In the spring of 2020, as the disruptive realities of a global pandemic were becoming evident, there was a growing sense that smaller food systems, including cooperatives, were proving to be resilient in ways that large, corporate industrial systems were not. With greater agility and a commitment to working with other cooperatives, the ability to quickly find solutions to emerging supply chain problems sets co-ops and their communities up for success as described in this Civil Eats article from May 15, 2020.
It was also around this time that NCG began to talk with the Federation of Southern Cooperatives about the potential for future collaboration in the world of produce. The Federation is a nonprofit cooperative association of Black farmers, landowners and cooperatives located in several states across the South/Southeastern United States. Their mission is “to be a catalyst for the development of self-supporting communities through cooperative economic development, land retention and advocacy.” Many of the farmers within the Federation have disproportionately struggled to gain access to distribution systems and to produce markets beyond their local communities. With expertise in growing many crops that are popular with retail consumers, including watermelon, sweet potatoes, hearty greens and much more, Federation growers are well positioned to offer traditional supply chains quality produce and resilience through diversity in every sense of the word.
The lack of racial diversity in current U.S. produce supply chains is staggering. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 2012 only 1.6% of farmers in the United States identified as Black or African American, with nearly half of that population specializing in beef cattle farming. That leaves far less than 1% of fresh produce consumed in the U.S. being grown by Black farmers. In addition to racial diversity, Federation farmers offer resilience through supply chain diversity. Distributors and retailers that source product from many growers in many regions across the country have a better chance to be in stock and serving their customers should one region experience crop failure or a natural disaster. With so much of our fresh produce coming from so few regions at any given time, sourcing diversity can give buyers and sellers a competitive advantage.
How can we work together? NCG has been in the process of developing produce distribution partnerships across the country. As we identify more partners and begin to bring our collective purchases together, our influence over where our produce comes from grows. NCG and the Federation have identified several items we feel would be a good fit for NCG member stores. While the majority of Federation growers are not currently certified organic, they offer cooperatively and BIPOC-grown products — two attributes about which co-op shoppers are passionate.
NCG and the Federation are currently working to provide NCG members in the Mid-Atlantic, New England and Upper Midwest an opportunity to buy and promote Federation member–grown watermelon as early as the summer of 2022. In collaboration with partner distributors in these regions, we hope to expand market access for Federation growers and provide high-quality, competitively priced watermelon to these co-ops and their shoppers. Success in this program and others like it will largely depend on NCG members’ willingness to participate and their excitement to share this story and product with their local communities. Stay tuned for more information, and please reach out to NCG Supplier Programs Manager Colin Lyons with any questions, comments or feedback about this work. Together we can make a difference.
