Looking for ways to support BIPOC farmers and producers? Woman-owned businesses? LGBTQIA+ businesses? Veteran-owned businesses? Businesses owned by persons with disabilities? Look for the Inclusive Trade logo!
Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op has partnered with the National Co-operative Grocers (NCG) to highlight diversity throughout our supply chain.
“NCG believes supply chains should include a seat at the table for systemically underrepresented populations. Supplier diversity promotes greater innovation, a healthier competitive environment, and more equitably distributed benefits among all community members. NCG is committed to doing our part to create a more just society by cultivating partnerships with businesses owned by people who identify as women, Black, indigenous, people of color (POC), LGBTQIA+, persons with disabilities, and veterans.”
Our Co-op celebrates inclusive trade and features a lineup of hand-made meals from Inclusive Trade businesses including:
Of course, this is just a small sampling of the Inclusive Trade producers that our Co-op is proud to work with, so remember to look for the logo throughout the store!
Looking for ways to support BIPOC farmers and producers? Woman-owned businesses? LGBTQIA+ businesses? Veteran-owned businesses? Businesses owned by persons with disabilities? Look for the Inclusive Trade logo! We’re celebrating Inclusive Trade Week at the Co-op from March 23rd – 29th as a way of honoring diversity in the supply chain, and our Weekly Sale features a lineup of some tasty Inclusive Trade treats, many of which are local! Curious to know more about this logo and why inclusive trade matters? Read on!
National Co-op Grocers (NCG) has launched the Inclusive Trade logo to highlight diversity throughout the supply chain.
“NCG believes supply chains should include a seat at the table for systemically underrepresented populations. Supplier diversity promotes greater innovation, a healthier competitive environment, and more equitably distributed benefits among all community members. NCG is committed to doing our part to create a more just society by cultivating partnerships with businesses owned by people who identify as women, Black, indigenous, people of color (POC), LGBTQIA+, persons with disabilities, and veterans.”
As a member of NCG, your Co-op celebrates this new initiative and seeks to find ways to highlight diversity in the supply chain so that you can easily find products from diverse suppliers. With this in mind, we’ll run promotions throughout the year to highlight the many Inclusive Trade producers we offer here at the Co-op. In fact, our Member Deals Spotlight from October 6th – 12th shines brightly on Singing Cedars Apiary, which was started by native Abenaki Roland Smith and his wife Deborah in 1971.
Of course, Singing Cedars is just one of the Inclusive Trade producers that our Co-op is proud to work with, so remember to look for the logo throughout the store!
To learn more about inclusive trade and why it matters, we love this post from our friends at Oryana Co-op and are excited to share it with their permission:
National Cooperative Grocers (NCG), of which Oryana [and the Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op] is a member, is developing an Inclusive Trade Program designed to identify suppliers that meet the definition for “diverse suppliers” and ultimately increase the representation of these suppliers in purchasing programs and supply chain. To jumpstart these efforts, NCG has worked with UNFI’s (UNFI is our main distributor) supplier diversity team to apply its classification of diverse suppliers.
Background
As a purchasing cooperative NCG has been effective at aggregating demand to create benefits for co-ops, consumer-owners, and shoppers. By adding a focus on supplier diversity to purchasing program they can increase impact: use enterprise as a lever in anti-racist efforts, do more to ensure that they have greater representation within the supply chain, and provide consumers with more diverse options and better information about the people behind the products they purchase. With the influence co-ops have through NCG, they can take a unique leadership role in championing diversity in our industry; intentionally and actively contributing to the equity and justice of our supply chain.
NCG started integrating supplier diversity into its business plan last year. Shortly after initiating this work and following the murder of George Floyd, they saw a marked uptick in the level of interest expressed by co-ops in identifying BIPOC-owned brands (and Black-owned brands in particular). They were disappointed however that the major distributors were not able to assist at that time with reliably and comprehensively identifying diverse ownership among consumer brands.
On the basis of this challenge, they spent the next few months conducting research on supplier diversity initiatives in our industry, drew on that research to establish NCG’s working definition of “diverse supplier,” and started planning to build out a supplier diversity program to serve co-ops.
Supplier diversity at NCG
Supplier diversity is a proactive business strategy that drives the inclusion of diverse-owned businesses in the procurement of goods and services. Most supplier diversity programs encourage the use within the business of suppliers that are minority-owned*, women-owned, veteran-owned, LGBTQIA+-owned, or owned by persons with disabilities in keeping with the Small Business Administration (SBA) defined small business concerns.
Supplier diversity programs seek to upend the reality for historically under-utilized, diverse-owned suppliers by sourcing products and services from them. This process transforms a company’s supply chain to reflect the demographics of the community it serves and quantifies the total value of the transactions with diverse suppliers. Most supplier diversity programs span all areas of “spend” for a business, including not just goods purchased for resale but also supplies, services, etc.
