In the previous newsletter, I wrote about what happened when ICE enforcement actions hit the Twin Cities food co-ops last winter. Those co-ops became the crisis infrastructure their communities needed—preparing to shelter vulnerable employees in secure spaces, keeping food flowing to neighbors afraid to leave their homes, and closing for a general strike. The co-ops profiled showed that our role extends well beyond selling groceries. 

I want to return to that theme, because it was at the heart of a remarkable speech I heard in March, and which I’ve been thinking about a lot since. 

On March 21, the Neighboring Food Co-ops Association (NFCA) presented its Neighboring Co-operator Award to Doug O’Brien, president and CEO of the 110-year-old National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA CLUSA). NCBA CLUSA represents a diversity of co-ops: food co-ops, farmer co-ops, credit unions, housing co-ops, and worker co-ops. A central argument of his acceptance speech was that cooperatives are effective crisis infrastructure, proven by numerous historical examples. 

A pattern written in history 

“In the 1930s,” O’Brien said, “farmers and rural residents organized to secure market access and electricity when investor-owned utilities refused to serve them. Within a generation, 90% of rural America had power because of co-ops.” (Still today, many Hunger Mountain Co-op member-owners—like me—are also member-owners of an electric co-op.) 

A more recent example is the 2008 financial crisis. He said that credit unions “performed significantly better than non-cooperative financial institutions. They avoided weird financial arrangements and were far more likely to work with struggling borrowers rather than foreclose.” During the initial Covid-19 crisis, too, food co-ops “leveraged their local supply chains and community ties to keep doors open and ensure access.” 

Staying close to their communities’ needs apparently makes good business sense, too. O’Brien noted that co-ops last longer than other businesses. 

The best-kept secret 

O’Brien offered a striking picture of just how embedded cooperatives already are in American life. More than 150 million Americans are cooperative members. More than half the food we eat passes through a cooperative somewhere in the supply chain. In the rural Midwest and Southeast, most electricity flows through member-owned utilities. Cooperatives have “scaled and transformed the economy”—quietly, without much fanfare. 

That quietness has a cost. O’Brien acknowledged that cooperatives have long been “the best-kept secret,” and that breaking through the noise requires doing it together. “No single cooperative or sector can achieve this alone. This is exactly when cooperatives matter most.” 

Cooperation among cooperatives 

What makes the present moment navigable, O’Brien argued, is the sixth cooperative principle*: cooperation among cooperatives. Through associations like NFCA and NCBA CLUSA, co-ops can advocate, share resources, and amplify each other in ways no single organization can manage alone. 

He was direct about the stakes. “Over the past year, our association has faced significant socioeconomic and policy upheaval.” NCBA CLUSA lost roughly half its revenue when the Trump administration shuttered USAID, forcing the termination of all 15 of its international development projects. “Thanks to the power of association,” he said, “our members, the National Cooperative Bank, and individual supporters stepped up to keep us afloat.” 

O’Brien gave further examples of the power of cooperation among cooperatives to build resilience; I’ll cover those in a future newsletter. 

Our diverse supply chain, member networks, and democratic governance are crisis infrastructure. And our co-op’s strength is inseparable from the strength of the movement we’re part of. “Cooperation matters most in challenging times,” O’Brien said in closing.  

*Hunger Mountain Co-op has enshrined the seven cooperative principles in our bylaws, which refer to the statement of the principles by the International Cooperative Alliance. 

Council candidate filing deadline extended to July 16 

With at least one council member whose term expires this year stepping down, there is room for more talented people to step up and serve the Co-op on the council. Voting starts at Annual Meeting on September 24, and the timeline allows us to extend the deadline for filing as a candidate to July 16. It’s an exciting year to serve on the council, as it’s the council that gives final approval of the strategic plan that all members will be invited to give input on this year, and the plan will affect how we make best use of the recently purchased 707 Stone Cutters Way property.  

If you’re interested in joining the council, or know someone who would be a good candidate, please check out the information on how to run.

The Wrap 

Did you hear about the co-op that opened a café on the moon? Great food—but no atmosphere!

—Carl Etnier, Council President

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!