Jon Steinman sat down with Robin to talk about the merits of a grocery store coop business model and it's proven role in protecting innovation and community. They discuss the business model, stages of development and the economic impact. And yes, we touch on the role a grocery store coop can play in human health.
Jon is an accomplished food journalist, author of Grocery Store: The Promise of Food Co-Ops in the age of Grocery Giants, speaker, community facilitator and one of 17,000 members of his local grocery store coop in Nelson, BC.
Jon's website: GroceryStore.Coop is a wealth of resources including the following.
Photo Album: This could be ours. A tour of consumer owned grocery coops.
A healthy recommendation and link to the Food Coop Initiative for those considering forming a coop in their community.
Can the supermarket hang in there? Forget Amazon and Walmart — when supermarkets were first introduced, they were the disruptors, putting general stores, butchers, and cheesemongers out of business. Is it now their turn to fade away, asks this piece from The Wall Street Journal. Supermarkets and smaller-format grocers made up around 37% of Americans’ total food spending in 1997. As of 2022 that was down to just a quarter of that total. If supermarkets want to avoid going the way of the dinosaur, the WSJ writes, the key will be offering something both big-box retailers and discount grocers can’t. —Chloe Riley (Supermarket News/July 2023)