We’re shining our Co-op spotlight this week on America’s largest cooperative of organic farmers – Organic Valley! All Organic Valley products are 20% off for member-owners from February 2nd – 8th! Read on to learn more about Organic Valley’s rich history, their commitment to their farmer-owners, and to the environment:
In the 1980’s, a dairy farming crisis was underway. The price for milk fell below production costs and the dairy farmers producing it were facing economic extinction. Farmers were told to “get big or get out”. Industrial, chemical farming was presented as the only existing option for survival. Never mind its effects on our health, our animals, and our environment.
There were many farmers who simply didn’t want to be industrial, chemical farmers at the mercy of corporate agriculture. Thankfully, in 1988 a Wisconsin farmer named George Siemon hung posters calling like-minded farmers in his community to band together. Family farmers filled the Viroqua county courthouse and all agreed that there had to be a better, more sustainable way to continue doing the work they loved in a way that protects the land, animals, economy and people’s health. And that’s how their farmer-owned cooperative was born.
This pioneering group of farmers set high organic standards, which eventually served as the framework for the USDA’s organic rules. The cooperative first focused on organic vegetables, calling themselves the CROPP (Coulee Region Organic Produce Pool) Cooperative, and within a year they expanded to include organic dairy. Demand for their organic products grew, as did farmers’ interest in joining the thriving cooperative. Interest came from farmers and consumers all over the country, and it became clear that they needed a new name to represent their broader base. With that, the CROPP cooperative became Organic Valley.
Now, almost 30 years later, Organic Valley continues to produce some of the highest quality organic dairy, vegetables, soy, and eggs. They remain farmer-owned and remain true to the powerful working model that puts the environment, wholesome quality food, and the farmer first.
Click HERE to read more about the family of farmers that make up the Organic Valley Co-op and find out if there are any near you!
Click HERE for the top 5 reasons to choose organic.
Click HERE to read about sustainability initiatives at Organic Valley.
We’re casting our Co-op Spotlight on Cabot Creamery this week to shed a little light on this nearly 100-year-old cooperative creamery, established at a time when cows outnumbered people in Vermont. Cabot’s full line of dairy products are 20% for member-owners this week! Read on to learn all about their humble beginnings, the local farmers that are part of the this cooperative, and how the Cabot name became synonymous with dairy in Vermont:
The Cabot Creamery, headquartered in Waitsfield, VT, is a cooperative made up of more than 1,200 dairy farm families located throughout New York and New England. We manage four plants in three states, employing over 1,000 people, who make “The World’s Best” cheese and dairy products.
The Cabot story reaches back to the beginning of the 20th century. In those days, the cost of farming was low and most farmers produced way more milk than they could market. So, in 1919, farmers from the Cabot area figured that if they joined forces, they could turn their excess milk into butter and market it throughout New England. Ninety-four farmers jumped on board, purchased the village creamery (built in 1983), and began producing butter.
Over the next two decades, as the nation’s population flocked to urban areas, Cabot’s farmer-owners thrived by shipping their milk and butter south. While the national economy shifted away from agriculture, the Vermont economy was still largely based on dairy farming. In fact, in 1930, cows outnumbered people! It was at this time that the company hired its first cheesemaker and cheddar cheese entered the product line for the first time. By 1960, Cabot’s membership reached 600 farm families at a time when the total number of operating farms around the nation was in sharp decline.
Steady growth continued and 1992 was a pivotal year in Cabot’s history as their farmer-owners merged with the 1,800 farm families of Agri-mark, a southern New England co-op dating back to 1918. Together, the combined companies boasted more than 1,500 farms, four processing plants, and a large product line.
Today, Cabot’s future looks bright. Our company blends state-of-the-art facilities and a savvy entrepreneurial spirit with the timeless values and personal commitment to quality that comes from being 100% owned by our farm families. In our Middlebury facility, we recently installed a huge new piece of machinery that will allow us to process 4,000 more pounds of cheese curd per hour than the 8,000 pounds the current machine handles. This 22-ton piece of equipment known as the CheeseMaster will increase production of the 26 truck-sized vats — each holding enough milk to make 6,000 pounds of cheese — that get filled daily.
