It started with a group of local people getting together and talking about food. A farmer, a food writer, a chef, and culinary teacher, a lawyer, a restaurant owner, and others. People who live in the area, who care about the food we eat, who want to buy locally sourced products year-round, and who want to see the Northeast Kingdom thrive.
What about a food Co-op? Surely this would be a success!
That was when the fun began.
What would this Food Co-op look like? How big does it need to be? How would we fund it? Where should it be located? How should it be set up? So many questions needed answering.
So began a journey of discovery. We have been guided and supported by many experts in all areas. Through grants from the USDA, we hired Columinate, White+Burke and Mel Reis, a marketing consultant joined as well joined, the Neighboring Food Co-op Association to guide us towards understanding shape and scope of the project.
Thanks to you, our friends, and neighbors, our membership at this time is well over 600, a number that has drawn the attention of funders and other organizations that will be key to our success.
What is a co-op?
A co-op is a group of people who work together for economic benefit. A co-op is owned by its members; it is a democracy, with one vote per person. A group of people acting cooperatively can create a business where other kinds of entrepreneurship don’t work. A food co-op returns any surplus profit to its members in the form of a dividend.
The Caledonia Food Co-op will:
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be a great local supermarket with local, natural, artisanal, vegetarian, vegan, and international foods
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create local jobs
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increase local farming (through committed buying and promotion)
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keep more spending in the area
Greens Build Healthy Communities.
Stacy, Christopher, Luke Thrall.
There are so many exciting things happening in ST J right now, having our own Co-op will be icing on the cake. We appreciate the time and effort the Co-op board is putting in to make
it a reality.