Featuring John Zippert, Cooperative Hall of Fame inductee who spent decades with the Federation of Southern Cooperatives; Jerry McGeorge, Executive Vice President of Organic Valley; Sarah Tyree, vice president of Policy and Public Affairs at CoBank; and Doug O’Brien, president and CEO of NCBA CLUSA, “A Cooperative Approach to the Future of Food” will be available via livestream.
NCBA CLUSA is partnering with Arizona State University’s Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems on this panel discussion, the latest in a series of conversations the center is hosting on the future of food.
A new article published by the New York Times is bringing the need for these conversations top of mind. Farm towns that produce the crops that feed America are becoming the country’s unlikeliest food deserts as traditional grocery stores shut down, facing competition from dollar-store chains that don’t stock produce. But neighbors are working together to meet their communities’ needs by opening their own food cooperatives.
Moderated by Swette Center Executive Director Kathleen Merrigan, this discussion will explore what today’s climate of economic exclusion, inequality and political divisiveness could mean for the future of food, and how cooperative are poised to impact that future.
Panelists will unpack lessons from history and discuss current opportunities for cooperatives to shape the food system in America.
Following the panel discussion, there will be time for audience participation and a post-program reception with rooftop views.