The Middlebury facility runs 24 hours a day/seven days a week, and serves to make and age Cabot’s famous Vermont Cheddar. The plant also processes whey liquids, which are left over from the cheesemaking process, to produce whey proteins and permeate, which is sold around the world. Additionally, the facility serves as a warehouse for cheese and whey products, with the capacity to store up to 2 million pounds of cheese. On a daily basis, 120 Vermont and New York dairy farmers supply the milk for the Middlebury plant, although that number increases on weekends and holidays when other plants are closed. Addison County is one of the largest membership areas in the farmers coop, helping to supply the milk that comes to the plant every day.
To learn more about the eight farms in Addison County that are part of the Cabot Cooperative, click on the links below:
Do you know about Co+op Basics? Through this program, we’re able to offer every day low prices on many popular grocery, household, and body care items. From milk and bread to laundry soap and paper towels, you’ll find brands you know and trust at prices you can afford. We’re constantly working to expand the list of products featured in the Co+op Basics lineup, and we’re feeling particularly excited about the recent addition of several Alaffia products!
You will now find Alaffia’s Everyday Shea body washes, body lotions, shampoos & conditioners, along with their Everyday Coconut line of body lotions, shampoos & conditioners sporting a new price tag – $9.99 for a 32 oz bottle! Just look for the Co+op Basics signs:
We’re excited about this great low price, but what thrills us most is the opportunity to feature such an exceptional company in this program.
What’s so great about Alaffia?
Alaffia was founded in 2004 to alleviate poverty and empower communities in West Africa through the fair trade of shea butter and other indigenous resources. Fair trade is the fundamental foundation of their organization, which is comprised of the Alaffia Village in Sokodé, Togo; the Alaffia Coconut Cooperative in Klouvi-Donnou, Togo; and the Alaffia headquarters in Olympia, Washington. Their cooperatives handcraft the indigenous raw ingredients, and the Alaffia team in Olympia creates the finished products.
Alaffia’s success is not simply measured by profit. Their success is measured by empowerment. Empowerment Projects are Alaffia’s mission in action, funded by the sales of Alaffia products, which are returned to the communities in Togo that are home to their cooperatives. Alaffia invests in these communities because they feel a moral responsibility and want to ensure that African resources are empowering African communities. The goal is to alleviate poverty and encourage gender equality. Their Empowerment Projects include several Education-Based Projects, Maternal Health, FGM (female genital mutilation) Eradication, Eyeglass Accessibility, and Reforestation. All of Alaffia’s projects empower Togolese communities to provide their skills and knowledge to the rest of the world and rise out of poverty. In short, when you buy Alaffia projects, you make a difference. Read on to learn about the incredible impacts Alaffia’s initiatives are having in these communities :
Maternal Health & Equality –
Each year in West Africa, 160,000 women die due to complications resulting from pregnancy and childbirth. This figure is significantly higher than the mortality rate for childbearing women in European countries. Alaffia launched a Maternal Health Project, which follows the World Health Organization’s recommendations for reducing maternal mortality rates both directly, through pre- and post-delivery care, and indirectly, through the Alaffia Women’s Clinic project, which provides training & information on topics ranging from nutrition to genital mutilation practices. To date, there have been 4,142 births funded through their programs. To read more about these projects, click here.
School Projects –
The future of African communities depends on the education and empowerment of young people. Since 2003, Alaffia has provided school uniforms, books, and writing supplies to children in Togolese communities to offset the financial burden these items have on poor families. They also donate desks and install new roofs on schools to make learning a more enjoyable experience. Since 2011, Alaffia product sales have funded the construction of ten schools throughout Togo and provided school supplies to 23,700 recipients. They now partner with retail stores to collect school supplies – if you would like to help collect pens and pencils for this project, please contact Alaffia’s office at 1-800-664-8005.
Bicycles for Education –
In rural areas of Togo, students walk up to 10 miles a day to attend school. There are no buses, and families cannot afford private transportation. As a result, school becomes very time-consuming, and most students decide to quit school in order to fulfill their family obligations. In rural areas, less than 10% of high school-aged girls and only 16% of boys attend school (UNICEF). In 2004, Alaffia began collecting and sending used bicycles to Togolese students to encourage them to stay in and complete school. Now, with over 7,100 bicycles sent and distributed, they are seeing a real impact on exam scores and retention in rural schools. 95% of Bicycles For Education recipients graduate secondary school.
