Co-op News Round Up: 9/1
Happy Labor Day. Below you'll find all the food co-op news that's fit to digitize.
🌹Mississippi Market Co-op and River Market Community Co-op, both located in Minnesota, are seeking approval from their memberships for a merger. A website set up by both co-ops explains the rational for the merger. The vote will take place between September 12th and October 8th.
🌹The Mid-Atlantic Food Co-op Alliance (MAFCA) is putting on a free one day conference in Philadelphia on Saturday October 11th. Weaver's Way will serve as the event's host co-op. Board members, staff and other interested cooperators throughout the region are encouraged to attend. More info and the event registration can be found on the MAFCA website.
🌹Registration is still open for the 2025 Cooperative IMPACT Conference hosted by NCBA CLUSA. The conference will take place in Washington DC on October 7-9th.
🌹You can also still register for the Up & Coming Food Co-op Conference hosted by FCI. The event will be held in Kalamazoo, Michigan on September 11-13th.
🌹Co-ops are appealing to their members for support during challenging times. Los Alamos Co-op Market in New Mexico posted on Instagram on August 27th that the store needed more shoppers. The Dorchester Food Co-op in Massachusetts posted a letter on their website that the store could run out of cash within 2 months
🌹Lastly, the idea for Garlic and Roses was inspired by the decades long run of Cooperative Grocer magazine. Editor Dave Gutknecht wrote many wonderful pieces over the course of that run, but we commend this article from 2003 titled Against War: A Co-op Primer. It's a helpful reminder of the moral clarity co-ops can project in communities all over the country.
