WEBINAR

For U.S. and Canadian food co-operators, including staff, managers, boards of directors and member-owners.

How can we know who we are and where we are going if we don't know where we have come from?

This couldn’t be a more important time to review the history of grocery retail and food cooperatives. As the political and economic paradigms of today swing in a different direction, history offers us clues for what the future might hold.

Join author and co-op storyteller JON STEINMAN to explore the fascinating, frustrating and inspirational history of modern grocery retailing and the waves of food co-op formation that emerged alongside.

Areas of focus:

◦ The rise of early 20th century grocery giants.

◦ Resistance to the rise of the chains: competition law/enforcement.

◦ Emergence of low-price/discount food culture.

◦ Evolution of retailer dominance over suppliers.

◦ History of the co-operative model.

◦ Why co-ops emerged as a response to overly-liberalized markets.

◦ Waves of food co-op development.

◦ African American co-ops.

◦ The rise and fall of 1970s-era food co-op distributors.

◦ Food co-ops ‘grow up’ in the 1980s.

◦ Erosion of competition enforcement and effects of Reagan-era economics on grocery retail, market concentration, and on the food system.

◦ Food co-ops today.

◦ The future of food co-ops.

What will participants walk away with?

◦ Strong sense of purpose as an employee, board director, or member-owner of your food co-op.

◦ Solidarity with previous generations of co-op developers.

◦ Increased capacity to communicate the role of food co-ops within the context of historic and present-day grocery retail.

Jon Steinman is the Author of Grocery Story: The Promise of Food Co-ops in the Age of Grocery Giants (New Society Publishers)

DATES (two options):

Tuesday, January 14, or, Wednesday, January 22

1:00pm - 2:15pm ET | 12:00pm - 1:15pm CT | 11:00am - 12:15pm MT | 10:00am - 11:15am PT

COST: $40 (Individual) | $300 (Group - 10ppl) | $500 (Group - 25ppl)

Includes access to recorded webinar, slides, and additional resources.

Organizations registering a group will be provided a few options to easily register staff, directors or members for either of the two dates. Consider extending a free invitation to your member-owners. A folder of materials to help you promote the webinar will also be shared.