Grass Valley, CA– At its August 2023 meeting, the BriarPatch Board of Directors voted unanimously to adopt an 8th Cooperative Principle to build upon the seven existing “principles of co-operation” that serve to guide co-operatives around the world: BriarPatch Food Co-op recognizes an 8th Cooperative Principle that asserts an unambiguous commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. They (the Board) further resolved that “this Resolution is adopted as a Call to Action for the Cooperative Movement to do likewise.”
This Cooperative Principle joins and expands upon the seven original ones that comprise the Rochdale Principles, a set of ideals for the operation of cooperatives. First set out in 1844 by the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers in Rochdale, England, they have formed the basis for the principles on which co-operatives around the world continue to operate. The original Rochdale Principles were officially adopted by the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) in 1937 as the Rochdale Principles of Co-operation and later updated by the ICA in 1995.
The 8th principle brings the cooperative community into alignment with the critically important cooperative values of diversity, equity and inclusion that have long been a subtext of our history, but never formally documented and solidified as a pillar of our cooperative identity. It is a call to action to commit to a culture of positive, inclusive change. The world looks different than when the first seven principles were created, and the Co-op joins numerous other co-ops, credit unions and the National Cooperative Grocers (NCG) in embracing this 8th principle and calling upon the ICA to take a leadership role in this movement by adopting it as well. On January 20th BriarPatch sent an official request for the ICA to formally adopt the 8th Principle.
BriarPatch works toward fostering an equitable environment and is committed to creating a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion and social justice in all of its endeavors. DEI training and workshops for staff, along with thoughtful planning with management and community leaders about how the Co-op can serve as a beacon of support for those marginalized and oppressed, is an ongoing theme of our work that we take seriously.
Says Chris Maher, General Manager at BriarPatch: “In 2020, a call was made to the cooperative community, to the International Cooperative Alliance, to add this 8th principle. The ICA, to date, has not actually done so officially but we felt at BriarPatch that we could adopt this principle, both as something that we wanted to bring to our local community and as a call to cooperatives across the world to do the same.”
Meanwhile, BriarPatch’s resolution to adopt the 8th principle was sent to the ICA, which added it to its Declarations of Cooperative Identity to serve as a model for other cooperatives.
BriarPatch Food Co-op is a neighborly grocery store serving up local, high quality, healthy food and supporting our Sierra Foothills community since 1976. Learn more at briarpatch.coop