Affiliated Foods Southwest
Encyclopedia
Affiliated Foods Southwest was a retailers' cooperative
serving independent supermarket
s in Arkansas
, Louisiana
, Mississippi
, Oklahoma
, Tennessee
, and Texas
. It was founded in 1948 by C. E. "Doc" Toland, who had worked in a cooperative
in Little Rock, Arkansas
called Model Markets. It was a member of Retailer Owned Food Distributors & Associates
and distributed Shurfine
products in its stores.
Affiliated Foods Southwest also operated several Harvest Foods grocery stores in Arkansas.
The company declared bankruptcy on May 5, 2009. Its distribution operations were acquired by Associated Wholesale Grocers
.
Retailers' cooperative
A retailers' cooperative is a type of cooperative which employs economies of scale on behalf of its retailer members. Retailers' cooperatives use their purchasing power to acquire discounts from manufacturers and often share marketing expenses. It is common for locally owned grocery stores,...
serving independent supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
s in Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. It was founded in 1948 by C. E. "Doc" Toland, who had worked in a cooperative
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
in Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
called Model Markets. It was a member of Retailer Owned Food Distributors & Associates
Retailer Owned Food Distributors & Associates
The Retailer Owned Food Distributors & Associates is a trade association that serves retailers' cooperatives in the supermarket industry...
and distributed Shurfine
Shurfine
Shurfine International is a distributor of private label and store brands for independent supermarkets and convenience stores throughout the United States...
products in its stores.
Affiliated Foods Southwest also operated several Harvest Foods grocery stores in Arkansas.
The company declared bankruptcy on May 5, 2009. Its distribution operations were acquired by Associated Wholesale Grocers
Associated Wholesale Grocers
Associated Wholesale Grocers is the second-largest retailer-owned grocery wholesaler in the United States, after Wakefern Food Corporation. The cooperative serves over 1,900 stores in 21 states. It was founded in 1924 as Associated Grocers of Kansas City and is based in Kansas City, Kansas...
.