Jon Steinman

Author

Biography

JON STEINMAN is the author of Grocery Story: The Promise of Food Co-ops in the Age of Grocery Giants (New Society Publishers). Following the book’s release in 2019, Jon completed a 130-stop tour across the US and Canada and was hosted by established food co-ops and 23 in their development stages. In 2021, Jon published THIS COULD BE OURS – a PHOTO ALBUM to inspire your food co-op dream. Jon was the writer and host of the radio show, podcast and television series Deconstructing Dinner, and was a board director at the Kootenay Co-op (2006-2016) – the largest food co-op in Canada specializing in natural foods – serving as Board President in his final two years. Jon lives in Nelson at Heddlestone Village – a 24-home cohousing community he helped develop. www.grocerystory.coop  

olumbia Basin.

 

Who Owns Your Grocery Store? 
Community Owned Grocery Stores in the Columbia Basin

 

 

Imagine a Columbia Basin filled with grocery stores owned by the people most impacted by them – eaters, foodmakers and workers. Grocery stores might be the most influential force shaping the future of food – they determine which foods make it to market, and which don’t. With 92% of all food purchases for the home being made at grocery stores, eaters and foodmakers can understandably feel disempowered when a handful of grocery giants command over 80% of Canada’s grocery dollars. In some Columbia Basin communities, just one or two grocers with distant head offices may be the only food retailer(s) in the community – leaving eaters and foodmakers with little influence over their critical role. Canada has a long history of community-owned businesses and services. Some of the most inspiring examples of communty-owned grocery stores come from here in the Columbia Basin and from across the border in the USA where over 320 consumer-owned food co-ops can be found in rural and urban communities of every size. This session will share the many success stories of community-owned grocery stores (food co-ops) and will inspire us to imagine what’s possible in the Columbia Basin. 

All sessions

Evening Gala, awards, taco bar and Cherry Lounge chat

  • 4 October, 2022
  • 5:30pm - 8:00pm
  • Main Hall - Columbia Valley Centre

Community-Owned Grocery Stores in the Columbia Basin

  • 5 October, 2022
  • 9:15am - 10:15am
  • Main Hall - Columbia Valley Centre