Todd County to Benefit from Innovation Grant Awarded by NJPA

The Food Co-op Coalition of the Region Five Development Commission was recently awarded $49,600 in Innovation funding from National Joint Powers Alliance of Staples.

Led by the city of Crosslake, the Food Co-op Coalition representing all five counties in Region Five (Cass, Crow Wing, Morrison, Todd and Wadena counties) will use its funds to launch an educational campaign. The campaign, "Why Co-ops?", emphasizes the value of food co-op membership/ownership and purchasing.

Supported by six food cooperatives and communities from the region and beyond, the proposal allows for the food co-ops to work together on a campaign that relays the economic value of purchasing from local food retailers, who in turn purchase from local growers and providers—creating and retaining our regional wealth, a news release stated. The campaign will also focus on the personal benefits of purchasing healthy foods and further advise how neighbors and coworkers can help each other become food co-op members/owners. One of the six food cooperatives is Everybody's Market in Long Prairie (Todd County).