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.