Everything Co-op With Vernon Oakes

On May 5, 2022, Vernon interviewed Stuart Reid, Executive Director of the Food Co-op Initiative (FCI). Vernon and Stuart discussed his experiences and accomplishments at FCI, along with his projections and initiatives for the future. Stuart Reid began his career in grocery as a carry-out and stock clerk for the Windom, Minnesota Hy-Vee store back in 1972, never believing for a minute that he would still be working in the grocery business 40+ years later. He probably wouldn’t if he hadn’t discovered food co-ops in Minneapolis when he moved there for college. Since then he has volunteered, co-managed, managed, and served on the boards of many food co-ops, worked for the co-op-owned DANCe warehouse, and helped open the Just Food Co-op in Northfield as their first general manager. Ultimately, Stuart became the first Executive Director of the Food Co-op Initiative. The Food Co-op Initiative is fast approaching a major transition as Stuart announced that he is retiring this year. Founded in 2005 as an experiment