Cooperatives are created by people who have a specific need, and work together to organize and operate a business to meet that need. Co-ops can be created for the benefit of consumers, producers, and/or workers, and operate in a wide array of industries, from grocery stores and other retail operations to agriculture, banking, utilities, and more. Since co-ops are owned and governed by their Member-Owners, profits are kept in the community by being reinvested in the co-op and shared among Member-Owners as patronage dividends.
As a co-op, FFC shares a set of guiding principles (listed below) with co-ops worldwide, and maintains a triple bottom line: people, planet, and profit.

PEOPLE refers to our commitment to fair wages and employee benefits, our advocacy for fair trade and local producers, and our support of organizations aligned with our mission. Last year we donated over $54,000 to local and national arts, educational, environmental, food justice, and cooperative non profits.

PLANET describes our support of sustainable environmental practices including managing energy consumption, reducing, recycling or composting waste, providing support for local gardening and recycling initiatives, and selling products from ecologically-responsible producers.

PROFIT: In profitable years we may share profits with Member-owners in the form of patronage dividends. Since 2015 we’ve given back over 1.5 million dollars to Member-owners!

A cooperative is a different kind of business, because it’s one YOU can own.

We answer to our Member-owners, who each have one vote, not investors who buy and sell shares for profit.

We invest in our community, not the stock market. We bank local, we buy local, and we provide quality employment to our neighborhood.

International Co-op Principles

  1. Voluntary and Open Membership
  2. Democratic Member Control
  3. Member Economic Participation
  4. Autonomy and Independence
  5. Education, Training and Information
  6. Cooperation Among Co-ops
  7. Concern for Community

Cooperation Among Co-ops

Principle 6 of the 7 Cooperative Principles is “cooperation among cooperatives”.

You can see a list of some other co-ops we partner with on our Community page.

We also sell products from farming and producer cooperatives, which helps to build a stronger co-op economy and a more sustainable and equitable food system- check out the brands we carry here!