[Featured image: Cooperative Development Director, Korita Steverson and CCE Board Member Allanah Hines stopped for pictures at Up & Coming 2025’s Black Led Day hosted by the National Black Food & Justice Alliance.]

Written by Korita Steverson, CCE Cooperative Development Director

The Up & Coming 2025 Conference in Kalamazoo, Michigan, last month offered a dynamic space for more than 300 food co-op organizers and supporters from around the country to gather, learn, and build the future of the cooperative movement together.

Over three full days, we attendees were able to fully immerse ourselves in hands-on learning, workshops, and networking opportunities aimed at equipping our communities with the skills and connections needed to launch and sustain food cooperatives. The energy was palpable as both new and established co-ops shared their journeys, struggles, and innovative solutions, all under the unifying theme of “Co-Creating the Future”—a theme and art created by peace builder, social healer, freedom fighter, network weaver, and lover of humanity, amaha sellassie.

As always, one of my highlights included the powerful Black-Led Day hosted by the National Black Food and Justice Alliance, centering the voices and leadership of Black cooperators.   Much of the rest of the conference grappled with both the challenging and inspiring aspects of organizing food cooperatives. Among the most difficult hurdles, we noted the need to build trust among neighbors, ensure broad-based participation, and access enough startup capital and support to get from vision to reality. Yet, those challenges are being tackled head-on with a spirit of determination and hope —through shared stories, peer learning, and the affirmation that “cooperation among cooperatives” is essential for scaling impact and overcoming isolation.

It was my honor to participate in a panel alongside leaders from the North Carolina Black-led food ecosystem, where we explored the real challenges and opportunities that arise when organizing food-based cooperatives rooted in genuine community need. We discussed how addressing food access is not just about grocery shelves but about power, ownership, and resilience within communities traditionally excluded from the mainstream food system.

Ultimately, Up & Coming 2025 proved that food co-ops remain a vital tool for community well-being, economic empowerment, and racial equity. As more extractive models of ownership and power continue to be redrawn, this movement is demonstrating how democratic, collective approaches can deliver lasting change and nourishment to neighborhoods across the country.  Many thanks to the Indiana Cooperative Development Center, Food Cooperative Initiative, and this year’s host co-op, The People’s Food Co-op, for hosting us for my favorite conference of the year!