Neighboring Food Co-op Association

As we celebrate our first five years since incorporation, the Neighboring Food Co-op Association (NFCA) is looking forward to welcoming the co-op community to New England for the 60th annual CCMA (Consumer Cooperative Management Association) conference—hosted by the NFCA and our local members Franklin Community Co-op and River Valley Co-op and held at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

A concrete expression of the Sixth Principle of Cooperation, which recognizes the benefits of collaboration through “local, national, regional, and international structures,” the NFCA builds on the vision of its founding members, who sought to “provide occasions for collective action to build a cooperative economy in our geographic region.”

Today, the NFCA is a federation of 35 food co-ops and startup co-ops across New England that are working together toward our vision of a thriving cooperative economy, rooted in a healthy, just, and sustainable food system and a vibrant community of cooperative enterprise. With a staff of two, the NFCA focuses on supporting member success through peer collaboration, marketing and education, regional sourcing, and organizational partnerships

Successes include our peer training events and Healthy Food Access Project (profiled on adjacent pages); encouraging consumers to “Go Co-op” in our stores and at regional conferences; and our exclusive lineof Northeast-grown frozen fruits and vegetables, distributed through regional distributor Associated Buyers.

We are thankful for partnerships that have helped us increase our impact, such as our collaboration with the Valley Alliance of Worker Co-ops and the Economics Department at the University of Massachusetts to develop a Certificate in Cooperative Enterprise; promoting co-ops and influencing food system policy with New England Farmers Union; partnering with Food Co-op Initiative to expand our support of startups; and working with NCBA CLUSA and other partners in organizing CCMA 2016.

For more information, visit www.nfca.coop.