Who Knew the Hanover Co-op is Celebrating Its 90th Birthday This Year?

During December 1935, discussions were held in Hanover to address the low quality of available local foods, especially for families on low academic salaries. On January 6, 1936, thirty local residents from Hanover and Norwich convened at the Hanover High School library and voted to start the Hanover Consumers Club. The fees were $1.00 to join and quarterly dues of 75 cents. Herbert Sensenig, a Dartmouth German professor and a Dartmouth alum from the class of 1928, was quoted as saying, “We were motivated by money.” Their idea was to buy large quantities of food items, using local distributors where practical, and sell the items to members at cost.

By the end of January 1936, 17 families had joined. Potatoes, maple syrup and oranges were purchased and held for pickup in the homes of the members. Discounted oil, gas and coal were also purchased.

In 1937, the Co-op moved to Hanover’s main street, in the basement of what is now Indigo. The Consumer Club was incorporated in 1937 and became the Hanover Consumer Cooperative Society. A few years later they moved to street level in what eventually became the old Dartmouth Bookstore and now hosts My Brigadeiro and J. McLaughlin. In 1963, due to lack of parking, the Co-op moved to its present location. 1997 saw the expansion of the Co-op with the opening of the Lebanon store and, in 2010, the White River Junction store. Hanover Consumer Cooperative Society, Inc. (1936-) | Dartmouth Libraries Archives & Manuscripts

Although Coop members no longer own “stock”, members are rewarded for their purchases by receiving a small refund each time they shop. Refunds are banked by the store and can be used at any time for future purchases.

The Coop was at the forefront of bulk food purchasing back in the 1970s with the construction of the Coop Food B.I.N. (Bulk, International Foods, Natural Foods.) This was located in the current parking lot. Eventually, the ability to buy food in bulk was incorporated into the main store, and the Food B.I.N. was torn down to create additional parking.

Today the Hanover Consumer Cooperative society has more than 33,000 members, 400 local vendors, 3 food stores and 2 auto service centers. The Hanover Co-op’s 90th Birthday is worth celebrating. https://coopfoodstore.coop/about/