EMPOWERING LOCAL COMMUNITIES 

Valley United Co-op proves how powerful it is when many come together as one. Our mission is to power the rural communities we are located in, helping to create opportunities for the greater agricultural industry.

The Cooperative Model

Because Valley United Co-op is owned by farmers, we are driven by the needs and interests of those farmer-owners and the communities they live in.
Food security, farm safety, and agricultural education and leadership are the cooperative’s giving back pillars, reflecting the most important causes to its members. The cooperative model goes beyond profit motives. We are committed to giving back to better the community.
Valley United doesn't just exist within rural communities. Our members and employees actively participate and invest in them. By physically showing up at local events, supporting youth programs, volunteering in the community, and addressing critical issues like food security and safety, cooperatives have become integral parts of the rural landscape.

Food Security

Valley United Co-op instituted the Backpack Program at Central Valley Public School in Buxton, ND. This program supplies groceries that offer a supply of nutritious meals and snacks for children over the weekends and extended breaks.

Valley United stocks the pantry and the CV staff and teachers place the food into the backpacks once a week. The food is placed discreetly into student backpacks on the last day of school before a weekend. Any student enrolled at CV can receive these weekend bags of food. 

All the food is nonperishable and provided to the families who are enrolled, free of charge. Once a child is enrolled, they receive free bags of food each week until they leave the school or withdraw from the program. The meals include breakfast, two lunch/dinner meals, snacks, and cups of fruit and vegetables. 

This program is particularly important to Valley United because, as an agricultural cooperative, we are a part of producing the greatest and most abundant, safest food supply in the world. VUC is hoping to extend this program throughout the Red River Valley in the future. 

 Education and Leadership

Valley United Co-op takes pride in its community involvement. The communities we serve include Ada, Climax, Fisher, and Halstad, MN, as well as Thompson, Buxton, Hatton, Hillsboro, Mayville, Portland, and Reynolds, ND. At Valley United, our employees and board feel a deep sense of responsibility to be good corporate citizens and neighbors in the towns where we operate, because it’s the right thing to do and because we live in these communities too. 

It is in that spirit that our cooperative has long been a long-time financial supporter of local initiatives, including Dollars for Scholars, fundraiser walks, and golf outings to raise money for Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease research, and providing Shrine Circus tickets for Central Valley kids. We have also partnered with Land O’Lakes, who matches our contributions dollar-for-dollar, to fund our local fire and rescue departments, purchase iPads for local schools, bleachers and baseball equipment for local youth sports teams.

Valley United Co-op embodies the spirit of community engagement and shows how powerful communities can be when a culture of giving is evident. As the cooperative continues to cultivate communities, it stands as a testament to the power of collaboration and shared values in building a brighter future for those in our communities.