NYT: Food Co-op Exile's Story Demands 2,000 Words

WOW!!! I had no inkling that rather winding article would lead to such wordy comments. I couldn't even get through them all and I'm kind of reluctant to add anything.

But since not too many of the posters appear are coop members here goes (by the way, Hi Babs!):

***You join the coop agreeing to work a shift and stick to it. You can fulfill hours under a couple of different scheme that are not cyclic work cycles--the main one helps freelancers and such who can do a project (say, graphic design, research, editing) over a few days and manage to fulfill their yearly requirements.

***There are exceptions to the work requirement. The coop is very liberal with new baby/adoption (caregivers get a long hiatus from work requirements); certain disabilities, illness/recovery, age can reduce/eliminate your required time; you can now "retire" from the work requirement (age+years of membership equal a certain number). You can go on leave and not work as well.

***The coop is founded on the timebank kind of idea in that everyone's time is equal one to the other. So, maybe you're a judge and you cashier. Maybe your salary's well into the 6-figure range and you do checkout; maybe you receive food stamp benefits and you're a squad leader; maybe you live off a trust fund and do maintenance. All-in-all, it's the most eclectic, friendly community where you can talk to anyone...a very unusual place in, yes eclectic, but fractured Brooklyn.

***Anyone can join. Just sign up for the twice weekly orientations. Because the membership has seen such incredible growth the last couple of years, you can no longer "walk in" to an orientation but must sign up and be scheduled for one. Once you've had orientation, you can shop immediately. BTW, people live far afield and become or move and remain members (The Bronx, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, NJ, PA, CT).

***I've seen kids and teenagers whose parents/caregivers are members who grow up with a great sense of fairness, awareness of the food they eat, managing responsibility, etc.

***The coop is the only food-shopping I know of in NYC where you have excellent childcare. If you work your shift or shop during the childcare hours, you can drop off your kid. For all of those new parents out there...WOW! Sure, IKEA has childcare *and* they have that bad-food little shopping area, but I won't count them. I wonder if people drop their kid at IKEA and manage to run to Fairway...

***Coop member/employees are well-paid, have good benefits and health insurance. It is beyond competitive. There is nothing comparable, even in California where grocery store workers have a union.

***From what I remember, the coop has the highest product turnover in Brooklyn.

***The coop has the freshest, organic local produce that I know of...and cheap? Can we talk?! The coop strives to source food and products from equitable employers, fair trade labels, coop producers, local farms, humane animal husbandry;

***The coop has an active Kosher committee that does an excellent job. There is also a committee working on food safety/researching GMOs.

***The coop hosts community learning events, health and healing seminars, films showings, clothing and household item exchanges/drives, food collection for a local soup kitchen (both daily with fresh food from the coop's stock and periodically with food drives asking mbrs to donate non-perishables).

***The coop is one of the sponsor organizations of the Brooklyn Food Conference.

***The coop hosts fun events at local venues.

And if you've made it this far, from my observation the coop is an active meeting place for young people interested in what young people are usually interested in! :-)

Sure. There are lines, but certainly not all the time. I kind of enjoy a not-too-long line because you end up chatting with people. You know all those interesting vegetables and fruits that you have no idea how to cook/eat. Well, at the coop, just ask anyone around and you'll likely get a friendly receipt or two!

So, come, try, enjoy. And if it's not for you, so be it.

Posted by: BrooklynGreene at October 26, 2009 3:27 PM

Oh, and by the way, although my long posts tend to be thread extinguishers, I have to add:

***No, paying more money yearly so you don't have to work is antithetical to the coop's principals...

***...as is paying someone minimum wage to do your hours...that's just gross and misses the point. [Also, understand someone can work your hours for you, but that person needs to be a member as well.]

***Each "squad" sets its own make-up rules. Some shifts require a member to make up two shifts for any shift missed. They have to be made up before the next regularly schedule shift (therefore, within 4 weeks). Some shifts only require 1 make-up, especially if the member has made an effort to call one of the squad leaders in advance to let him/her know.

Disclosure: I'm a squad leader and enjoy working with my group...my shift is a diverse group of people from their 20's through their 60's (possibly 70's but who's talkin'?!). We have people who work in the arts, are stay-at-home caregivers, teachers, small business owners, lawyers, RNs and an MD, people who work in finance, students, persons seeking work, fire and police department and other City employees, performers, musicians.

Posted by: BrooklynGreene at October 26, 2009 4:05 PM

Sorry, I meant "antithetical to the coop's principles"...oops.

Look, okay, okay, there has been a lot of talk about reducing work time/frequency. More to come on that.

But to be frank, sometimes we don't have ENOUGH people working our shift. What with no-shows, we sometimes really have to pull together to get the place moving. Sure, indeed, there are people who stand around (mostly younger members)"pretending" to work...reminding me teenagers who are being forced to do chores but knowing they can zoom out soon anyway). But on our shift there is very little lolly-gagging. We're busy-busy-busy and, yes, I do find myself pulling Mom-rank and smilingly find tasks for people doing makeup shifts who appear to be drifting...

Working my squad I have to say I've learned to say "no" with a smile. Not something we're necessarily taught in childhood.

