The Park Slope Food Coop gets a bad rap. Some friends make fun of me for being a member of what they think is a “commie†institution. To make it clear for those who do not know about the Coop, you have to work there to shop there – no exceptions (actually, there are some, I think if you’re pregnant you can take a work leave).
I think working for 2 ¾ hours a month is a fair price to pay for cheap organic fruits and vegetables, fresh bread from Amy’s Bread and Terrace Bagels, a bulk section with all the grains, flour, dried beans and granola you want and amazing cheeses. There is more, of course, but those are the main reasons why I like shopping at the Coop. Also, there is the interaction factor of knowing that everyone there has gone through the same crappy/awesome shifts as you in order to shop there and you can freely suggesting getting one brand of something rather than the other without looking like a weirdo. It is sport to make fun of the hippies of the Coop without actually being a member. Or people who have been members complain that the shifts are too long and burdesome, but you know what you’re getting into when you join. Stop hating on good food and a neighborhood institution!
I was thinking about these things as I walked through the new Whole Foods on the Bowery. The antithesis to the Coop in every way (I think the Coop could fit in the prepared food section the WF has), Whole Foods is big, shiny, new and expensive! I know grocery stores in NYC are expensive. I’ve been to Whole Foods before and Fairway, the (nasty) Gristedes, Key Foods, C Town, D’Agostino’s, etc., but for some reason after shopping at the Coop for nearly three years I am particular about my prices. Take lemons for example. Phil and I bought 4 organic lemons at Whole Foods and they came out to be $2.76. 4 organic lemons at the Coop will run you $1.04 (.26 a piece). That’s a lot of money! Think about how many more lemons you can get for lemonade or mixed drinks!
Another example is honey. A small honey bear at Whole Foods cost $6.99. I don’t even know how much a honey bear would be at the Coop, but I do know that a big jar costs about $4.00 (I’ll get back on this, I’m going food shopping tonight). While a part of me really loved the variety and shininess of the new Whole Foods, I couldn’t help thinking about how it was nice to know exactly where everything was at the Coop and, of course, how much money I save. For someone who loves to cook and bake, the Coop is great and I actually like working my shifts. As a checkout person, I get to see what people are buying and most are eager to talk about what they’re making for dinner. I know I like it when someone asks me what I plan on doing with my fennel, but if I’m not in the mood for chatting, that’s fine too. It’s a far cry from the lackadaisical bleary-eyed stare from a typical checkout person.
The Coop also provides good food options for people with low incomes – they accept EBT. I think that is one of the most important reasons to support ventures like the Coop and not make fun of it as being an elitist Park Slope thing. All kinds of people shop and work at the Coop. You think a mom buying food with EBT stamps can afford organic lemons that cost $2.76 from Whole Foods? Or any other fruit or vegetable for that matter? I know the prices at Whole Foods versus other places are high, but I also know that getting some tomatoes or celery (why is it so expensive?) at Key Foods is extremely pricey for a chain supermarket. This goes back to very good points made by both Marion Nestle and Michael Pollan (great recent NYT’s article) that most of the cheap, calorie filling food in the supermarkets are candy, soda, chips, not the fruits and vegetables that people need. Call me crazy, but I think supporting a place that allows people to shop for healthy, hell, necessary foods, at a low price is a good idea. Check out this blog about a guy who spent a $1 a day on food and see how hard it is to eat anything vegetable-like. Granted, that is an extreme case, but some people have to live like that or close to it in this country.
I know this is rambling, but I have no photos or recipes to post and looking at the lemons on this receipt pisses me off a bit. As does the chiding I get for belonging to a members-only coop. Eat up.