Our Impact

Making a Difference – Over 18 Years of Impact

As of July 2022, Food Co-op Initiative has seen 175 new retail food co-ops open in the U.S. Every store is unique, but they all are committed to the seven Cooperative Principles and the pride that community ownership can bring. Together these stores:

• Provide employment for over 12,000 people
• Generate over $640 million in annual sales
• have over 160,000 owners
• Supported local economies, and local producers.

As a nonprofit organization supported by the co-op community, FCI is proud to be able to provide free assistance to startup co-ops, including:

• Phone, email, and in-person consultation, training, and guidance.
  An extensive resource library of publications, videos, templates, and more.
• The FCI Guide to Starting a Food Co-op, the fully revised and updated book widely used by retail food co-op organizers.
• The annual Up & Coming Conference for startup food co-ops from across the country, and many other regional training events.
• Over $642,000 in Seed Grants to support early development of new co-ops.
• Innovative web-based training programs, accessible on demand.