As a kid, my family was part of a co-op. I grew up in the boonies, and there was one local grocery store that had horrible selection. The larger chains required long drives to get to, but even then they did not have the produce selections that is the norm now. Instead, each weekend a member of the co-op would visit the farmer's market in the Big City. We were no where near the size of the co-op in the TFA, but it made a big difference in the selection of produce we had. Now, that farmer's market is no longer, but now a series of condos with Farmer's Market as part of their name are there. I just never though that a co-op would be a viable thing in 21st century, so it was definitely interesting reading about how that's not the case.