Food Co-op Planned for Ft. Greene/Clinton Hill?

Thanks for the update 1:31. I spewed the errors out and couldn’t remember the exact details but I KNEW there was an effort years ago to open a branch of the PSFC in FG.

Now, to address the misled people writing above:

THE PSFC IS INCREDIBLY DIVERSE. FORGET DELUSIONS ABOUT HIPPIES OR WHATEVER…You would faint at the diversity there! It is ALL BROOKLYN! and the mix is FABULOUS!

It seems most members use public transportation or walk. Yes, some drive or have a friend/family or a car service pick them up if they live far but they’d probably do this for regular (i.e. Pathmark) shopping because many nabes in Brooklyn are underserved food-wise. For an example of this, check out the endless car service/vans etc. that pile up in front of Pathmark near Atlantic bringing people home all over Brooklyn.

The coop sources a LOT of vegetables, fruits and meats from the region which greatly cuts down on transportation related pollution and greenhouse gases.

And…I could have walked home from my shift last time but got ride…on a motorcycle! And the coop member who offered me the ride was a real cutey!

FLESH DISSECT is HORRIBLE. THEY JUST HAD A STRIKE BY THEIR WORKERS. THEY TREAT THEIR EMPLOYEES HORRIBLY, HAVE ILL-MAINTAINED TRUCKS THAT SPEW DIESEL FUMES, ARE V-E-R-Y NOISY AND SOMETIMES REALLY LATE IN THE EVENING…the boxes are like fast food packaging: one time short use and then into the trash. All around horrible. Sure, they’ve gotten in because the shopping choices suck.

Let’s hope the PSFC can sponsor one in FG/CH and that it is on the model of coops that allow non-member shoppers who simply pay a higher price. There are lots of food coops around the country that operate this way so they can offer the savings to members and also have an income stream to provide the community at large with high quality food…all on a basis that may make the business more stable (cheaper overhead costs, profits not getting drained out into private owners’ pockets, not for profit status, community-based and supported).

regarding 10:42 AM’s memory of history…

The Coop had a vote to expand that was defeated in the early 90s, then the coordinators pushed through a second vote, changed the perameters of the process to favor their opinion, and the membership voted to expand to it’s current size.

As an option, a group working to defeat the effort had pushed an option to create multiple sites, including Ft. Greene, Bed Stuy and Cobble Hill but those options were not allowed on the ballot.

The Coordinators, to their credit, have worked for years with volunteers in other neighborhoods including Bed Stuy and East New York, to set up their own Coops. Nothing came of Bed Stuy’s efforts, butEast New York’s is now up and running.

I thought the rumor that BUnion Market was opening in FG had been debunked, no?

Anyway, we have the winemongers of Green Grasp opening the Green Grasp Provisions in the former location of S. Portland Antiques. Remains to be seen how they stack up.

All in all, Garden of Eden mentioned above as well as all the other gourmet stores in NYC are ALL WAYYYY over-priced and generally have horrible labor policy, low, low, low pay, no benefits…basically horrible.

Yes, in the nabe we need a good, decent health food store with decent prices, not Balducci prices ($14.99 for a box of cookie mix?!!!). It may be that a food coop will be the only real possibility of getting a store geared to health food in FG. Listen, there are also lots of CSAs people can participate in too though I am not sure this answers residents’ food desires…certainly gets you good veggies and fruits and supports local agriculture.

Any coop opening in FG most probably cannot do so from scratch in this day and age and will need to be part of or sponsored by another well-run coop such as the PSFC. It would make sense for the PSFC to have a branch in FG/CH BUT, hello, real estate has gotten too expensive at this point. It should have happened back when the PSFC general membership voted to open a branch in FG but got finagled by the coop management.

BTW, for those who are not aware, the PSFC has 30+ employees (“member-staffers”) who have a great living wage, health insurance and the benefits you would expect in “regular” jobs. It is a worker-friendly environment.

There is some WAY great food at the coop, sometimes better and fresher than you get from “gourmet” slobbermarkets.

12:56

Someone has to judge you, cause obviously you’re too inconsiderate to judge yourself.

12:56:

The majority of the people judging on this thread are the anti-co-op people you do realize.

santa hates a hypopcrite.