From the March 2005: Volume 5, No. 2 issue.

There is a surge in new food co-op development activity. People in communities all around the country are exploring forming food co-ops to meet their common needs.

As reported in the fall issue of Solutions, CDS is working with a task force including representatives of National Cooperative Bank and NCGA to support these local efforts.
The task force has proposed the following statement to guide our efforts

“ We envision a support system that enables a faster and more effective start-up process, resulting in new food co-ops successfully serving their communities.”

The task force has identified three stages of food co-op development: organizing, feasibility and planning, and implementation. Within each stage there are four cornerstones necessary to support a new food co-op: vision, talent, capital, and systems. Our work will be 1) to identify resources to support local groups in building their cornerstones, and 2) to develop tools to assess their progress at each development stage.

At CCMA, the task force will present an action briefing and let you know how you can help “turn up the heat!”