Principle #6: Cooperation Among Cooperatives

Welcome back to our blog series about the Cooperative Principles, which guide how we do business here at Sno-Isle Food Co-op.

Principle #6:
Cooperation Among Cooperatives

We work with the National Co+op Grocers and other cooperatives in the region to build our collective strength through education, information sharing, and combined buying power.

Cooperation among cooperatives may sound a bit obvious, but in a global economy that is defined by fierce competition among businesses, the importance of a continued commitment to cooperation cannot be understated. We believe that by working together with other local, regional, and national co-ops we can most effectively serve our owners and community, as well as strengthen the cooperative movement.

Sno-Isle Food Co-op is proud to be affiliated with National Co+op Grocers (NCG), a business services cooperative for food co-ops like ours and about 150 others around the country.  By unifying through NCG, natural food co-ops have increased purchasing power, as well as a plethora of invaluable resources including training, industry conferences, and shared information between co-ops that enable us to optimize our operational and marketing capacities. Ultimately this allows us and other NCG-member co-ops to offer more value to our owners and shoppers.

We also source many of the products we carry in the store from other types of cooperatives. One of Sno-Isle Food Co-op’s main produce distributors, Organically Grown Company (OGC), is a cooperative that works with organic farms of all sizes to get their wholesome products into the marketplace.

Additionally, we stock many varieties of organic Fair Trade coffee, tea, chocolate, and other products from Equal Exchange, a democratic worker cooperative. Equal Exchange sources its raw ingredients from cooperative farms in growing regions around the world that adhere Fair Trade guidelines in their treatment of workers.

We maintain amicable and collegial relationships with other food co-ops in the Puget Sound region, such as our friends at Skagit Valley Food Co-op in Mount Vernon, Community Food Co-op in Bellingham, the Food Co-op in Port Townsend, Central Food Co-op in Seattle & Tacoma, and others. We are also connected to numerous food co-ops around the country because of our mutual association with NCG.

We believe that by sharing information and resources, it benefits all of our communities and bolsters the greater cooperative movement as a whole. Cooperation among cooperatives is one of the reasons that we have been able to sustain and grow Sno-Isle Food Co-op as an independent community-owned grocery store.