When question-asker Kate Phillips moved to Vermont, she was surprised to find three different food co-ops within driving range of her place. She then received a notice from her new electric company – yet another co-op. So, she started to wonder: What is the history of co-ops in Vermont? Why are they so successful here?

VPR reporter (and former co-op manager) Howard Weiss-Tisman visits the oldest food co-op in the country and digs into the Vermont Historical Society archives to get to the bottom of Vermont's co-op boom.

Check photos from our reporting here.

Mentioned in the episode:

• “Everyone Welcome? Personal Narratives about Race and Food Co-ops” (from Columinate)
• The Rochdale Pioneers (from the International Cooperative Alliance)
• The Co-op Movement, 1919 (from the Vermont Historical Society)
• “Turning on the Lights: Electricity Comes to Rural Vermont, 1943” (from the Vermont Historical Society)

This episode was reported by Howard Weiss-Tisman and produced by Josh Crane. Mix and sound design by Josh Crane. Editing and digital production by Angela Evancie and Myra Flynn. Ty Gibbons composed our theme music; other music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Special thanks to Alex Burns, Regina Thompson and Elise Graeves and Kate Phillips.

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Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public Radio.

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