Hanover Co-op Food Stores

Whenever I host special guests—ranging from local farmers, political leaders, to diverse, young food-system pros—I invariably come away feeling grateful about opportunities to create new and deepened relationships. So, when my community affairs colleague Heather Drinan of Dartmouth College asked me about co-hosting a luncheon for visitors from Nihonmatsu, Japan, I jumped at the chance. They were in Hanover, NH as part of a sister-city exchange. Guests included the Mayor of Nihonmatsu City, Miho Keiichi (center in group photo). The reason for this cross-global connection dates to Japanese scholar Kan’ichi Asakawa who left Nihonmatsu to study at Dartmouth, graduating in 1899. I believe in life-long learning, whether it is a lunch-and-learn or a casual conversation about building a better world. And for this gathering, the perfect topic was at my fingertips. In 1936, the founders of Hanover Co-op Food Stores were deeply influenced by their meeting with world-renowned Japanese cooperator Toyohiko Kagawa. Kagawa spoke at Dartmouth that spring. It was one of more than 100-stops during his tour of the United States during which he addressed more than 700,000 people and discussed parts of his book, ‘Brotherhood Economics.’ At our luncheon, I shared details of Kagawa’s life, work, and lasting impact. In Japan today, more than 130 million people belong to cooperatives across most business sectors that were spurred by Kagawa’s vision. Following World War II, as the Marshall Plan was being developed, Kagawa used his position of prominence to guide Gen. MacArthur and others to shift Japan from its long-standing feudal agriculture system to one supporting land ownership for small farmers. In the closing lines of ‘Brotherhood Economics,’ he wrote;      “…let us without delay endeavor to cooperatize the economic system of the world. With this accomplished, we shall find that we have built the only sure foundation for the establishment of world peace.” True then. True today. My thanks to Heather (second from right) for sharing this opportunity with me, and to my Hanover Co-op colleague and private chef Josh Eichman (far right) for his planning and skill in preparing our meal…classic lobster rolls that were a big hit! And my deep appreciation for our interpreter, Michiya Nagashima (second from left) who made our language barrier vanish for the three-hours that we spent together. Oh, and that evening, Mayor Keiichi threw out the first pitch at the Upper Valley Nighthawks game. How cool is that?!

In the most recent episode of The Grower and The Economist podcast, Peter Konjoian and I spoke with Rebecca White of the Hanover Co-op Food Stores. We discuss how the Hanover Co-Op has a local purchasing goal, and they purchase from small and large farms, alike. Learn how they make decisions and how they work with farmers to get their products on their shelves. Listen to the whole episode at stratagerm.com/thegate