Workshops & Events

Monthly Office Hours with FCI

Are you exploring the idea of starting a food co-op in your community or just getting started? You must have some questions! Drop in for our monthly office hours to ask questions, hear from experts, and learn with your peers.

These sessions are intended for individuals and groups in the earliest stages of development. If you are thinking about developing a food co-op in your community, are just getting started and are still in Stage 1 (Organizing), or are new to FCI, these office hours are for you!

Office hours are held twice each month and you are welcome to join monthly. Please register for each session you wish to attend. You can register up to two months in advance, and more dates are added each month.

Upcoming Office Hours

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

5:30-6:30 (ET) / 4:30-5:30 (CT) / 3:30-4:30 (MT) / 2:30-2:30 (PT)

Thursday, September 28, 2023

12:30-1:30 (ET) / 11:30-12:30 (CT) / 10:30-11:30 (MT) / 9:30-10:30 (PT)

Tuesday, October 24, 2023

5:30-6:30 (ET) / 4:30-5:30 (CT) / 3:30-4:30 (MT) / 2:30-2:30 (PT)

Thursday, October 26, 2023

12:30-1:30 (ET) / 11:30-12:30 (CT) / 10:30-11:30 (MT) / 9:30-10:30 (PT)

Our virtual conversation series, FCI Live, offers two to three virtual learning sessions, Monday – Thursday, over two weeks and is focused on the needs of the startup food co-op community. The FCI Live series will return in early 2024. Make sure you’re on our email list to get the announcements of all the speakers and topics!

Past FCI LIVE series:

You can find the video recordings of all of our past FCI Live series on the Food Co-op Initiative YouTube page.

Thank you to our sponsors for making FCI Live! possible!

Reinvestment Fund Full-color_on_light_stacked

Learn more about about sponsoring FCI Live!

Download the Sponsorship Packet

Rural Food Co-op Feasibility workshop

Intro to Rural Food Co-op Feasibility free virtual workshop. Happening Tuesday, June 16 at 1 pm Eastern Time.

Join our free online 1 hour workshop on Tuesday June 16th at 1pm ET, for rural food co-op founders and organizers! We will explore the fundamental aspects of feasibility of food co-ops, including a deep dive into rural community feasibility.

You’ll come away with a clear understanding and practical skills to conduct community interviews.

This session is from Food Co-op Initiative and hosted by Start.coop, facilitated by FCI’s Chris Dilley, Director of Startup Support.

This work is supported by the Rural Cooperative Development Grant program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy. This project is in partnership with the Cooperative Development Foundation.

Future-Ready Co-ops: Summer Tech Series

A continuation of the powerful conversations sparked by the tech-focused FCI Live sessions, this summer series brings co-op leaders, technologists and practitioners together to explore how co-ops can navigate the rapid tech change while staying grounded in cooperative identity, democratic values and community impact.

Tech, Ethics & Cooperative Values panel | Wednesday, June 24 at 1 pm Eastern
Digital Readiness for Cooperatives presentation | Wednesday, July 15 at 1 pm Eastern
Co-op Voices / General Manager (GM) roundtable | Wednesday, August 19 at 7 pm Eastern

Presented by Digico Global, Nova Works Corp and Food Co-op Initiative

Get Started with Food Co-op Initiative

Food Co-op Initiative provides exceptional resources for people in the U.S. working to start a retail food co-op that meets the needs of their community. New startups can use our materials at no charge and are able to reach out to our staff for phone consultations and additional technical help.

Popular Resources

Let’s Start a Food Co-op! What do we do first?

What can FCI Do for me?

Guide to Starting a Food Co-op

Annual Impact Reports

QuickStart from FCI Classroom

Connect with Us

Have questions, want to know where to start?
Call today: (844) 324-2667

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Food Co-op Initiative is a 501(c)3 nonprofit and donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by the law. Food Co-op Initiative is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate with regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, or disability.