Episode 03: How do our cooperative values and principles create resilience and sustainable livelihoods in communities?
In this podcast we will talk to Rochelle Prunty, General Manager of River Valley Co-op, about how our co-operative values and principles create resilience and sustainable livelihoods in communities.
In July of 2001, the Board of Directors hired Rochelle Prunty as River Valley Co-op’s General Manager and CEO. Rochelle brought a successful track record and more than fifteen years of retail co-op management experience to River Valley Co-op’s project to start a new retail food co-op. Her co-op work experience included cheese and dairy, prepared foods, and meat & seafood department level management, marketing and membership management, general management, directing a co-op management program that provided general management services to the retail food co-op members of Northeast Cooperatives (a former co-op wholesale distributor based in Brattleboro, VT), and serving on the Board of Directors of both the Midwest and Northeast Co-op Grocers Associations as well as the National Co-op Grocers Association, Blooming Prairie Cooperative Warehouse, Inc., and Northeast Cooperatives.
Rochelle is accountable to the Board of Directors and is responsible for day to day decision making, operations, financial, and operating results of the co-op. Rochelle oversaw River Valley Co-op’s cooperative’s start-up development project in Northampton including co-op ownership development, Community fundraising, site search, rezoning and permitting, planning, store design, financing, construction project, and opening of our store. She was the only employee until shortly before the store opened in 2008 Under Rochelle’s leadership since the store opened 15 years ago, our co-op has grown from $8.1 million in annual sales in the first year, to $48 million, two locations, 250 employees, and over 15,000 co-op owners.
After nearly 20 years of a decline in the number of food co-ops across the United states,( from over 1,200 food co-ops in 1980 to about 300 food co-ops in 2000), River Valley Co-op was one of the first several food co-op’s to start in the newest wave of food co-op development that began in the late 90’s to early 2000’s. Since River Valley Co-op opened in 2008 over 200 new food co-op’s have started and the cooperative movement has been growing its infrastructure to support new co-op development in response to the continued strong grassroots community based demand for new food co-ops. River Valley Co-op is the largest of this newest wave of co-op start-ups so far and has been an inspiration to other communities working to open food co-ops across the country. Rochelle has been a strong advocate for supporting new food co-op development, and River Valley Co-op’s owners collectively have been one of the largest food co-op contributors to the Food Co-op Initiative, a nonprofit that provides free resources and support for the development of start-up food co-ops nationally.
Rochelle has positioned the co-op for success with a highly motivated, skilled and professional management team and staff as well as a strong network of local community support and support from the national food co-op network. She has led a mission focused work environment which encourages creativity, continuous improvement, authenticity and care for building community and doing good work together. River Valley Co-op’s founders started the co-op to have a positive impact on our local food system and community by supporting local farmers and food producers through the growth of the co-op’s retail grocery business. River Valley Co-op has been focused on a triple bottom line of people, planet, and prosperity with its mission to build a just marketplace that nourishes the community. Some of the key results of the co-op’s focus on this mission include:
Making over $10 million a year in wholesale local food purchases benefitting our local farmers and food producers. This supports the local and regional economy and overall food supply security.
Solidarity with the labor movement as a union employer with a total of 250 employees with livable wage jobs.
Developed the first grocery store in the nation with the capacity to reach net zero energy use through onsite solar power production with its solar development partners including Co-op Power, PV-Squared, Solar Design Associates, EOS Energy Systems, Sunwealth, and Wright Builders.