Current actions
The project to establish the Food Cooperatives Network, supported by the Robert Bosch Stiftung Foundation, began in January 2024 at the initiative of three Polish cooperatives: the Dobrze Food Cooperative, the Grochowska Cooperative, and the Kaszubska Cooperative.
The long-term goal of the initiative is to strengthen the idea of cooperativism in Poland in agreement with all stakeholders – food cooperatives, farmers, and local authorities – by enhancing cooperation among cooperatives and integrating them with suppliers, developing solutions that support and facilitate cooperative operations, and representing the community both in Poland and internationally.
After the stage of developing the concept for an umbrella organization and planning its initial activities, the Food Cooperatives Network Association obtained legal status in January 2025.
So far, four food cooperative gatherings have taken place:
On the beautiful weekend of September 20-21, members of the Food Cooperatives Network gathered for a meeting at a unique location, the Ecological Folk University in Grzybowo.
During two intensive days, representatives from cooperatives across the country participated in: presentations of activities by interested cooperatives, a facilitated workshop “From Community to Action,” individual consultations for each cooperative, many delicious shared meals, a bonfire, yoga, a farm visit, a philosophical debate, as well as a photoshoot and film recording (of course!).
Much also happened outside the formal program – in conversations, encounters, and in nature – experiences that cannot be put into words 🙂
Thanks to individual consultations, each cooperative had the opportunity to voice its needs, declare commitment to future actions, and be incorporated into the workshop plan for the period November 2025 – October 2026.
During the “From Community to Action” workshop, a joint reflection on needs and possible activities led to the creation of the seed of a communications group based on three levels of engagement: spark – shot – step. This marks the beginning of the Food Cooperatives Network working groups!
There is strength in cooperatives!
We invite you to watch the meeting report on our YouTube channel.
On November 16-17, the next cooperative gathering took place, this time in Kraków.
On the first day of the meeting, we officially approved the Statute of the new association and discussed possible ways for the Main Board and Audit Committee to operate, to make it easier for members to decide on candidacy. We also talked about engaging cooperatives that had not yet been active, as well as internal and external communication within the Food Cooperatives Network. A map of connections between cooperatives in Poland was created, and participants expressed their willingness to help build a cooperative database and develop the network through shared goals, initiatives, and collaboration with suppliers.
The second day began with the Founding Assembly, during which the Statute was signed and the Board and Audit Committee were elected. We also worked on ideas for initiatives promoting the cooperative movement, visited the Wawel Cooperative, and concluded by exploring educational materials developed as part of two projects supported by the ECF and the Bosch Foundation..
On the weekend of May 11-12, the second meeting in the series took place, during which, with the indispensable support of Pogotowie Facylitacyjne, 30 delegates from several cooperatives across Poland engaged in a two-day process of collective reflection on the strategic goals and formal structure of the emerging umbrella organization.
The first day of the gathering was full of ideas for systemic changes that could harness the potential of, and optimize the functioning of, the planned cooperative coalition. A facilitated brainstorming session produced countless concepts for actions aimed at strengthening communities around cooperatives and fostering their integration.
In a workshop format, we explored how the umbrella organization – both directly and through its members – could effectively influence consumer choices.
At the end of the day, there was a ceremonial signing of the jointly agreed definition of a food cooperative as the focus and beneficiary of support from the umbrella organization.
On Sunday, the majority of the day was devoted to analyzing the organizational model of the umbrella institution. The group engaged in in-depth discussions about all possible scenarios, as well as the limitations and potential of the proposed solutions.
On the weekend of March 9-10, the March Food Cooperatives Gathering took place in Warsaw, during which delegates from several Polish cooperatives worked on the concept of an umbrella organization in a workshop format prepared and facilitated by Pogotowie Facylitacyjne.
On the first day of the meeting, we collectively outlined the vision of the world that would emerge from the activities of the food cooperatives umbrella, along with the barriers and challenges related to realizing this vision. We focused on the priority directions for the planned organization’s activities.
Sunday was dedicated to formulating the institution’s vision. We compared different scenarios – their strengths and weaknesses, as well as the consequences of potential solutions -and began a discussion on organizational aspects such as membership, governance, and decision-making within the umbrella organization.