*Though the term “minority” is appropriately falling out of use, it is still commonly used among supplier diversity professionals. This is in large part due to the reality that businesses seeking formal recognition as a minority-owned enterprise pursue certification through the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSCDC). NCG uses this term only in this context.
While supplier diversity programs are not new and are common practice among large enterprises and in government contracting, research indicates that most companies in the natural products industry are at best in the formative stages of any supplier diversity work.
With no established, standardized, industry-wide definition of “diverse suppliers” or means of identifying which brands/companies have diverse ownership, NCG has adopted the following preliminary definition of supplier diversity:
“A diverse supplier is defined as a business that is at least 51% owned and operated by an individual or group that is part of a systemically underrepresented or underserved group; including businesses that are women-owned, BIPOC-owned, LGBTQIA+-owned, veteran/service-disabled veteran-owned, or owned by persons with disabilities. As with most supplier diversity programs NCG will request that suppliers self-identify as a diverse supplier.”
NCG is committed to Inclusive Trade and believes supply chains should include a seat at the table for systemically underrepresented suppliers. They believe that supplier diversity promotes greater innovation, a healthier competitive environment, and more equitably distributes benefits among all community members. They are committed to doing their part to create a more just society by cultivating partnerships with businesses owned by people who identify as women, Black, Indigenous, People of Color, LGBTQIA+, persons with disabilities, and veterans. They will share more updates with you as this important work progresses.
Looking for ways to support BIPOC farmers and producers? Woman-owned businesses? LGBTQIA+ businesses? Veteran-owned businesses? Businesses owned by persons with disabilities? Look for the Inclusive Trade logo! Curious to know more about this logo and why inclusive trade matters? Read on!
National Co-op Grocers (NCG) has launched the Inclusive Trade logo to highlight diversity throughout the supply chain.
“NCG believes supply chains should include a seat at the table for systemically underrepresented populations. Supplier diversity promotes greater innovation, a healthier competitive environment, and more equitably distributed benefits among all community members. NCG is committed to doing our part to create a more just society by cultivating partnerships with businesses owned by people who identify as women, Black, indigenous, people of color (POC), LGBTQIA+, persons with disabilities, and veterans.”
As a member of NCG, your Co-op celebrates this new initiative and seeks to find ways to highlight diversity in the supply chain so that you can easily find products from diverse suppliers. With this in mind, we’ll run promotions throughout the year to highlight the many Inclusive Trade producers we offer here at the Co-op. In fact, our Member Deals Spotlight from October 6th – 12th shines brightly on Singing Cedars Apiary, which was started by native Abenaki Roland Smith and his wife Deborah in 1971.
Of course, Singing Cedars is just one of the Inclusive Trade producers that our Co-op is proud to work with, so remember to look for the logo throughout the store!
To learn more about inclusive trade and why it matters, we love this post from our friends at Oryana Co-op and are excited to share it with their permission:
National Cooperative Grocers (NCG), of which Oryana [and the Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op] is a member, is developing an Inclusive Trade Program designed to identify suppliers that meet the definition for “diverse suppliers” and ultimately increase the representation of these suppliers in purchasing programs and supply chain. To jumpstart these efforts, NCG has worked with UNFI’s (UNFI is our main distributor) supplier diversity team to apply its classification of diverse suppliers.
Background
As a purchasing cooperative NCG has been effective at aggregating demand to create benefits for co-ops, consumer-owners, and shoppers. By adding a focus on supplier diversity to purchasing program they can increase impact: use enterprise as a lever in anti-racist efforts, do more to ensure that they have greater representation within the supply chain, and provide consumers with more diverse options and better information about the people behind the products they purchase. With the influence co-ops have through NCG, they can take a unique leadership role in championing diversity in our industry; intentionally and actively contributing to the equity and justice of our supply chain.
NCG started integrating supplier diversity into its business plan last year. Shortly after initiating this work and following the murder of George Floyd, they saw a marked uptick in the level of interest expressed by co-ops in identifying BIPOC-owned brands (and Black-owned brands in particular). They were disappointed however that the major distributors were not able to assist at that time with reliably and comprehensively identifying diverse ownership among consumer brands.
On the basis of this challenge, they spent the next few months conducting research on supplier diversity initiatives in our industry, drew on that research to establish NCG’s working definition of “diverse supplier,” and started planning to build out a supplier diversity program to serve co-ops.
