Food Co-ops Win in International Year of Cooperatives Short Film Festival

IOWA CITY, IOWA (November 29, 2012) – National Cooperative Grocers Association (NCGA) is proud to be among the seven winners of the 2012 International Year of Cooperatives Film Festival. Winning films were announced during the closing ceremony of the International Year of Cooperatives Closing Ceremony at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. Cooperative businesses from all sectors and from all corners of the world were asked to submit films under the theme “Promoting Cooperatives Beyond 2012.”

NCGA’s winning film, What’s to Love About Food Co-ops?, tells the story of food co-ops bringing economic, social and environmental contributions to communities across the country. The two-minute animated film is based on a quantitative study examining food co-ops compared to conventional grocery stores, titled Healthy Foods Healthy Communities: The Social and Economic Impacts of Food Co-ops. To view results from the complete report, visit www.strongertogether.coop/food-co-op-impact-study.

“The cooperative business community is stronger than ever,” said Robynn Shrader, chief executive officer for NCGA. “The International Year of Cooperatives shone a light on the many powerful and diverse stories from cooperatives around the world. The winners of the festival are just a few of these moving stories, and we’re proud to be included among them.”

Other festivals winners included Co-operative Enterprises Build a Better World by meeting Human Need not Human Greed from Trinidad and Tobago, Cooperatives of Apurimac from Peru, Food for Change: The Twin Cities Story from the United States, Red Chillies from Sri Lanka, Women with Courage from Brazil, and Co-op Housing: More than a Home from Canada. All winning films are available for viewing at http://social.un.org/IYC-Videos.

NCGA’s member and associate food co-ops operate 165 stores, generate more than $1.4 billion in annual revenue and are owned by 1.3 million consumer owners. Individually, co-ops serve the distinct needs of communities from major markets like Portland and Minneapolis to the Ozarks in Arkansas. Together, co-ops have the purchasing power to rival conventional grocery chains, and the good business practices to truly make the world a better place.

About the International Year of Cooperatives

On Dec. 18, 2009, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2012 the International Year of Cooperatives. Titled, ‘Cooperatives in Social Development,’ the resolution recognizes the diversity of the cooperative movement around the world, and the economic and social contributions cooperatives make.

For cooperatives everywhere, the International Year of Cooperatives is an opportunity to increase consumer awareness about the abundance of co-ops around them, what co-ops are, how they work, and why they matter to our local and global communities.

The International Year of Cooperatives also aims to bring the many benefits co-ops offer to more communities across the world by securing legislation that fosters the formation, growth and stability of cooperatives. Find more information at www.2012.coop.

About NCGA

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 128 member and associate co-ops operate 165 storefronts in 35 states with combined annual sales over $1.4 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.