The Co-op Food Stores

added 08/27/08

Q: How is our co-op related to other food co-ops in New England and throughout the country?

A: Over 300 food co-ops currently exist across the U.S., and more are being opened each year. Each is independently owned and operated by its member-owners—generally the people who shop at each co-op.

Our co-op comprises the Hanover and Lebanon stores, the Community Market on Lyme Road, the Co-op Service Center, the Commissary Kitchen in Wilder, Vermont, and our off-site offices at Chiron Springs on Etna Road in Lebanon. We collaborate with Vermont food co-ops, such as Upper Valley Food Co-op in White River Junction, Brattleboro Co-op, and City Market in Burlington as well as other New England co-ops through joint meetings of our board members and general managers.

On a national level, over 100 food co-ops have joined together voluntarily to form the National Cooperative Grocers Association (NCGA), a cooperative that works to provide greater buying power, marketing capability, training opportunities, multiple avenues of communication, and other services to its member co-ops. Membership in NCGA does not affect the autonomy of each co-op, however. We share information, expertise, and general support while retaining our individuality, ownership, and self-governance at the local level.

Q: I’ve been to co-ops that give members a discount at the register. Why doesn’t that happen here?

A: Our co-op uses the patronage refund system, which applies only to members. This system returns “profits” made by the co-op after its operating expenses have been met and returns those profits as a percent of recorded purchases made by the member, hence giving the “discount” at the end of the fiscal year. Although our co-op has not had a year without a profit in recent memory, the patronage refund system ensures that the Co-op’s financial obligations have been met before we give money back to the member-owners. It allows us to keep prices fair, rather than over-pricing as a hedge against unanticipated expenses.

Q: The co-op I belonged to in the Midwest would never sell Hamburger Helper and Froot Loops. How come this co-op does?

A: The majority of food co-ops in the U.S. were started as a result of the natural foods movement that burgeoned in the 1970s. Those co-ops often included rules in their bylaws or charters that addressed the types of foods they wished to provide for their members. Some food co-ops are strictly vegetarian in their offerings; some will not carry products that have artificial additives, refined sugar, white flour, and so forth. Many sell only organic produce or put a large emphasis on the sale of nutritional supplements and alternative medicines. Each sets its rules based on the wishes of the members who own the co-op.

Our cooperative started in the 1930s for the purpose of bringing quality food at reasonable prices to the Hanover area during the Great Depression. Conventional products were the norm and, if you think about it, most fresh foods were “natural” at the time. While we continuously adjust the products we carry, our members have never expressed the desire to restrict the selection based on broad categories. Rather, they refine it through their product requests and their purchases, letting us know what they don’t want by voting with their dollars.