Affordable Food vs. Living Wages
1973: The Year of the Pheonix
While the 1960s are generally thought of as the political awakening of the Baby Boomer generation, the 1970s weren’t exactly a historical snooze. Many of the people who started the Twin Cities food co-ops had been involved in 60s activism, and they continued this work, either within the co-ops or alongside them. But organic and local were not the powerhouse bywords then that they are today...
Co-op to Co-op Trade: Fair to Farmers, Good for the Rainforest
Equal Exchange’s history of co-op-to-co-op partnerships stretches back to its founding in 1986. Back then, three coworkers in a cooperative produce distribution warehouse wanted to find a way to connect U.S. consumers with the smallholder farmers growing their coffee. In defiance of the Reagan embargo on Nicaraguan products...
How Co-op Shopping Changes the Landscape
Lately, I've been transcribing an amazing interview with Audrey Arner of Moonstone Farm, so I thought I'd share a small bit of the inspirational insights I've been enjoying:
“I think the growing awareness of the co-ops that wasn’t just about quality of food, it wasn’t just the range of food, but where it originates.