Co-ops come full circle in Sunderland

An 80 year relationship between two Ontario co-ops

It was an almost unanimous decision for the members of both 
Sunderland Co-operative and Peterborough District Co-operative when they voted in favour of the recent amalgamation of the two co-operatives.

 “With over 80 years of history in the Peterborough region, it was no surprise that the meetings were well represented,” said Claude Gauthier, GROWMARK Ontario region manager. “The participation exceeded our expectations as members were eager to come out and put their stamp of approval on moving forward with this amalgamation as a way to strengthen their co-operative heritage in the region.”

The two co-ops have a long history together dating back to the 1930’s when Peterborough District Co-operative was established and then opened three branch locations; one being in the town of Sunderland.

FS Store in Sunderland, ON

Almost 20 years later, a small group of farmers in Sunderland got together and raised an initial investment of $25,000 to purchase the assets of the Sunderland branch; thus forming Sunderland Co-operative Inc. in 1950.

And today, with this latest amalgamation, Sunderland Co-operative, now the parent company has expanded to embrace the Peterborough site as one of its own, allowing for a strong co-operative presence to carry on in a community that is home to its rural roots. 

To read more about the full story on the evolution of Sunderland Co-op visit the May issue of GROWMARK's The Source