Rising food prices have contributed to an increase in the number of food cooperatives in the United States. The present study was undertaken to learn more about the characteristics and motives of food co-op shoppers at large supermarket cooperatives with paid staff and a full product range and small participatory co-ops with volunteer workers and selective merchandising policies. Customer counts and interviews were conducted at participatory and supermarket co-op stores and nearby commercial supermarkets in Northern California and in New York State. Shoppers at the participatory co-ops were found to be young, welleducated, ethnically homogeneous, non-affluent, and motivated primarily by low prices, food quality, natural foods and co-op philosophy.Customers at supermarket co-ops tended to be more diverse in age and ethnicity, well-educated, with eclectic food tastes, and motivated primarily by convenience, low prices and co-op philosophy. Customers at nearby commercial supermarkets were also heterogeneous in age and ethnicity and motivated primarily by price and convenience. The implications of the different customer populations and motives for the future of food co-ops are discussed.The past two decades have brought a rapid expansion in the number of consumer cooperatives. A recent directory lists more than 3,000 buying clubs and co-op stores in the United States and Canada [3]. A national survey of 12,204 adults commissioned by the National Consumer Cooperative Bank [14] found that in 25 percent of the households questioned, at least one family member belonged to a coop. Participation was highest in the West, where 41 percent of the households reported a family member involved in some type of
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