Co-op Connects returns March 10, with the General Manager (GM) and one or two Council Members  

General Manager Mary Mullally and I will once more be in the café on Monday, 10 to 11 am, with an open invitation to members to stop by to talk about matters related to the council or to the operations of the store. We’ll provide a choice of beverages. It’s been fun to learn what members have on their minds at these events, and I look forward to seeing some folks there.  

Co-ops as a dominant economic force 

Last month, I wrote about how Willy Street Co-op in Madison, Wisconsin expanded from one store to a small chain. Nonetheless, even with three stores, an off-site production kitchen, and an off-site “community space” for co-op classes and private rentals, Willy Street remains a small part of the food economy in Madison. What would it look like for a co-op or network of co-ops to dominate the local economy? 

That’s what the Mondragon Corporation has achieved in the Basque region of Spain. According to a report by the Young Foundation: 

Mondragon is one of the world’s largest industrial co-operative associations. The organisation was founded in 1956 to provide work and employment to local people at a time of great societal economic need. It has seen significant growth: composed of more than 260 different companies and subsidiaries, with over 75,000 workers in 35 countries, and annual revenues of over €12 billion, this constellation of worker-led ventures describes itself as “humanity at work.” 

Hunger Mountain Co-op’s commitment to working with local farmers and other local businesses puts our $30 million business in a web of co-ops and similar structures. While many of the local businesses we use as vendors are not legally incorporated as co-ops, a single-person company or small family farm business has some similarities with a worker-owned co-op. For example, while I don’t have the data, I’d be astounded if the compensation ratio between the lowest and highest paid workers at any of our local vendors exceeds 1:6, the average in the Mondragon co-ops. (At Hunger Mountain, the ratio is set at no more than 1:5 by policy; in practice, it has been and continues to be well under that.) 

We’re a community-owned grocery store who’s broad mission is not only “to create and sustain a vibrant community of healthy individuals [and] sustainable local food systems,” but also “thriving cooperative commerce.” As I noted last month, grocery co-ops in our region have diversified into ventures like hardware and a gas station.  

Can we do more to make the cooperative or quasi-cooperative model more dominant locally and regionally? The council recently held a retreat and developed some ideas for specific timelines for our upcoming visioning process. I hope we’ll dream big! 

By the way: If you’re interested in hearing what happens when a grocery co-op buys a hardware store, I’ll be interviewing the general manager of the Plainfield Co-op, Jeannine DeWald, on my WGDR/WGDH radio show Relocalizing Vermont on Thursday, March 20 at 9 am. You can tune in at 91.1 FM or 91.7 FM or stream the show at wgdr.org. 

The Wrap 

Did you hear about the escargot that got beaten up by two turtles? The police asked him, “Did you get a good look at the turtles that did this?” He had to tell them, “I don’t know. It all happened so fast.” 

Do you have any questions or comments about the Council? Do you know any jokes even faintly related to food and/or co-ops? Please email them to me! [email protected]