IOWA CITY, Iowa — National Cooperative Grocers Association (NCGA), a business services cooperative serving 119 consumer-owned food co-ops nationwide, today welcomes Good Earth Market as its newest member.
Good Earth Market is a member-owned cooperative grocer located in downtown Billings, Mont. The co-op integrates local, sustainable food systems, cooperative business values and environmental stewardship into a lively community marketplace.
Like many co-op grocers, Good Earth Market began modestly as a food-buying club in 1987. Six years later, the buying club officially became Good Earth Market, with a storefront and nearly 300 members. Today, the co-op boasts more than 5,400 members, a new storefront and annual sales of over $2.7 million. The co-op’s success is strongly tied to its close relationships with local food producers. Good Earth Market works with more than 90 local growers and producers, which represents nearly 30 percent of all customer sales.
“We’re thrilled to have the Good Earth Market join NCGA,” said Robynn Shrader, CEO for NCGA. “Co-ops born out of community demand for local, organic and healthy foods – like Good Earth Market – give consumers a voice and help influence the way we eat and produce food in this country.”
"NCGA and its growing membership illustrate the momentum behind the local and organic food movement," said Perry McNeese, general manager of Good Earth Market. "Being accepted by NCGA is a huge milestone for us. It will help us reduce costs and improve our service to members. We are thrilled to be a part of the association."
As a member of NCGA, Good Earth Market will have access to NCGA’s national purchasing and promotional programs, marketing and financial tools, training and development activities, and other resources.
About National Cooperative Grocers Association
National Cooperative Grocers Association (NCGA), founded in 1999, is a business services cooperative for retail food co-ops located throughout the United States. NCGA helps unify food co-ops in order to optimize operational and marketing resources, strengthen purchasing power, and ultimately offer more value to natural food co-op owners and shoppers everywhere. Our 119 members and associate co-ops operate over 150 storefronts in 33 states with combined annual sales over $1.3 billion. NCGA is a winner of the dotCoop Global Awards for Cooperative Excellence in recognition of the application of cooperative values and principles to drive cooperative and business success. For a map of NCGA member and associate co-ops, visit www.ncga.coop. To learn more about co-ops, visit www.strongertogether.coop or www.go.coop.
Source: National Cooperative Grocers Association