Dear cooperators and friends,

Somehow it’s already February and at the same time only February! FCI has kicked off the year with gusto, connecting hundreds of startup cooperators with trainings and expansive discussion with experts and peers through our FCI Live webinar series. This year’s live webinar series featured a record 21 unique sessions focused on everything from community organizing to feasibility studies to supporting neurodiverse customers and staff. In addition to having more sessions than ever, we had more people register than ever. 364 cooperators from startups in all stages of development, staff from open food co-ops, and some of our fellow co-op development professionals came together to learn and share! FCI Live was such an inspiring and connection-filled way to start the year; we’re grateful to everyone who presented and attended. Missed a session or want to share a session with the rest of your co-op? Read on to see where you can find all the session recordings - for free!

Speaking of connection, we’re also diving right into planning for the biggest startup food co-op event of the year: Up & Coming 2024! We are so excited to be bringing you all to Kalamazoo, Michigan, September 12-14th. FCI & the Indiana Cooperative Development Center will be partnering again with National Black Food & Justice Alliance to host Black-led Day, and we’re honored to be hosted by the People’s Food Co-op in Kalamazoo. We can’t wait for you to check out their incredible store and learn from their experiences and leadership. Much more to come - but for now, be sure to block off September 12-14th on your calendar!

Finally, as you scroll down this newsletter, you’ll notice a new section - our P5 Corner. We’re excited to share with you articles, resources, and events that we think startup cooperators should check out. There is a lot out there to be inspired by and to learn from!

In cooperation,

Faye

Faye Mack

P.S. Check out this video from our friends at the People's Food Co-op. They are so excited to welcome the Up & Coming Conference to Kalamazoo. We can't wait to see you too!

Resource Spotlight

FCI Live 2024, our two-week webinar event featuring over 20 unique learning sessions, has just wrapped up as of Thursday, February 2nd and the videos from all of the sessions are now available on their own playlist on the Food Co-op Initiative YouTube page, you can find them HERE. FCI Live!

We had record-breaking registration and attendance for the series once again, for the first time ever maxing out registration limits for multiple sessions! The series was a terrific mix of instructional sessions, powerful community conversations, and peer panels that all received top marks from attendees. We urge you to watch and share these videos, there is so much to learn in them from our amazing FCI Live 2024 speakers!

Thank you to Columinate and NCG for their champion sponsorship of the FCI Live 2024 Series!

Check out all our past webinar recordings on our YouTube channel!>>

Startup UPDATES & Celebrations

Detroit People’s Food Co-op - GM hired - DPFC, located in Detroit, MI, has just announced the hiring of their permanent General Manager, Akil Talley, a native Detroiter with over 20 years of grocery store management experience! Talley recently shared, “Being able to come back to the city and lead such a prestigious endeavor is a dream come true.”

Prairie Food Co-op - takes possession of site - PFC, located in Lombard, IL, has not only fully funded their future store and hired a GM with extensive experience, they have now officially been handed the keys to their site! Build out of the future store will start shortly, and they have begun giving site tours to the co-op’s owners.

One Community Grocery Co-op - grant received - OCGC, in St. Petersburg, FL, is on a roll! This startup has just received their third early development grant, a $10,000 grant from The Foundation For a Healthy St Petersburg, coming on the heels of grants received from the National Black Food and Justice Alliance as well as the Collective Courage Fund.

Upcoming Events & WORKSHOPS

JUST ANNOUNCED: Up & Coming is heading to Kalamazoo, Michigan! Mark your calendars, the conference kicksoff September 12 and runs through 14th. We are already very busy big picture brainstorming, working on logistics, and meeting with our friends at PFC to create an amazing conference. Registration and Hotel room information will be available soon, so keep checking the website for updates! Can’t wait to see you all in September!

SUPPORT SUCCESSFUL STARTUPS

Did you know that FCI is a nonprofit organization? We are able to provide in-depth support to the next generation of food co-ops—for free—thanks to donations from co-ops, organizations, businesses, and individuals like you! Visit our website to donate today. Thank you for supporting FCI and startups across the country.

DONATE

We want to hear from you!! Cooperative Principle 5 emphasizes the importance of education, training, and information sharing. Each month we will share up to five items that are of interest to the co-op community. This month we are sharing three inspiring articles. If you would like to submit your P5 to our corner, please use this form for consideration. You can also access the form on our website .

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