NYT: Food Co-op Exile's Story Demands 2,000 Words
Comrades, a new bar has just been set for Park Slope Food Co-op navel gazing: “For such a scrutinized institution, little public attention is paid to people like me—co-op failures and near-failures who have struggled to stay in good standing and have stumbled in the cramped aisles. Like every other aspect of the much-loved and…
Comrades, a new bar has just been set for Park Slope Food Co-op navel gazing: “For such a scrutinized institution, little public attention is paid to people like me—co-op failures and near-failures who have struggled to stay in good standing and have stumbled in the cramped aisles. Like every other aspect of the much-loved and much-hated co-op, the topic of members in trouble draws a bushel of opinions. An organic bushel, of course…The co-op, a place that raises aspirations for society, makes us raise aspirations for ourselves. I am still suspended, but imagine myself someday returning and remaining in good standing. Nostalgically, I envision old friends and former roommates in the aisles, examining the white nectarines. But I wonder: couldn’t it be a little mellower?” —Flunking Out at the Food Co-op
Photo by Betty Blade.
BrooklynGreene — I’m not a member and none of my comments put into question the *concept* of using member for labor. My biggest issue that seems to be common (from my member friends, this article, and comments above) is that the labor is not used WISELY.
It’s great to approach the coop in an egalitarian way — the supreme court judge’s time is *worth* the same as the unemployed welfare recipient. However, SKILLS need to be taken into account.
The comment from a member was made above that the work scheduling system is not online! This is completely shocking to me! Of the 15,000 members, I’m sure there are many qualified people to build and maintain such a system. However, instead it seems they are cashiers, door guards and cleaning produce…. all of which probably needs to happen, but SKILLS NEED TO BE UTILIZED.
Also, the overall size of the membership strikes me as inappropriate. If the number 15,000 is accurate and represents the *active* members…. then that means there would be about 30 shoppers in the store at any given moment IF each member only shopped for an hour ONCE A MONTH…. not to mention spread out evenly. I can’t think this is right. Do you know the *actual* number of active member/shoppers? 15,000 sounds physically crippling to a store that size.
“it’s also about the camaraderie that comes from the experience of knowing that you and all of your fellow-members, who come from all walks of life, are treated identically, and that you are all working together to support the organization.”
You can get the same thing from a weekend softball team.
Dave,
A lot of people have walked by BedStuy…as you have walked by the co-op. That said…a lot of places have pros & cons. I mock a lot of places in New York too…I think this posting is super funny to me.
I’ll say this…If you don’t cook or care about food costs, don’t join. But having an arguement with a co-op manager over having to return molded muenster cheese and her statement that muenster cheese comes aged…is a con. Of course, she wanted to find a rule to state that cheese cannot be returned and she couldn’t. So, again pros and cons to the co-op. But, the savings for me…is a pro.
“If you or your spouse aren’t creative enough to find 2.75 hours out of the ~600hrs a month the co-op is open, you don’t really value it enough, and thus the feeling is mutual.”
Working parents with small kid: There is nothing creative about it.
Mon-Fri 6:00am-8:30pm are accounted for and then exhaustion sets in.
There is one and only one place the time can come from — the precious few hours they have together on the weekends.
I’d rate those hours at about $150/hr (which is much less than I make in my day job, but what it would cost to make me think about giving up those hours).
I think some mock the place because it irks their sensibilities that a cooperative market can be so succesful for so many years. As the thread starts by saying ‘comrades’…is only proof of that. If not real capitalism they will mock and insult,etc.
I’d rather work for the coop than walmart. Thankfully I don’t work for either.
“‘cuz we all know that the author deserves to get her pie without paying the entire price for it, and definitely, absolutely, is gonna come back with that $4.”…you missed the point. She’s talking about being treated with a measure of flexibility, which the Coop actively discourages, and courtesy.
To those who think people join the Co-op for social reasons, hardly. I think most join because of the great food and low prices (certainly the lower-income folk), and endure the crappy rules.
Yes, there are many more than 33 people “working” at the store at any time. About half are looking for things to do, or otherwise pretending they’re on a chore.
No, many “squad leaders” do not enforce the 2-makeup rule, especially if you call in: in 8 years there, I’ve only had it enforced once out of say 50 misses. Most accept that you may have other priorities or emergencies. On the other hand, there are the weird power-mad squad leaders looking to enforce every picayune rule.
As the writer correctly points out (and I’ve tried to get clarified unsuccessfully), why does the checkout worker demand to see id (and by rule you have to show it, not just say your number)? You needed it to get in; if on the off-chance you sneaked your way in, what harm?…you’re paying for your groceries anyway.
quote:
There are exceptions to the work requirement. The coop is very liberal with new baby/adoption (caregivers get a long hiatus from work requirements);
:-/
*rob*
“if you or your spouse have a busy life, you cannot join with us”.
Reword. If you or your spouse aren’t creative enough to find 2.75 hours out of the ~600hrs a month the co-op is open, you don’t really value it enough, and thus the feeling is mutual.
Posted by: BSD at October 26, 2009 3:18 PM
ROTFLMMFAO THIS IS JUST THE TYPE OF ATTITUDE THAT MAKES THE REST OF US MOCK THE PLACE!!!!!!!
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.