National Cooperative Grocers Assoc. Kicks Off “International Year Of Cooperatives” With Virtual Video Premiere
January 10, 2012 | 2 min to read
IOWA CITY, IOWA – With the U.N. declaring 2012 the “International Year of Cooperatives,” the National Cooperative Grocers Association (NCGA) will officially kick off its year of celebrations with a “virtual” premiere of an online video series hosted by Kevin Gillespie, co-owner and executive chef at the Woodfire Grill Restaurant in Atlanta and sixth season finalist of the Bravo TV series, “Top Chef.” In the series, Gillespie journeys through farm fields and grocery aisles showing the unique role food co-ops have in building local food systems and their impact in their communities.
The series will premiere on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 8 p.m. EST at www.StrongerTogether.coop/premiere with the three first episodes in the 13-part series.
Following the premiere, new videos in the series will be released every two weeks beginning February 6 at www.StrongerTogether.coop, with all videos remaining on the site through the end of the year.
Titled “Cooperatives in Social Development,” the U.N.’s “International Year of Cooperatives” designation recognizes the diversity of the cooperative movement around the world, and the economic and social contributions cooperatives make.
“’International Year of Cooperatives’ provides an ideal platform for co-ops of all kinds to tell their stories,” said Robynn Shrader, chief executive officer of NCGA. “With our video series, we also wanted to show the many ways food co-ops help to build a better world. We invite everyone to grab some organic popcorn and join us at our virtual premiere Jan. 21 to discover that food co-ops are about fresh, delicious food and so much more.”
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 122 member and associate co-ops operate nearly 160 storefronts in 34 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.
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.
Source: National Cooperative Grocers Association