How many Co-ops are there in the United States? How long have they been operating?
It’s hard to get an exact count. The National Cooperative Grocers Association is comprised of 111 of the largest food co-ops in the United States, but many food cooperatives do not belong to this organization. If all cooperative types are considered (credit unions, worker co-ops, agricultural co-ops, etc.), the NCGA estimates there are more than 47,000 cooperatives in the United States and every day they serve over 130 million people. Consumer cooperatives go back over 100 years to England where the first successful cooperative started in 1844. Most U.S. food cooperatives seem to date from the 1970s, but some were established back in the Depression era. Eleven new food co-ops opened their doors in 2007; ten in 2008.
