A new feature film on co-op history and today’s food co-ops is nearing completion.  With some 35 co-ops already contributing support for production of “Food for Change” and about 80 percent of the project's total funding already committed, a final push is underway.  Contributions are tax-exempt, and only another $64,000 is needed for production of a technically top-quality resource.  

The Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") prohibits discrimination in the workplace based on disabilities (physical or mental). The employer has a duty, in fact, to provide its employees and applicants with reasonable accommodations to be able to perform a job's essential job functions.

UNFI has the financial strength and buying power to serve all channels of this industry and to compete with the conventional wholesalers who will try and get into this business. Because the core natural customers are the majority of our business, we will continue to focus on our core natural customer. Because we are focused on selling natural and organic foods, we will fight to maintain integrity in our organic standards, eliminating GMOs from our food supply, and pushing for ways of doing business that protect the environment.

Named after the former manager of the Hyde Park Cooperative in Chicago, the Howard Bowers Fund is the embodiment of the 5th and 6th cooperative principles: education and training, and cooperation among cooperatives. These principles guide the Howard Bowers Fund’s mission of providing the funds for training and education for members, staff, and board members of cooperatives. The Fund alleviates the financial stresses that added education and training can place on cooperatives and clears the road for development of talent and cooperative growth.  

We in the Valley may have an above-average awareness of food co-ops. Take a Sunday drive around Western Mass, and you’ll find co-ops dotting the landscape, serving local communities and offering an alternative to the big box grocery chains that might not find it profitable to serve some smaller towns at all. But even the savviest of co-op members might be surprised by Steve Alves new documentary about the phenomenon.

The EAT-Lancet Commission has issued the world’s first scientific targets for a healthy diet that places food production within planetary boundaries, calling for reduced consumption of animal protein, ultra-processed food and added sugar.

Find an article in by Katy Askew in Food Navigator: https://bit.ly/2AOnSQf 

Cooperatively owned grocery stores exist all over the country. Some have thousands of members and have been around since the 1970s, and some opened within the past few years to serve communities with unusual needs. Watch this video about the advantages of shopping at co-ops, and check this directory for information about food co-ops near you. Each co-op has a story – here are a few! 

New London, New Hampshire: After 18 years as a privately owned natural foods store, 14 Carrots became a member-owned cooperative on August 1. Says general manager Rick Libbey, "Our mission statement is simple. Our goal is to provide products and information for healthy living."