Reforestation Projects –
Deforestation and climate change have had a devastating impact on West African farming communities. Alaffia product sales have funded the planting of 53,125 trees by Togolese farmers to help mitigate erosion and improve food security for their families. They also conduct trainings to discourage the cutting of shea trees for firewood and charcoal to preserve this important indigenous resource for future generations. Through their Alternative Fuels Project, they investigate sustainable fuel alternatives, such as bio-gas and bio-oils, to reduce the demand for wood and charcoal.
FGM Eradication Project –
As part of their Maternal Health Initiatives, Alaffia aims to educate women about the dangers of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), or excision. FGM includes procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons and is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. The procedure can result in severe bleeding, infections, life-threatening complications in childbirth, and increased risk of newborn deaths. (World Health Organization). Abidé Awesso, Alaffia’s Maternal Health & FGM Eradication Coordinator in the Bassar region of Togo, has been working on this initiative with Alaffia since 2012. Hodalo Katakouna was one of Abidé’s first patients and one of the first women to be supported as part of our Maternal Health and FGM Eradication project. Click here to read her story.
Eyeglass Project –
In Togo, it is extremely difficult for visually impaired people to obtain eyeglasses. An eye exam costs as much as one month’s wage and a pair of eyeglasses can cost up to four months of wages. Alaffia collects used eyeglasses at retailer locations throughout the US and employs an optometrist in Togo to correctly fit and distribute the glasses. A pair of eyeglasses is life-changing for a child struggling in school, the elderly with failing vision, and adults who have never been able to see clearly. To date, Alaffia has collected and distributed over 14,200 pairs of glasses.
Cooperative businesses are quite diverse when it comes to the types of goods or services they provide to their member-owners. There are nearly 30,000 cooperatives across the US, including food co-ops, agricultural co-ops, housing cooperatives, artists’ co-ops, credit unions, and even sports teams that are co-ops! Despite our diversity, we are all unified by the Seven Cooperative Principles, which are a set of ideals that form the basis for how cooperatives around the world operate. They were first created in 1844 by the founders of the very first co-op, the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers in Rochdale, England, and we are still guided by this same set of ideals today. This week, we’re honoring Cooperative Principle #6 –cooperation among cooperatives, by casting our spotlight on the Blue Diamond Growers Cooperative. They’re featured in our Member Deals program, and member-owners can enjoy 20% off the full line of Blue Diamondalmond products all week long! Read on to learn more about this growers’ cooperative that was formed more than 100 years ago!
The Blue Diamond Growers Cooperative was first formed by 230 almond growers on May 6,1910, at the Hotel Turclu in downtown Sacramento, California.Their original name in
1910 was the California Almond Growers Exchange. They quickly identified core values to encourage all almond growers to join the cooperative: an intuitive ability to build relationships; communicate directly and honestly; and commit unequivocally to the idea that working together cooperatively would allow them to achieve the best return on their investment.
Their commitment to these core values paid off in the end because very quickly over half of the state’s almond growers pooled their resources and joined the cooperative. This was the beginning of their resolve to prove the power of partnership. They began working with U.S. government officials, the predominant Spanish and Italian almond producers (over 80 percent of the world supply was in Spain and Italy), and buyers, mostly from New York who had family connections to almond producers in Europe, to gather market intelligence and statistical information so they could market and sell their almonds for the best value.
Their name eventually evolved to become Blue Diamond Growers to emphasize the brand that has become synonymous with quality almonds worldwide. It made the perilous journey on the backs of visionary leaders committed to the idea that only through cooperative marketing could family farmers compete in the rough and tumble markets of the world. That vision translated into more equitable returns for grower/members, a guaranteed home for their crops and an ever-expanding market for their products.
Almost single-handedly it created an industry out of a loose collection of growers and shippers, an industry that swept from being a minor player in the world market to its current status as a global leader in growing, processing and marketing almonds. Today the California almond industry produces over 80 percent of the world supply and leads the state as the largest food export.
Look for Blue Diamond products at the Middlebury Co-op in the bulk and grocery departments. In bulk we offer sliced almonds and slivered almonds. In grocery, choose from various almond milks, both refrigerated and shelf-stable, or try their gluten-free Nut Thins! These crackers are the perfect accompaniment to your favorite cheese or summer dip.
