3c hapter - Index of
3c hapter - Index of
3c hapter - Index of
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164 Locavesting<br />
in a New Mexico credit union, where they are federally insured<br />
and investors will earn the highest possible money market rate.<br />
A thousand miles north, in Bellingham, Washington, the<br />
Community Food Co- op, a popular cooperative whose two stores<br />
pull in around $24 million in annual sales, sets aside a small<br />
portion <strong>of</strong> its surplus revenues for its Farm Fund, which makes<br />
grants and low- interest loans to local farmers and suppliers.<br />
Member and shopper donations at the register contribute an<br />
additional $2,000 to $3,000 annually to the fund. A Farm Fund<br />
loan allowed the young owners <strong>of</strong> Osprey Hill Farm, which raises<br />
rare breeds <strong>of</strong> chickens and turkeys that are sold at the co- op, to<br />
install a well for irrigation. Another grant went to a group <strong>of</strong> local,<br />
organic farms working to bring back northwestern grain varietals<br />
that can thrive in the area’s challenging climate. The rewards <strong>of</strong><br />
the program are widely distributed: Local farmers get a helping<br />
hand; co- op members get fresh, delicious food; and the community<br />
benefi ts from increased jobs and food security. “It’s a great<br />
natural loop,” says Jean Rogers, board and Farm Fund administrator<br />
for the Community Food Co- op.<br />
A Quiet Force<br />
If you think co- ops are just dusty natural food stores that sell bulk<br />
brown rice, think again. Cooperatives have been adopted by just<br />
about every sector <strong>of</strong> the economy, from energy to fi nance to<br />
housing. They can be organized and owned by workers, consumers,<br />
or producers, as well as by small businesses that band together<br />
for greater purchasing clout.<br />
Today, more than 800 million people worldwide are members<br />
<strong>of</strong> co- ops. Cooperatives employ more than 100 million<br />
people around the world—20 percent more than multinational<br />
enterprises. 3 Their impact is so potentially transformative that<br />
the United Nations has declared 2012 the International Year <strong>of</strong><br />
Cooperatives.<br />
In the United States, about one in every four people belongs<br />
to a co- op <strong>of</strong> some sort. The country’s 29,000 co- ops collectively<br />
generate $654 billion in revenue, more than 2 million jobs,