About Affiliated Foods Southwest

Affiliated Foods Southwest One of the largest, most efficient wholesale food cooperatives in the Southwestern United States, Affiliated Foods Southwest is dedicated to providing good products, good facilities, and good service for its customers.

Affiliated Foods founder C. E. "Doc" Toland (with drawing) and members of the board of directors break ground for their new distribution center (1965).

Armed with a dream and determination to succeed in the grocery business, C. E. "Doc" Toland left his home in College Hill, Arkansas, in the 1940's and joined a four-year-old grocery cooperative in Little Rock called Model Markets, which had just three other employees.

Despite having to compete against about 130 other wholesale grocery distributors and a growing number of large supermarket chains, the fledgling cooperative, aided by Toland's hard work, foresight, and leadership, not only survived but flourished. Today the Little Rock-based cooperative , now called Affiliated Foods Southwest, is one of the largest , most modern, and most efficient wholesaler food cooperatives in the southwest United States and second largest privately owned company in Arkansas.

The Affiliated Foods Southwest customer base has also grown, from just 20 retail grocery stores in Little Rock area in 1948 to hundreds of independent grocers throughtout Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas today.