Building Stronger Cooperative Communities 

By Michele Meulendyk

Co-ops have a long history in America, though their stories seem to come in waves. Often rooted in upheaval and economic hardship, they arise as a means to leverage collective power for fairness, safety and survival. This collective action brings power to the people, yet, when societal security reasserts itself, the sense of need for such collaborations often drift to the background of our daily consciousness.

Benjamin Franklin founded America’s first co-op in 1752—The Philadelphia Contributionship—a fire insurance mutual created to protect people against loss from the catastrophic fires that swept through old timber-built cities. Insurance mutuals, cooperatively owned by their policyholders, still exist, such as Vermont Mutual, chartered in 1828.

As early industrialization transformed farming in America, agricultural cooperatives arose to address economic hardship and gain bargaining power for fair transport costs and prices. Early Vermont cooperatives included Rosedale Brand (now Cabot Creamery), founded in 1919 and The Vermont Maple Sugar Makers’ Association, founded in 1893. 

Boston’s “revolutionary corridor” was a hotbed for labor activism during the Industrial Revolution, and saw the formation of the General Trades’ Union in 1834, alongside other labor associations throughout New England. Labor associations and worker strikes dotted this era as workers fought for safe working environments, reasonable hours, and fair wages. 

Following the Civil War, African-Americans, still excluded from most formal organizations, created a variety of collective and cooperative organizations. These included mutual aid societies, buying clubs, and farm collectives. The Colored Farmers’ National Alliance and Cooperative Union, founded in 1876, reached a staggering 1.2 million members by 1891. 

The Great Depression again brought cooperatives to the fore as a means of economic survival and self-reliance. Millions of Americans were left destitute by the stock market crash, the Dust Bowl, and early policies like the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act which, rather than protecting farmers and producers, led to retaliatory tariffs, worsening the economic situation both nationally and globally. 

The Robinson-Patman Act, passed in 1936, aimed to protect small businesses and prevent large retailers from using their market power to force suppliers to sell them goods at lower prices than small retailers. While the Act is still on the books, Fair Trade Commission (FTC) enforcement began declining in the 80’s, under the guise that it stifled competition. Over these last 40+ years, chain retailers have exploded, outpricing small retailers, and leading to the FTC filing its first claims in over two decades, late in 2024.

Modern food co-ops are founded on the same principles as the cooperatives of old: shared ownership, democratic control, and reclaiming economic autonomy against the tidal wave of corporate interests. 

Today’s food co-ops may look more like supermarkets than country stores, and we get some flak for that, but our goals remain the same: to serve our members and benefit our communities. We do this by providing access to food our members desire, by keeping money in our community through wages and support of local producers, and by our community contributions. Today, about 50% of our revenues stay right here in our community and we carry products from 545 local farms and vendors. Another way that Brattleboro Food Co-op and its shareholders serve our community is through our Commitment-to-Community and Round-Up programs.

Our Commitment-to-Community program allows BFC shareholders to earn a discount at the register for volunteering with over 30 local non-profit organizations. These organizations work tirelessly to contribute to our diverse and dynamic community by providing food and access to healthcare, supporting local farms and education, and providing solace and other community services. As a BFC shareholder, you, too, can contribute to our communal resilience by volunteering while earning a discount on purchases at the Co-op.

Additionally, the Round-Up program allows each of us to donate a few cents here and a few cents there at checkout, adding up to a robust program that supports many of the same non-profits you might volunteer with. In 2024, those “few cents” here and there added up to over $55,000. 

Co-ops have always been about coming together to meet the needs of our communities and to confront the unequal distribution of power and resources. We, as a nation, are again in uncertain times. City and state coffers struggle to keep up with costs, income inequality continues to soar, and national directives are stripping away many of the resources and regulations that have helped sustain and protect local and regional programs. Once again, we must look to each other. We have a new opportunity to build a communal resilience that benefits us all.

Learn how you can participate in our Commitment-to-Community program here. 

And when you can, remember to tell your cashier, “I’d like to Round Up today”.