2012 - International Year of Cooperatives
More than 800 million people around the world belong to cooperatives, and at least 100 million people are employed by co-ops. And more often than you might realize, co-ops play a vital part of your everyday life. Grocery stores, credit unions, housing co-ops, utility co-ops, health care cooperatives and food producer co-ops are just a few types of co-ops you have likely encountered, knowingly or unknowingly.
The United Nations (UN) has declared 2012 the “International Year of Cooperatives,” and National Cooperative Grocers Association (NCGA) and its 122 member and associate food co-ops are joining other cooperatives in marking the occasion.
Titled, “Cooperatives in Social Development,” UN’s resolution recognizes the diversity of the cooperative movement around the world, and the economic and social contributions cooperatives make.
“The United Nations is giving co-ops a global platform to tell our stories, and we are eager to share the many benefits of cooperative grocers,” said Robynn Shrader, chief executive officer of NCGA. “This is a great opportunity for food co-ops to connect with each other, celebrate the dedication of our existing shoppers and owners, and help more people across the country discover that food co-ops are about fresh, delicious foods and so much more.”
NCGA is planning a variety of activities throughout the year, including an online video series hosted by Kevin Gillespie, co-owner and executive chef at the Woodfire Grill Restaurant in Atlanta and sixth season finalist of the Bravo TV series, “Top Chef.” Gillespie will journey through farm fields and grocery aisles showing the unique role co-ops have in building local food systems and their impact in their communities. NCGA will be hosting a virtual premiere of the first few episodes on January 21 at 7pm central at this link which will be live in early January:
www.strongertogether.coop/premiere
An additional video from The Perennial Plate, the online documentary series that follows the culinary, agricultural and hunting explorations of chef and activist, Daniel Klein, will capture the co-op visits the show makes throughout 2011. Following the premiere, these videos will be released periodically throughout the year, likely one per month.
“The International Year of Cooperatives calls attention to the transformational role co-ops play in our economy and our lives,” Shrader concluded. “We’re always incredibly proud to be a part of the cooperative community; even more so at this historic moment.”
Throughout 2012 Viroqua Food Co-op will host a variety of special events and activities in cooperation with other local co-ops to promote and educate our community about the importance of co-ops both locally and globally. Watch for information in the Pea Soup, and on our website viroquafood.coop, our blog (located on our website) and our facebook page.
For more information about the International Year of Cooperatives, visit www.2012.coop.
About National Cooperative Grocers Association
National Cooperative Grocers Association (NCGA), founded in 1999, is a business services cooperative for retail food co-ops located throughout the United States. NCGA helps unify food co-ops in order to optimize operational and marketing resources, strengthen purchasing power, and ultimately offer more value to natural food co-op owners and shoppers everywhere. Our 122 members and associate co-ops operate nearly 160 storefronts in 34 states with combined annual sales over $1.3 billion. For a map of NCGA member and associate co-ops, visit www.strongertogether.coop. To learn more about food co-ops, visit www.strongertogether.coop or www.go.coop.