International Co-ops Day 2025
Good Tern Celebrates International Co-ops Day on July 5th
Good Tern General Manager, Erin Donovan, displaying our International Year of Cooperatives poster provided by NFCA.
On Saturday, July 5, the Good Tern Co-op is joining co-operatives and credit unions around the world in celebrating International Co-ops Day. This year’s theme, Driving Inclusive & Sustainable Solutions for a Better World, was chosen by the United Nations to align with celebrations of the International Year of Co-operatives in 2025 and reinforces the role of co-ops in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Celebrated for over a century and officially proclaimed by the UN in 1995, International Co-ops Day is commemorated worldwide on the first Saturday of July, coinciding with Independence Day weekend in the U.S. and offering an opportunity to highlight the democratic values at the heart of the co-operative business model.
The Good Tern Co-op is proud to be jointly-owned, people-centered, and democratically controlled. Our co-op started out as a buying club of Midcoast residents who would regularly drive trucks down to Boston and bring back large loads of organic food that they would split up amongst themselves. In 1980, the co-op opened its first storefront on South Main Street in Rockland, selling local and organic produce, groceries, and bulk products. Fast forward 45 years, and Good Tern is now owned by over 1,000 community members who shop at our current storefront at 750 Main Street in Rockland.
Each member holds one share of the co-op, and has one equal vote at the co-op’s annual membership meeting, where members elect the Board of Directors and vote on issues like bylaw changes and other large decisions brought before the membership. The Board of Directors is made up of nine co-op members who govern the co-op on behalf of the larger membership and oversee the general manager of the co-op. The general manager and staff of the co-op work together to carry out the everyday operations of the store, focusing on meeting the needs of the co-op’s membership and larger community. Membership is not required to shop at the co-op, and anyone is welcome to become a member.
The purpose of the Good Tern Co-op is to provide a high-quality, fairly priced, cooperatively owned and democratically controlled source of food and health products; to educate and inform members and the community on whole food, health and nutrition, food sources, and food preparation; and to help further cooperative principles, democracy, and self-reliance.
Shopping at the Good Tern, participating at annual co-op meetings and board meetings, staying informed with newsletters and board meeting minutes, and giving feedback about products and services that the co-op provides are all meaningful ways to support the democratic processes that make this organization run. “Not only can co-op members make their voices heard within our organization, but people are voting with their dollar each time they shop here,” says Elissa Bower, Membership & Outreach Coordinator at the Good Tern Co-op. “The money spent here at the co-op doesn’t get funneled to some corporate office or a group of shareholders seeking a profit. Instead it strengthens our local economy, supports local jobs, and supports sustainable agriculture and food production, among other things.”
“Co-ops and credit unions are an integral part of communities across the United States, reflecting American ideals of community democracy, self-help, and self-responsibility,” said Erbin Crowell, Executive Director of the Neighboring Food Co-op Association (NFCA) and a member of the Board of Directors of the National Cooperative Business Association. “And around the world, co-ops empower people to work together to build a better future for everyone.”
Here in the Northeast U.S., the NFCA estimates that there are about 60 food co-ops, locally owned by more than 290,000 members, and employing over 3,000 people. Together, these businesses have an outsized impact on the regional economy, contributing to…
• Local Food Systems. The NFCA’s impact survey found that on average more than 30% of sales at member food co-ops were local products, contributing to more resilient communities.
• Sustainability. Food co-ops shoppers support family farming, organic agriculture, reduced packaging, and a business model that is based on meeting people’s needs rather than maximizing profits.
• Food Security. When you shop at your co-op, you’re making healthy, affordable food more accessible to everyone in your community, and ensuring reliable markets for local farmers and producers.
• Good Jobs. Food co-ops support good local jobs and purpose-led careers. More than 60% of food co-op staff are also members, sharing in the ownership of their grocery store.
• A More Inclusive Economy. Food co-ops are jointly owned and democratically governed by their members, people like you who shop and work there, rather than investors.
From farmer co-ops to food co-ops, worker co-ops to credit unions, housing co-ops to mutual insurance, co-operative enterprises strengthen communities, enhance local resources, support social responsibility, and promote sustainable business practices.
For more information, visit https://nfca.coop/co-opsday.