What year was your center founded?: 1994

What region(s) does your center serve?: The state of North Dakota

What sector(s) does your center serve? Do you have a particular focus?: The RE&T Development Center works to bring new and expanded businesses and services to rural communities to enhance the quality of life for those living there. (Focus on food access, child care, meat processing plants)

How many co-ops have incorporated thanks to your center’s assistance?: 46

What is your center’s greatest accomplishment over the last five years, or the thing that you are most proud of?: After 5+ years of working in the rural grocery sector, we have been able to help form a rural distribution cooperative (three grocery stores and two surrounding communities without access to food) to collectively purchase their goods which will be delivered to the hub and then redistributed to the other 4 locations.

How has CW supported your work?: Providing training opportunities for developers; the listserv is a valuable tool and a great way for members to ask questions and learn from one another

What is the most unique co-op your center has assisted?: Rural Access Distribution (RAD) Co-op

Has the pandemic affected your work? How so?: Somewhat. We haven’t traveled for meetings since early 2020; we haven’t had face-to-face meetings which can sometimes make development work difficult to move forward.