It’s a Co-op World

Cooperation is more than just a good idea — it’s a way to transform the way business is done.

When you walk into a food co-op, you’re entering something that’s beyond a grocery store. You’re in a cooperatively owned space, created to meet the needs of the people who shop there. Simply put, a food co-op is a grocery store owned by the people in the community. They are independent stores, built on the idea that everyone can benefit from cooperative ownership.

Food Co-ops: Open to Everyone

Anyone can shop (and eat and gather) at a food co-op. And everyone is welcome to become an owner. Co-op owners can get financial rewards, as well as a vote to choose the board of directors and influence the co-op’s future direction.

Food co-ops bring benefits to the entire community — owners, shoppers, workers, vendors, farmers, suppliers and beyond. They keep more money in the local economy, increase the market and access for locally produced food, and prioritize business practices that are good for people and the planet.

Co-ops Are Everywhere

The co-op model works for much more than grocery stores. Co-ops provide the framework that allows people to achieve their goals, whether it’s access to housing or bigger markets for small farmers, in a way that better meets their needs.

In the United States, there are more than 29,000 co-ops, including — but not limited to — food co-ops. Beyond your neighborhood food co-op, cooperatives exist for brew pubs, coffee suppliers, olive oil producers, credit unions, electric utilities, hardware stores, artists and chocolate makers, to name a few.

Here are a few common types of co-ops:

Agricultural Co-ops

Agricultural co-ops bring independent farms together to achieve long-term success. You’ll find products from agricultural co-ops in your local food co-op.

Financial Services Co-ops

Financial services co-ops such as credit unions help to strengthen the economy by granting account members ownership.

Housing Co-ops

Housing co-ops are apartment complexes, single-family homes, mobile home parks or student housing that empower people with homeownership and responsibility.

Choose Co-ops

You can support co-ops by seeking out their products at your food co-op. You’ll find Co-op Trade signs on the shelves directing you to goods grown, made or distributed by co-ops.

Equal Exchange is a worker-owned co-op providing fairly traded coffee, tea, chocolate, bananas, olive oil and nuts grown by small farmer organizations around the world.

Frontier Co-op, more than 50,000 member-owners strong, is dedicated to sourcing the highest-quality spices, herbs and botanical products through the Frontier Co-op, Simply Organic® and Aura Cacia® brands.

Organic Valley is the largest farmer-owned organic cooperative in the U.S. and one of the world's largest organic consumer brands.

Look for Co-op Trade signs on the shelves directing you to goods grown, made or distributed by co-ops.