The Saskatchewan Co-operative Wholesale Society, predecessor to Federated Co-operatives Limited, opened a flour mill in Outlook, Sask., in 1944. As a result, the local Co-operative Women's Guild compiled the first Saskatchewan Co-op Cookbook in 1946, an immense task completed by a small group of women.

The Co-op Cookbook became known across Canada as a thorough, comprehensive aid to the homemaker. It was revised in 1952 and needed to be reprinted multiple times. Many other co-op cookbooks were created as a result of its success in the following decades, including: For Tasteful Living, Cooking the Co-op Way, Taste Temptations, Family Cooking Today and Food Fun, the latter a children's cookbook

Co-op continues this tradition today with recipes, both new and old, for a new generation of home cooks.