These days,
The retired lawyer — along with many Canadians over the past couple of years — had been growing more concerned with the grocery industry and the profits it was turning as food prices climbed.
Woodrow joined Karma Co-op as a member last spring and now volunteers on the store's finance committee.
"The money, I know, is going to make an operation that I believe in better," said Woodrow.
Co-operatives are found in many forms, from agricultural co-ops to grocery stores, gas stations and car-shares. Their exact business models vary, but what they have in common is that they are owned by their members, who have a share in the organization and a say in how it runs.
About 70 per cent of co-ops are owned by their customers, said
While there's been a steady increase in consumer-owned grocery co-ops in the
But in some Canadian communities, co-ops are already part of everyday life.
Steinman himself is a member of seven different co-ops — the grocery store Kootenay Co-op in
Co-ops are popular in
Single-location co-ops like Karma are different from
A federation of independent co-ops with more than 1,500 locations across its network, its retail locations include food stores, gas bars and convenience stores, car washes and liquor outlets.
Each of the locations in the network is a co-op, and then that co-op is a part owner of the federation, which functions like a wholesaler or supplier and provides business services like marketing and technology, Steinman said.
Many grocery co-ops like Karma were formed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, said Steinman.
Karma was formed amid a wider movement spurred on by distrust of large corporations, general manager
"Even back in 1972, folks were frustrated with the largest supermarkets and the consolidation they were seeing in the industry, putting the smaller stores out of business," he said.
"Fifty-two years later, we’re still facing a lot of the same issues."
The co-op focuses on local, organic and ethically produced foods, with many products available in bulk for zero-waste shoppers. Members get an extra discount if they work a few hours each month, and they have a vote on how the co-op is run.
The Kootenay Co-op, where Steinman is a member, was founded a few years after Karma. It’s signed up around 700 new members annually for the last few years, said marketing and sales manager
Any profits the grocery makes are reinvested into employee pay and benefits, store improvements, donations and credits for members.
"The more profits that we get, that's more that we can give back to the community," Verigin said.
Inflation put the grocery industry under a microscope, making people think more about where their money goes, she said.
She thinks co-op membership can help people feel like they have some power over larger forces like climate change or corporate consolidation.
"I think co-ops really give people a sense of hope ... maybe we can't fix this on a grand scale, but we can fix it in our community."
Almost two-thirds of co-ops are for-profit, said Brunette, but it’s what co-ops do with those profits that differentiates them from conventional businesses.
In a 2020 Abacus Data poll for Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada, 14 per cent of consumer surveyedsaid they were members of a retail co-operative, including grocery stores.
But many Canadians don’t understand the co-op business model, the study suggested.
In a time of economic and political unease tied to climate change, inequality and a feeling of helplessness, the study said co-operatives could offer Canadians a solution.
There’s usually more interest in co-ops when the economy is doing poorly, said Brunette, or when a specific system is in crisis.
So in theory, the current landscape in
This report by The Canadian Press was first published
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