Cooperative Grocer and the National Cooperative Grocers Association Join Forces

We're pleased and excited to announce that at its October 20 meeting the board of directors of the National Cooperative Grocers Association (NCGA) approved the acquisition of Cooperative Grocer. Dave Gutknecht will continue as editor of the magazine, while owner and publisher responsibilities will be the responsibility of NCGA.

Dave says: "I'm very happy to at last have a good succession plan for Cooperative Grocer. For years I've wanted the food co-ops' trade magazine to be based in a national program and a national organization. NCGA is providing the leadership and programs that are urgently needed, and it is the most appropriate home for Cooperative Grocer. I plan to continue giving the magazine its editorial voice, which is actually the work I enjoy most, while benefiting from NCGA's resources, including publication design and production. I'm confident readers and advertisers will see an improved magazine.

"I'm proud to join my efforts to an organization owned and controlled by leading food co-ops in Cooperative Grocers Associations across the country. Now certainly is a time in which we all need to step up our level of collaborative work.

"The sale of Cooperative Grocer to NCGA is also a great solution for me personally. It will reduce my publication workload. I will receive payment for my cumulative investment in Cooperative Grocer. And I will be on contract as editor for at least the next three years, assuring my near-term work."

Robynn Shrader, Executive Director of NCGA, is also very happy with this partnership. Robynn says: "One of the guiding assumptions in the creation of NCGA was that we would have a mechanism to 'pull all the pieces together' of the tools, programs and resources available to co-op retails in making them the best possible operators, positioned to best meet the needs of their owners and members. We see Cooperative Grocer as a significant and key resource in the distribution of information, a voice of advocacy, and a continual monitor and instigator of the big topic discussions that need to occur to keep us a vibrant and effective sector of co-ops.

"As NCGA continues our work to tie together the resources available to our members, we see the opportunity for better alignment, use and focus of often scarce resources to achieve a vision and hope for U.S. food co-ops that is embodied in the NCGA Ends statements. They point us toward a thriving retail food cooperative system; with resources optimized system-wide; an enhanced sense of community based in social justice and environmental stewardship that builds social capital; and is a dynamic system inspired by vision, innovation and creative chaos. These Ends statements guide our efforts on behalf of our current members and future members and express the NCGA board's vision of our collective future.

"Cooperative Grocer has been serving food co-ops in a profound way for many years, and we are proud to provide a home and future for its voice and impact. We are especially grateful to Dave for having created and sustained the magazine and all that it has represented for the benefit of food co-ops and their service to their members. His continued role as editor will ensure that the voice of Cooperative Grocer continues to inform, inspire and challenge us in our work. NCGA is very proud to be joining forces with both Dave as an outstanding journalist, activist and cooperator; and his creation which will continue to be a vehicle that brings us together as a cooperative community."