The whole concept behind the co-op movement was food for people, not profit. The cooperative model is unique. There's another way for economies to work than what is the status quo.

The board changed my view of the co-op. I saw it as a grocery store that happened to be organized as a cooperative. I realized that, in my mind, it flipped, and now I saw it was a cooperative that operated a supermarket but could easily add anything else it wanted to.

And at the end of the day, I also think it just makes our food system a little bit more resilient because it's a store that's owned by the community.

You own this just as much as I do if you're a co-op member. It doesn't matter if you signed up today. You have as much stake in this as I do. As much stake as our general manager or anybody else.

When you are shopping at the co-op, you are literally making a difference in our community. You are literally voting with your dollars. And it can feel like a very small way, but it's a very real way that you can actually affect change in your community.

Co-ops are slow in getting going. It can take years to get a co-op going in a community. They're usually very long-lasting. So here we are celebrating our 50th anniversary. And in those years, there have been quite a few grocery stores that have come and gone in Middlebury.

No matter how things have changed, it's still a cooperative. It's still community-owned. I'm sure there's always things that people would prefer to have a certain way. I know that from being on the board. And that's fine.

The fact that the cooperative is still here, still giving to the community, and still trying to be as responsive to the membership as possible is a good thing in my mind.