Do you get your groceries at a co-op?
"The Seward Co-op isn't alone in its plans to add a new location to meet rising demand. Many of the cooperative groceries in the Twin Cities are planning expansions or additional locations. Powered by consumer demand for organic and natural foods, it's a strong comeback for an industry whose future was shaky just a decade ago," writes MPR News reporter Jon Collins.
Minnesota has a long history with agricultural cooperatives. But the first of the "new wave" grocery co-ops in the state had its start on the back porch of a house in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis in 1970.
Craig Cox, author of "Storefront Revolution," which documented the area's cooperative movement, said the handful of people who founded the so-called People's Pantry learned how to buy bulk food directly from farmers while living on a commune in central Minnesota.
"They saw that as a way to live very cheaply and to control their destiny in a way," Cox said. "They started putting sacks of grain on the back porch of a house and people just showed up and paid some money."
Today's Question: Do you get your groceries at a co-op?
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