Posted by: BrooklynGreene at October 26, 2009 4:19 PM

Sorry Carroll G.,
I wasn't reading for nuance considering there was so much nonsense commenting to wade through contributed by non-coop members. I kind of skimmed.

And Dave, I think you might enjoy the coop. There may be some "added value" you could get into.

Posted by: BrooklynGreene at October 26, 2009 4:23 PM

Yes, Heather, what many of us want to know...why the coop cannot have multiple locations. I do know the idea has been studied. The coop cannot really expand in its current locations since the firehouse is on one side and the schoolyard on the other.

In the past, members were pusing for a branch on our side of the tracks (Fort Greene). It was shot down by a couple of people who had pull and wanted to go another route. It may have been the best way to go at the time. I won't comment.

What the coop IS doing now, please note, is lending a lot of support to the GreenHill Coop.

Dave, I think there are fresh, organic: crimini, shitake, portabello, champignon de Paris, oyster, those thin white stringy ones (Japanese), lobster, chaterelle, another one like oyster but not as floppy...and there are a lot of dried mushrooms, I think dried morels, etc.

For better or for worse, the coop has gone gourmet to some extend over the years. I don't mind it but I think it is probably a little off-putting to those on tight budgets. Then again, people who have tight food budgets, can actually afford what is elsewhere often way-overpriced health food and gourmet item.

Posted by: BrooklynGreene at October 26, 2009 5:37 PM

Sorry Tybur...Yes, people's skills could be used more appropriately...maybe...but still, with just 2 1/2 hours once a month (actually 13x per year), I'm not sure what kind of skilled tasks could/need to be assigned. People can sometimes barely remember how to work the register when they only work once a month. The first couple of months for a newbie and you have to retrain them each time.

Granted, there are people (some who aren't even required to work) who come in extra time and do specific tasks they like, some of which take certain skills/knowledge sets.

And, as I mentioned what we call "future time off" people who may work on one project can quickly fulfill their yearly work requirement. They may work on things that are more related to their jobs/skills (working on the newspaper for example).

Tara,
Executive Summary:
A) Coop members generally like the coop and see where things might be improved or changed. Some of them are acutely aware how non-members might be put off by the coop if they come for a tour on a busy day.
B) Non-coop members mouth off a lot and make cutesy comments.
C) After years hearing about the coop, non-members join and are hooked.

Posted by: BrooklynGreene at October 26, 2009 5:53 PM

Oh yes Ditmas! Enoki! I've bought them at the coop but couldn't remember the name.

Tybur, it's rather unseemly...us having our own conversation...but here goes:

Actually, now that we take debit cards (we took EBT cards of course before that), we're kind of up to snuff technology-wise. Look at it this way: members work about 2 1/2 hours per month. The systems have to be simple and rather “elegant” as they say (“elegant solutions”? hahaha…but yes, a lot of thought goes into these kinds of upgrades). The checkout and cashier areas are very easy to do now...touch screens, scanning, etc. You can only expect so much from people when they do a task for a couple of hours once a month.

Regarding skills and socioeconomic status. Look at it as opportunities to learn NEW skills, work differently with people than, maybe, you might need to do in your day-to-day job...this is a good thing, learning differently kinds of people skills.

There is no undetermined "discount". Prices are based on a mark-up from wholesale. If the wholesale price changes, the shelf price changes. I think this is a wonderful control on people eating foods out of season. There is a lot of research in eating in-season which I won't/can't go into here. But, for example, it's not bad when gorgeous organic tomatoes are 59-cents per pound...apples are cheaper than at a farmers' market, etc. Note that most supermarkets keep prices as flat as possible during the year so you end up paying prices that are artificially high all year long, encourage a race to the bottom scenario (that also has a huge carbon footprint) when out-of-season foods are shipped from abroad (middlemen looking for the lowest price possible), and don't support regional growers and food inter- and independence. When retail prices fluctuate noticeably during the year, people self-manage their choices and purchasing patterns.

It’s also intensely interesting to someone like me to see when prices shift and what those shifts are.

The coop IS dynamic. There have been big changes over the years and there has been an incredible adjustment the last years when membership ballooned. People are working hard on figuring out options and strategies.

Regarding kosher food: understand that the people buying it are often the people or know the people who are packing it. This is a great thing for many who rely on store bought kosher food. Also, the only kosher chicken (and chicken liver) available is organic'n'humane at the coop.

There are basic guidelines for squads. I wouldn't say it's a mess. Basically, the guideline rules are “you miss a shift and you have to do two make up slots”. Very few squads deviate from this. Make ups are easy: walk in for a shift, say "Hi, I'm here to do a make up," fill in doing your regular job, or learn a new one, or be a "walker" and bring people to their cars or homes.

By the way, did I ever mention the coop DOES do shopping and delivery for homebound members? Someone's comment above struck me.

Tybur, to be honest, go online to the website and sign up for an orientation. It sounds like you might as well join and do it for while to see what you think. I'd love to hear your report in 6 months.

:-)

Posted by: BrooklynGreene at October 26, 2009 6:44 PM