Erbin Crowell & Bonnie Hudspeth, NFCA

New England Farmers Union Convention

6th December 2013 // Newport, RI

Partnering forHealthy Food

Access

Food Co-ops & Healthy Food Access

Food Security in New England

Between 2007 and 2011, participation in food

stamps (SNAP) increased by more than 50% in

every state in New England:

STATE Participation 2010 Growth 2007-2011

CT 10% 55%

ME 17% 54%

MA 11% 86%

NH 8% 88%

RI 12% 136%

VT 13% 78%

Source: “The Role of Food Stamps in the Recession,” Communities & Banking, Fall 2013, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, http://www.bostonfed.org.

Some Questions

• Is there a role for food co-ops in

addressing food insecurity?• Do we have an obligation or legacy to

consider in this challenge?• Is there an opportunity for food co-ops in

addressing food insecurity?• Who are our partners in addressing food

insecurity?

The International Year of Co-ops

Recognizing the contribution of of co-ops to:

• Poverty reduction

• Employment generation

• Social integration

• Fairness & globalization

• Conflict resolution

• Food security

Co-operative Origins

What was the motivation of the Rochdale

Pioneers, who codified the values and

principles on which the co-operative

movement has based since 1844?

We know it today as food security.

Dame Pauline Green, PresidentInternational Co-operative Alliance

Challenges

Industrial England

• Dislocation of Local Economies

• Dramatic Shifts in Wealth

• Concentration of Economic Control

• Limited Sources / Markets for Food

• Contamination

• Unaffordable

Solution

Co-operation:

• Mutual Self-Help

• Local Ownership

• Democratic Control

• Affordable Membership

• Healthy, Basic Food

• Local Co-op Development

NEFU / NFCA Partnership

Food Co-ops & NEFU:• Shared Vision: Thriving regional food

system, co-operative enterprise• Stable market for local producers• Stable jobs, infrastructure for local

communities• Affiliate relationship: Collaboration on

policy and advocacy• Development: Accessing resources

Our Co-ops, Working Together...

• 34 member co-ops and start-ups

• 94,000+ member-owners

• 7,250 + new member-owners in 2012

• 1,500 + employees

• $225 million in annual revenue

• $30+ million in local purchases

• $2.2 million in Fair Trade purchases

• $2 million in purchases from other co-ops

Food Co-ops & Healthy Food Access

Jane’s Trust Grant through NEFUEF:

• Increase access to healthy food and

co-op member/ownership

• Support peer to peer collaboration

among member co-ops on programs

• Raise profile of co-ops as tools for

increasing food security in our region

“A Place at the Table”

• National awareness campaign

• Ten NFCA co-ops participating

• Coordinated screenings, community dialogs

Progress

• Resource development: Timeline

Financial planning

Toolbox

• Peer Collaboration

• New Partners

• Seeding national dialog

• Sharing our story

Next Steps

• Continued technical assistance

• Peer to Peer HFA Audits

• Presentations at Regional & National Conferences

• Supporting 5 food co-ops in rolling out HFA

programs in early 2014

• Continued resource development

• Exploring further partnerships

www.nfca.coop/healthyfoodaccess

Erbin Crowell & Bonnie Hudspeth

Neighboring Food Co-op Association

erbin@nfca.coop // bonnie@nfca.coop

www.nfca.coop

www.facebook.com/neighboring