• August 9, 2024

Celebrating a Profitable Year with Patronage Dividends

We are thrilled to announce that Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op (MNFC) had a profitable year! As a result, we will be issuing patronage dividend checks in late August for our fiscal year ended March 31, 2024. This is the 9th consecutive year the Co-op has sent dividend checks since members voted to start this system. 

As member-owners of the Co-op, its profits belong to you. Patronage dividends are how the Co-op’s profits are equitably shared among members. The patronage dividend is a powerful reminder of the uniqueness of the co-operative grocery model, and what can be achieved when individuals work together as a community. 

This year, the total patronage amount is $710,032. The Co-op will reinvest 55% back into the business for maintenance and other short and long-term projects – this becomes part of what we collectively own as member-owners. The remaining 45% will be returned to you – the owners of our grocery store. That’s $319,514 being returned directly to 5,591 of our member-owners!

How big of a check can you expect?

How much you receive is based on how much money you’ve spent at the Co-op during the previous fiscal year (April 1, 2023 – March 31, 2024). Refunds amounting to less than $5 will not be issued, as the cost of processing them exceeds the check value – so not everyone will receive a check. These smaller amounts, totaling $3,517, will instead be donated to our local food shelves, HOPE and CVOEO, where they make a meaningful impact on the well-being of our community. Checks that are left uncashed after 180 days are also donated.

Finally, remember that you can use your dividend to purchase groceries at the Co-op! Just present your endorsed check to the cashier at checkout, and they will deduct the amount from your total.

Thank you for being an essential part of our Co-op community! 

• August 9, 2024
• The Spotlight

• November 1, 2023

Over $45k in Patronage Dividends Donated to HOPE & CVOEO

Hope and CVOEO each received a check on behalf of our member-owners for $22,652!!

When your Co-op makes a profit at the end of a fiscal year, the Board of Directors votes on how much of those earnings to retain and how much to refund back to our member-owners. Patronage dividends are a traditional way for co-ops to share profits back to the members. As member-owners of this Co-op, you also own the profits, and a patronage dividend system allows us to share and reinvest those profits to benefit our Co-op community.

Since patronage refunds are based on how much a person spent at the Co-op during the previous fiscal year, every member-owner’s check will vary. If a refund check is below $5, the cost of issuing the check exceeds the refund amount. In this instance, the Co-op will not issue a check and instead donate all checks under $5 to our local food shelves HOPE and CVOEO. All member-owners have 90 days to cash their patronage refund checks, the amount of any uncashed checks is also donated to HOPE and CVOEO. 

At the end of October, Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op was able to donate all uncashed patronage checks and total patronage set aside for the 2022 and 2023 Fiscal Year. The total donation was more than $45k! Thank you to all of member-owners for allowing your Co-op to make such a contribution. And an enormous thank you to the wonderful people at CVOEO and HOPE for showing up each day to provide for our community.

For more information about how our patronage refund system works, click here.

Thank you so much for making the Co-op a successful part of our vibrant local community!!!

• November 1, 2023
• The Spotlight

• August 29, 2023

Patronage Dividends

At the end of August, your Co-op began to mail out Patronage Refund checks to our member-owners. Patronage dividends are a traditional way for co-ops to share profits back with the members. As member-owners of this Co-op, you also own the profits, and a patronage dividend system allows us to share and reinvest those profits to benefit our Co-op community.

The Board and Management are excited to issue patronage refunds again this year, our 8th year in a row since members voted to start a patronage dividend system. This year, the total patronage amount is $628,781. The Co-op is retaining 35% and returning 65% to you. The amount retained in the Co-op belongs to the member-owners as a group. It becomes part of what we own together. This year we expect to spend approximately $200,000 on improving the roof of our Co-op’s administrative building and replacing our oldest equipment including cash registers, kitchen range and back-room shelving.

How does this year’s refund compare to prior years’ patronage refund checks?

This will be our biggest patronage refund in the history of the Co-op. Below are the previous refund amounts going back to 2020.

How big of a check can you expect?

Since patronage refunds are based on how much a person spent at the Co-op during the previous fiscal year (April 2022 – March 2023), every member-owner’s check will vary. This year the refund will work out to about a 2.2% refund on what you spent last year. Here are a couple of examples:

Jack’s average weekly purchase is $50/week = $2,600/year

• Jack’s patronage refund check will be $58 which is about 2.2% of their total purchases for the year.

Jane’s average weekly purchase is $100/week = $5,200/year

• Jane’s patronage refund check will be $116 which is about 2.2% of their total purchases for the year.

Does everyone get a check?

Unfortunately, not everyone will get a check. If a refund check is below $5, the cost of issuing the check exceeds the refund amount. In this instance, the Co-op will not issue a check and instead donate all checks under $5 to our local food shelves HOPE and CVOEO. This year a total of 1,205 checks will be donated totaling $2,756.

For more information about how our patronage refund system works, click here.

Please be sure to cash your check within 90 days. Please note that if you do not cash or deposit your check within 90 days, the check will become void, and the Co-op will donate the amount to our two local food shelves, HOPE and CVOEO.

Thank you so much for making the Co-op a successful part of our vibrant local community!!!

• August 29, 2023
• The Spotlight