The Stand
Event to feature tour of new Eat to Live Food Co-op
The New York Cooperative Network is coming to Syracuse Sept. 28th to put on its second annual business summit. It will be located at the South Side Innovation Center, at 2610 S. Salina St., and will be featuring nationally renowned speakers Professor Richard Wolff, author of “Democracy at Work;” Brendan Martin, author of “The Working World,” and Esteban Kelly, director of the New Economics Institute.
The summit will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will offer opportunities to meet and learn from local cooperators, as well as sit in on keynote speakers while they address the present time as a new era of cooperative business.
The goals of the summit are to “build relationships within the cooperative community of New York State, give existing cooperatives greater exposure to each other and the public and engage and support newcomers to the cooperative movement.”
The gathering will include a wide variety of people including co-op staff, activists and enthusiasts, who come from an array of cooperative business divisions such as credit unions, agricultural cooperatives, house cooperatives and food co-ops.
Topics for the summit include navigating the legal framework, building the cooperative community, grocery cooperatives and food justice, resources for start-ups, incubating worker cooperatives and agricultural cooperation. Attendees will also be able to tour the brand new Eat to Live Food Co-op, (located down the street at 2323 S. Salina St.) which is going through last minute additions and is scheduled to open its doors to the public within the next two weeks.
Last year’s summit, was held in celebration of 2012 marking the United Nations International Year of Cooperatives. There were more than 120 people in attendance and 14 speakers from seven different northeast cities. This year, the New York Cooperative Network hopes to increase those numbers and further attendee’s experience and takeaway.
The New York Cooperative Network was founded by a group of co-op businesses and advocates who came together to promote “a fair, democratic, and sustainable economy throughout New York State.”
Admission for the event will range from $5 to $30. For more information on the summit and to register, visit newyorkcooperative.net. Lunch will be provided for all attendees.
