Cooperative Principles Stand the Test of Time
In June of this year, the UN General Council declared 2025 to be the International Year of Cooperatives. This is exciting news, as it heralds the fact that more and more people are learning about, forming, and joining cooperatives in their communities. With a backdrop of concern for global climate change, staggering growth in disparity of the CEO to worker wealth gap, and reports of massive layoffs post-pandemic, could co-ops play an integral role in building a better economy? In this article, we’ll explore some of the history of why the first co-ops were formed and why those same principles are still deeply valued today.
One of the first documented successful cooperative businesses was started in Rochdale, England in the middle of the 19th century. During the Industrial Revolution, as factory owners amassed wealth, workers found themselves falling into a cycle of poverty, struggling to afford quality food. One way that folks found to support each other was through cooperation, and thus, the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers began. By combining capital, the members of the Rochdale Cooperative could buy unadulterated foods in larger quantities to sell in their community. What was once out of reach of most, through cooperation, was available to a much broader swath of the population. Their goal was not big profit, but instead the betterment of their community. This group’s influence extends into today because it was founded on a documented set of principles that are still the basis of all co-ops.
Co-ops are legally defined business structures. The Viroqua Food Co+op, for example, is legally a business registered as and following the cooperative business structure defined by Wisconsin statutes. The driving force behind all decisions a co-op makes are the seven International Cooperative Priciples. These principles are core to the very existence of every co-op, whether producer, consumer or worker owned. Through these seven principles, co-ops work to provide goods and services with the end goal of adding value to their communities.
In 1995, the Viroqua Food Co+op was started by a group of Vernon County folks with a vision to provide access to locally grown and organic foods for themselves and their neighbors. This group had a little cash and a lot of drive. Everyone pitched in to make it the magical little store it was. From these first foundational days the end goal was always to provide access to quality foods grown in a responsible way. Now, on the cusp of 30 years and nearly 5,000 owners later the Viroqua Food Co+op stands, unwavering in our mission. We are a co-op, through and through, and we work every day to provide service and value for our beautiful community. We accomplish this through our Give Where You Live program which has raised over a quarter of a million dollars for local non-profits since its inception, through our commitment to know and purchase from over 200 local producers to keep small farms viable, and through our attention to the friendly service our shoppers rely on.
Our choice to buy local has a profound impact that goes even further. In fact, a University of Minnesota Extension study conducted before the co-op's 2018 expansion found that post expansion, each dollar spent at the co-op becomes $1.79 in value after circulating through the local economy! This means that our co-op’s economic impact on Viroqua and Vernon County is $20.3 million annually.* Not only are we getting delicious, local and organic food, but we are investing value right back into our community!
What the Rochdale Pioneers discovered in 1844 still holds true today. When the focus is on cooperation, on supporting each other, on working together to make sure we all have access to the goods and services we find valuable, we can change the world.