We are a co-op. Working together is part of our DNA. When something like a system outage in our main national distributor happens, we’re reminded just how much stronger we are together.
Over the weekend of June 8th, we learned there had been a system outage with our main supplier—just as we were heading into peak season. That meant we suddenly didn’t have access to many of the goods our customers count on us to provide.
This is one of many reasons being part of the National Cooperative Grocers (NCG) co-op network makes us stronger. They jumped into action, advocating for NCG co-ops like the Grain Train and working with the distributor to ensure we stayed as resourced as possible. That’s Cooperative Principle 6—Cooperation Among Cooperatives—in action!
NCG and our distributor worked quickly to find solutions to this national issue. Every day, we’re getting closer to business as usual. It may still take a few weeks to see things fully return to normal, but we’re deeply grateful to both NCG and our distributor for acting swiftly on a situation that was out of anyone’s control.
That’s the national story. But what we really want to highlight is the local story—our purchasing team and the Michigan distributors who came to our aid.
On Monday, June 9th, our purchasing team walked in with a plan. That’s the thing about this team—they take the known (in this case, no big trucks coming any time soon) and ask: What can we get? And then they get to work.
Abbie, our data and system support manager—aka our data wrangler and keeper of systems—has kept alternate supply chains open for years, even with distributors we don’t use day-to-day. When this outage hit, she immediately tapped into that network, cross-referencing data to find which other distributors carried the items we couldn’t access. The years she’s spent building a streamlined, accurate system paid off in spades.
D, an integral part of our purchasing team, rose to the challenge. Being in an unfamiliar and uncomfortable position pushed him to see things from new angles. He shared that he came out the other side having learned more—not just about his job, but about himself.
Abbie named the hardest part of the outage: the items with no replacement.
“The most frustrating part is those things we just can’t, no matter how hard we try, get for our customers.”
And that’s just it. Whatever job we’re doing at the Grain Train, it’s all for our customers and our community. When something gets in the way of that, it’s hard not to feel the weight of letting people down—even when it’s out of our hands.
Thankfully, our produce and meat suppliers weren’t as deeply impacted. We always appreciate our local farmers and producers—but in moments like this, we’re reminded just how essential they are. If you see them, thank a farmer today. We also thank our produce coordinator, Sarah, and our local vendors purchaser, Karly, for making sure that we had fresh, local goods in abundance. Jon, our promotions liaison and merchandiser, also did a lot to keep our store looking good and as full as possible!
When we asked the purchasing team what they’re carrying forward from this experience, D reflected: “When you think about the ice storm, conflict going on around the planet, stuff like this…my vocab word for the calendar year is going to be fragility. So, if anything changes, just carrying that fragility with me—and trying not to carry it with fear, but with respect and honesty to my humanity, and just keeping it in mind.”
Abbie shared the importance of a diverse supply chain, and continuing to support the suppliers who showed up when we needed them. “The more we can do with them (local and regional suppliers), the stronger they will be.” And the stronger our regional food system will be.
You might be wondering: Why not source everything locally or only from Michigan distributors? First, our main supplier is a good partner in the food system, and we’re grateful for a relationship we plan to continue well into the future. They give us access to more goods than all our regional distributors combined. Just as importantly, NCG gives us collective buying power, which helps us and other NCG co-ops across the country get better pricing.
And even with that advantage, our cost of goods can still be higher than big box stores. Why?
It goes back to the 1980s, when enforcement of the Robinson-Patman Act—an anti-trust law meant to protect small businesses from monopolies—was systematically dismantled. That opened the door for giants like Walmart, Amazon, and Dollar General, which use their scale to demand deep discounts from distributors. Independent businesses like ours are left paying more.
Being part of NCG helps level that playing field a little. But what we really need is for those anti-trust laws to be enforced again. There’s work happening at the national level to make that a reality. If you’d like to learn more, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance is a great place to start.
So where does all of this leave us? With deep gratitude.
To our large and small suppliers, thank you. To those working hard to restore our main distributor systems and to the partners who kept us stocked during this outage—thank you.
To our purchasing team: you truly feed this community. Thank you for your quick thinking, your attention to detail, and your commitment to our customers.
And to our owners, customers, and community: thank you for your patience as we continue to refill shelves and get things flowing again. It’s an honor to be your community-owned grocery store. We don’t take that lightly.
Summer is here! We couldn’t be more excited. Welcome to our visitors and seasonal shoppers. We’re doing our best to serve you—just as we always do. We can’t wait to see the familiar faces we’ve been missing.
Until next time, keep cooperating. We’ll see you in the stores!
