964 October has been celebrated as National Co-op Month? We’re celebrating the Values and Principles that make co-ops unique by [share any special events or promotions that your co-op has planned].”
“And we’re not alone! There are more than 65 food co-ops in New England and New York State, locally owned by 300,000 members, generating $625 million in annual revenue, and employing more than 3,300 people. Our co-ops are also engines of our regional economy, with an average of 30% of sales being local products!”
IN THE COMMUNITY
- Submit a Co-op Month Proclamation. Every year, the NFCA submits statewide proclamations and provides local co-ops with a template “Co-op Month Proclamation” to adapt and submit to your city or town. (E-mail us or look for an update soon!)
- Organize a Co-op Month Event with other co-ops and credit unions in the community to organize a Co-op Month Cookout with information tables, or a Film Showing and discussion forum with a video that includes information on co-ops such as “Building a Better Economy“ (2023), The Visionaries PBS program (2016) episode entitled “In the Spirit of Cooperation,” or “Food for Change“ (2014).
- Use the Airwaves! Contact your public access TV station or local radio station for an interview or Co-op Month panel discussion on co-operatives. Example from WHMP’s The Bill Newman Show past 9 years of annual hour-long show during co-op month. A list and links can be downloaded HERE. — and check out these radio spots from Leverett Village Co-op, Wild Oats Co-op Market, and the NFCA.
- Reach Out to Your Local School or Community Organization to do a presentation using the “Co-operatives: The Business of Teamwork” curriculum from the New England Farmers Union.
- Start a Co-op Month Book Group for members at your food co-op with titles focused on co-operatives such as “Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought & Practice” (2014), by Jessica Gordon Nembhard. For more titles on co-ops, visit www.nfca.coop/GO.
- “Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought & Practice” (2014), by Jessica Gordon Nembhard, is a pathbreaking book on the important role of co-operative economics in African American history.
- For more titles on co-ops, visit www.nfca.coop/GO.
ENGAGING DIRECTORS & STAFF
- Roll out a Co-op Education Program for employees and directors. The NFCA makes it easy with a five-part Co-op Education Webinar Video Series with accompanying questions for self-guided study.
Don’t forget to tell us what your co-op is doing to celebrate Co-op Month. Send your ideas and copies of your co-op’s ads, press releases, promotions, and newsletter articles to info@nfca.coop so we can share them with other co-ops in our community.