Any one working on supporting the development of local food systems these days is running up against a constant challenge - the lack of infrastructure to support local food production, processing and distribution.

Please join us for an exploration of two cooperative models, one close to home, Westlock Terminals one from afar, Seikatsu Consumer Cooperatives, and draw inspiration on to how local food infrastructure can be financed by local investment.

Westlock Grain Terminals NGC

T The Westlock Grain Terminals is a successful New Generation Co-operative located in Westlock, Alberta. In 2002, when the community found out their grain terminal was going to be sold, they rallied together to raise more than $1.2 million in community investment in a 6 week period to purchase the terminal as a community owned venture.

Since then, the Co-op has paid healthy dividends on its shares. To its members and investors every year since inception, even throughout the recent economic downturn, and are following through on plans to continually expand their grain handling capacity. Its success was a result of the dedication of a small group of farmers, with the support of some key individuals, and, as with any new venture, a little bit of luck. The experience of Westlock Terminals has lessons to offer to any community wanting to build locally owned and controlled economic assets.

Seikatsu Consumer Cooperatives

From its humble beginnings of a group of Japanese women around kitchen tables talking about food around a kitchen table, to the now 300,000+ members, the Seikatsu Consumer Co-operatives (SC) provides a clear example of how an ethic of conscious consumerism can be directed towards re-capacitating local food infrastructure. Through consolidating their purchasing power towards local, healthy food choices, they have developed key partnerships with local farmers and food processors and directed consumer investment into infrastructure ranging form milk and meat processing plants to local warehousing and distribution. Not only is the Seikatsu Club Union implementing a “values added” strategy to transforming local food systems, they are also now applying their model to meet other collective needs of the consumers including recycling, green energy development and health/social services.
Investing In Local Food Through Cooperatives