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U.S. Co-ops

@us_coops

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We are the primary voice in the U.S. for people who use cooperatives to build a better world 🌱🌎

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Earlier this month, U.S. Co-ops members gathered in Washington, DC, for the 2026 Cooperative IMPACT Conference. As part of the conference, 60 cooperators made their way to Capitol Hill for the association’s 4th annual Hike the Hill event, participating in 40 meetings with congressional offices.

Now in its fourth year, Hike the Hill continues to strengthen relationships between cooperators and policymakers, ensuring that the cooperative business model remains part of important conversations on Capitol Hill.

Read more at the link in our bio. by @us_coops

What does it mean for cooperatives to be “built for this moment”?
That question brought together cooperative leaders, developers, advocates, financers and innovators in Washington, DC this month for the 10th Annual Cooperative IMPACT Conference hosted by newly renamed U.S. Co-ops. Read the link in our bio to learn more.

What does "built for this moment" mean to you? by @us_coops

Co-op Month is a good time to thank the co-ops that show up in everyday life.

Maybe it is the electric co-op keeping the lights on.
The telecom co-op connecting your community.
The credit union helping people access financial services.
The ag co-op supporting producers.
The food co-op or grocery effort keeping food closer to home.
The worker-owned business building a different kind of workplace.
The cooperative staff, board members, and leaders who keep showing up.

Co-ops are built by people.
They keep going because members, employees, directors, and communities choose to participate.

Tag a co-op you appreciate and thank them for being part of Montana’s cooperative community.

Co-ops start here.
#CoopMonth #BuiltForThisMoment #mtcoop #mtcoops #montanacoops #gocoop by @us_coops

That’s a wrap on the 10th Annual Cooperative IMPACT Conference! 🎉

Over two days of collaboration, innovation, and connection, our conversations reinforced a powerful message: cooperatives are built for this moment! The cooperative community is tackling shared challenges, strengthening our communities, and shaping a more resilient future.

From exploring how strategic advocacy can strengthen the cooperative movement at every level of government to hearing CROPP Cooperative/@OrganicValley CEO Shawna Nelson reflect on the power of the cooperative model in times of crisis, these sessions highlighted the importance of collective action and cooperative leadership.

We also celebrated creativity and storytelling at the second annual Film Fest, recognizing Hanover @coopfoodstores, @briarpatchcoop and @alaska_gold_seafood for their outstanding videos.

Finally, we heard from the 2026 Cooperative Hall of Fame inductees Crystal Long, #USCoopsMember Margaret Bau, Kevin Still, Michael Toelle, and Jessica Gordon Nembhard representing this year’s Unsung Hero, Fannie Lou Hamer, share their perspectives on the future of cooperation.

As we celebrate a decade of IMPACT, one thing is clear: the future of the cooperative movement is shaped by those who show up, speak out and work together to create lasting change.

Thank you to our speakers, sponsors, partners and attendees for making this year’s conference a meaningful celebration of cooperative impact. Here’s to carrying these conversations forward and building a stronger cooperative economy together! #USCoops #IMPACTCON26 by @us_coops

Day one of our 10th anniversary of IMPACT is complete! We officially launched our new name, U.S. Co-ops, to the cooperative community. Our theme for this year is “Built for this moment,” and our gathering with fellow cooperators across sectors and industries showcased just that.

From conversations discussing collaboration to solve shared challenges and strengthen communities, to lightning talks focused on innovation, research, and tools to advance the cooperative movement, our first day of IMPACT further proved our continued commitment to helping people build and strengthen a cooperative economy that works for all people. Day two beings now, tag us in your IMPACT pictures with #USCoops and #IMPACTCON26 by @us_coops

In Washington DC, talking all things co-op, connecting with intentional focus on the world we want, and sharing our work @futurocooperatives by @us_coops

The Built for This Moment theme feels fitting for Montana.
Co-ops are not just a business model we talk about during Co-op Month. They are part of how communities keep essential services close to home, build across distance, and organize around shared needs. Those things are all more important when things are expensive and times are tougher.

In Montana, that can mean:
Electricity and broadband.
Financial access.
Agriculture and markets.
Food and grocery access.
Worker ownership.
Housing conversations.
Community services.
Local investment.

Co-ops are built for people who want a voice in the businesses and services that shape their lives.
They are built for communities that know local ownership matters.
They are built for places where waiting for “someone else” is not always a plan.

What co-op shows up in your daily life? Tag them and thank them this Co-op Month.

Co-ops start here.
#CoopMonth #BuiltForThisMoment #mtcoop #mtcoops #montanacoops #gocoop by @us_coops

October is Co-op Month!
This year’s national theme is Built for This Moment.

For Montana, that message feels especially practical.

Cooperatives are built for shared needs, local ownership, and decisions made by the people who use, depend on, and invest in the business.

Across our state, co-ops help communities keep essential services rooted close to home, connect across distance, and build solutions that fit frontier reality.

This month, we will be sharing cooperative education, Montana co-op stories, event updates, partner opportunities, and examples of why co-ops matter to rural and frontier economic development.

We would love to hear from you- how are you celebrating Co-op Month and being Built for this Moment?

Co-ops start here.

#CoopMonth #BuiltForThisMoment #mtcoop #mtcoops #montanacoops #gocoop by @us_coops

Happy #NationalCoopMonth! 🎉

All month long, we're celebrating the cooperatives across the country that were built for this moment – the electric co-ops delivering essential broadband infrastructure to rural America, the food co-ops helping Americans navigate inflation, the housing co-ops creating lasting affordability and the worker co-ops preserving local businesses.

How is your co-op #BuiltForThisMoment?

Check out the Co-op Month resources at the link in our bio to join the celebration. by @us_coops

We're excited to share that U.S. Co-ops' Doug O'Brien is joining a lineup of global food, agriculture, retail and sustainability leaders at Reuters Events Transform Food & Ag USA 2006.

“America’s food system is strongest when the people who grow our food have a meaningful stake in the markets they serve,” O’Brien said.

Learn more about the #TransformFood event in Minneapolis next month at the link in our bio. by @us_coops

Yesterday, NCBA's Doug O'Brien and Valeria Roach joined Carla Decker and cooperators from around the world to celebrate the sites added to @icacoops Cooperative Cultural Heritage Platform in late 2025. The recognition took place while global cooperators are in Panama City this week for #ICAPanama2026.

The inaugural group includes 31 historic sites across 25 countries, including three in the United States:
🚜 @federationofsoutherncoop Rural Training & Research Center in Epes, AL
🏛️ @acumuseum in Manchester, NH on the site of the nation’s first credit union
🍎 @adamantcoop in Adamant, VT, the nation’s oldest continuously operating consumer grocery co-op.

Learn more about the U.S. heritage sites here at the link in our bio! by @us_coops