One of Maine’s oldest food cooperatives, the Belfast Community Co-op, is hitting the milestone of fifty years serving the communities of the Midcoast and beyond. From summer 2026 through summer 2027, the Belfast Community Co-op will be honoring its past and celebrating its future with member-owners, staff, friends and neighbors.   

The kick-off to the Co-op’s 50th anniversary will take place Saturday, Aug. 22, from 2-6 p.m., at Steamboat Landing, one of the public parks on Belfast’s working waterfront. Co-organized and co-sponsored by local theater organization counter/current:collective, the party will be free and open to everyone, featuring live dance music from Rockland’s Very Greasy, a DJ set from Denis Howard of WERU, snacks, vendors, kids’ activities, nonprofit tables and stories from the Co-op’s vibrant history.

"The downtown Belfast store, which is open to all, has not just been a reliable and beloved source of local, natural and organic food and other staples for five decades: it has also been a place to gather together and find out what’s going on," said the Co-op, in a news release.

As befits the store’s mission, the birthday year will include many opportunities for collaboration and cooperation, including partnerships with local organizations, and events and activities where people can participate and learn from one another. For example, local company and co-sponsor Revision Energy will provide power for the party with their solar truck, as well as offering a year-long discount on solar to Belfast Community Co-op member-owners as part of the birthday year fun.  

“Our co-op's success is Belfast's success,” says Doug Johnson, General Manager. “This anniversary means fifty years of putting locally grown food on the table, fifty years of democratic participation, fifty years of mutual care with our neighbors, fifty years of growing the cooperative economy and creating a more just food system. Even in rough times, Co-op shoppers show up with remarkable generosity, and we couldn’t do any of this without them. It’s an achievement worth celebrating, and we’re looking forward to doing just that with all our friends.”

To find out more, contact Jamie Cermak, Marketing Manager, at the Belfast Community Co-op at 207-338-2532 ext 302, or email him at jamie@belfast.coop.