1. How does a food co-op differ from a regular grocery store?

With a food co-op, ownership is shared among many members who are supplying food to the organization to be sold. This is in contrast to most grocery stores, where an individual or group owns the store and foods are purchased from various vendors that do not retain any form of ownership in the company.

2. How did Elm City Market gain ideas for the organizational structure of their co-op?

The original leadership team for Elm City Market visited other co-ops in New England to gain ideas for the organizational structure of their company. These other co-ops were very willing to share financial information and organizational charts with Elm City Market to aid in the start-up of their organization.

3. Why did the founders of Elm City Market feel a co-op would better serve their community than a grocery store with a different organizational structure?

The founders of Elm City Market believed that the co-op model gave local vendors more of a voice in the organization. By actually having ownership in the company, vendors are more connected to the organization. Because so many local vendors own Elm City Market and many of these members are also employees within the market, it gives the local community complete ownership of the market and a sense of pride in seeing the organization succeed.

Quiz
1. Which of the following tasks would not likely be completed by a member of the board at Elm City Market?
a. creating a budget
b. making a general policy decision
c. creating a work schedule for a new employee
d. reviewing financial statements
Answer: c
Explanation: The board at Elm City Market deals only with setting general policy for the market, reviewing financials, and approving budgets. The board does not take part in the daily activities of the market, such as creating work schedules.

2.