Supplier diversity at NCG
Supplier diversity is a proactive business strategy that drives the inclusion of diverse-owned businesses in the procurement of goods and services. Most supplier diversity programs encourage the use within the business of suppliers that are minority-owned*, women-owned, veteran-owned, LGBTQIA+-owned, or owned by persons with disabilities in keeping with the Small Business Administration (SBA) defined small business concerns.
Supplier diversity programs seek to upend the reality for historically under-utilized, diverse-owned suppliers by sourcing products and services from them. This process transforms a company’s supply chain to reflect the demographics of the community it serves and quantifies the total value of the transactions with diverse suppliers. Most supplier diversity programs span all areas of “spend” for a business, including not just goods purchased for resale but also supplies, services, etc.
*Though the term “minority” is appropriately falling out of use, it is still commonly used among supplier diversity professionals. This is in large part due to the reality that businesses seeking formal recognition as a minority-owned enterprise pursue certification through the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSCDC). NCG uses this term only in this context.
While supplier diversity programs are not new and are common practice among large enterprises and in government contracting, research indicates that most companies in the natural products industry are at best in the formative stages of any supplier diversity work.
With no established, standardized, industry-wide definition of “diverse suppliers” or means of identifying which brands/companies have diverse ownership, NCG has adopted the following preliminary definition of supplier diversity:
“A diverse supplier is defined as a business that is at least 51% owned and operated by an individual or group that is part of a systemically underrepresented or underserved group; including businesses that are women-owned, BIPOC-owned, LGBTQIA+-owned, veteran/service-disabled veteran-owned, or owned by persons with disabilities. As with most supplier diversity programs NCG will request that suppliers self-identify as a diverse supplier.”
NCG is committed to Inclusive Trade and believes supply chains should include a seat at the table for systemically underrepresented suppliers. They believe that supplier diversity promotes greater innovation, a healthier competitive environment, and more equitably distributes benefits among all community members. They are committed to doing their part to create a more just society by cultivating partnerships with businesses owned by people who identify as women, Black, Indigenous, People of Color, LGBTQIA+, persons with disabilities, and veterans. They will share more updates with you as this important work progresses.
Until recently, many of us never thought about supply chains… but suddenly we’re seeing empty shelves in markets again and getting worried. Supplies of rental cars in some cities are so low that renting a car will cost more than your airline ticket, and some schools are having so much trouble securing food for students that they are discontinuing lunch service. Even at the Co-op, we’re seeing empty shelves and can’t find goods that are usually in stock. What’s behind the difficulties, and why are they happening now?
The large-scale issue is that the pandemic revealed the unsustainability of just-in-time manufacturing systems and persistent inequities in labor— including low wages and poor working conditions. Labor shortages upstream have impeded the delivery of products to the end-user (us), and a glitch in the system can cascade down to affect many products and supply chains. The food system hasn’t been designed with buffers that would help overcome shortages. All incentives for business point toward keeping just enough stock on hand to deal with current demand, to avoid costs of storage.
During the pandemic, people shifted from buying services (including restaurant meals) to buying goods. Thus demand increased, especially for imported goods; but freight deliveries backed up because there aren’t enough workers to load containers or drive and unload trucks. In some cases, it’s an issue of wages that aren’t high enough to hold workers on the job; but workers also get called out to take care of kids who are sick or quarantined, and anybody with a respiratory illness has to quarantine until results come back from COVID tests.
What does this mean for us and our Co-op? First, department managers haven’t been able to order the quantities of food they normally would. The number of cases of product that can be ordered from our major supplier has been cut down to about 70% of pre-pandemic levels. Then when deliveries arrive, we often discover that something ordered wasn’t available or can’t be supplied in the quantity ordered. Special orders were discontinued because they cut into the case limit but only served individual member-owners. This management decision was made to try to serve as many customers as possible.
What can you do, as a member-owner? Not much! This is a problem that needs to be worked out at the food distribution system level. That will happen eventually, although the experts tell us that problems are likely to last through 2022. President Biden recently ordered Los Angeles docks to begin working 24/7 to relieve the bottleneck of freight that is waiting to unload. But California’s dock bottlenecks are just part of the problem with the supply chain. And of course, with vaccine apartheid* continuing (which increases the risk of new and more deadly variants of COVID emerging), there’s no guarantee of a return to “normal”. What we can do is be patient and recognize that Co-op staff are working hard to try to meet your needs. And remember that all food supply chains rest on a healthy, biodiverse ecosystem. So, protect pollinators in your yards and don’t cut down trees! Pollinators are endangered, and trees are sequestering carbon.
*what the U.S. is doing with vaccines is just like food apartheid or racial apartheid. Wealthy nations are gobbling up the vaccines and now moving to booster shots, while poor black and brown nations are less than 5% vaccinated.
Molly Anderson is a Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op Board Member
