BRING BACK CHEAPER ITEMS
To the editor:
I have been a member of the Coop since 2009, off and on (spending time in California, Texas and Colorado since then, made it hard to fulfill work requirements from thousands of miles away). I find myself often eschewing offerings at the Coop—mostly staples like flour, sugar and pasta—because I can find them cheaper at capitalist enterprises like Target. Coop members tend to be foodies, hippies or people looking for cheap food; I feel like the Coop is serving one and two better than three. Since I am currently unemployed, I slot into categories one and three (punk, not hippie, but hey). If I remember correctly, the Coop is an IGA member, and has access to products from Krasdale, the IGA’s store brand. I, for one, would happily purchase generic, store-brand merchandise at low prices from the Coop, rather than patronizing another establishment for them, if they were available. And if I remember correctly, the Coop used to offer select Krasdale-branded goods, but no longer does.
I respectfully submit that the Coop should resume stocking Krasdale merchandise for staples such as flour, sugar, and possibly some other categories, to better serve the needs of their income-constrained members.
Regards,
Greg Costikyan
RICK’S PICKS (PICKLES)
Dear Coop:
Rick’s Picks started by sourcing and manufacturing pickles in the Hudson Valley. As I recall this was a point of pride and part of the sales pitch by the company.
While the company is still based in Brooklyn, for the items that the Coop carries, these are now sourced and manufactured outside of the U.S. But you really have to look closely at the label to see the tiny print for country of origin. It is under the much larger corporate location of Brooklyn.
We have since purchased McClure’s Pickles instead. These are still made in the States.
In cooperation,
Stewart Pravda
RECENT DISCLOSURES RAISE ISSUES OF FINANCE CONTROLS
Dear fellow Coop members,
Two recent disclosures reported in the Linewaiters’ Gazette lead me to wonder if the Coop should explore more formal financial decision-making.
At the May general meeting, General Manager Joe Holtz said he had decided to issue a $100,000 “informal agricultural loan,” according to the Gazette, “to a farm in financial need” who had approached the Coop.
At the November meeting, Holtz said he “personally makes the investment decisions” on $7 million in Coop funds in consultation with a member, according to a Gazette report.
Joe Holtz is a deeply valued Coop leader and I very much appreciate his decades of service. Further, I do not take particular issue with either of the aforementioned decisions, about which I know little.
But I do not believe any single officer of the Coop, no matter how well regarded, should have the authority to make decisions impacting such quantities of money. In addition, I believe it would make more sense for decisions to be guided primarily by financial policies set by members through some formal structure such as committee rather than by individual members selected by an officer personally.
I urge further discussion of these matters.
In cooperation,
Ryan Tate
AN INFORMED MEMBERSHIP
To the editors:
The Coop’s direct democracy model requires an informed membership. People have limited time. They need to know the issues, and they need to know when important votes are happening. Critical to this are the sterling efforts of the editorial staff of the Gazette and the reminders emailed to the membership in the week before each GM.
Unfortunately, the system does not always work perfectly, leaving many members in the dark about important votes. Take, for example, the October 31 vote to reintroduce a partial mask mandate. This issue was debated at the September 26 GM. But the Gazette‘s report on the September GM was not published until November 7, a week after the Halloween vote on the new mask mandate. Nor do the monthly reminder emails always include information regarding upcoming votes in the text of the email. For the October 31 meeting, for example, the email included only a link to the agenda, which may be why some were surprised to find out that a two-day mask mandate had been reintroduced.
Coop members have strong views on many topics. Ensuring that members know when votes are on the agenda will surely increase participation in the GM and the quality of the Coop’s democracy.
Julian Brod
Response from General Coordinator Ann Herpel: The General Meeting agenda is available on foodcoop.com up to 21 days prior to the General Meeting. The agenda is also promoted on social media shortly after it is published on our website. Members do not have to wait until the Coop sends an email to learn what’s on the agenda.
TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY
Dear members,
“Come on, people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another right now”
Chet Powers song lyric, 1967
On a recent weekend, I found no less than three people with clipboards outside the Coop, urging members to support BDS. When approached by one, I explained why I could not support this continuing divisiveness and finger-pointing, as neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians are without blame. Not to mention that if you want to call out countries that have harmed others, you need look no further than the United States. And as in the United States, where not all of us agree with government actions, not all Israelis agree with Israeli policy and not all Palestinians agree with Palestinian policy. Banning a particular product from the Coop may be affecting a small family business that doesn’t agree with their government. Casting blame on one side or the other doesn’t solve the problem.
I shared my past experience with a Dialogue Project workshop. People were asked questions about their connections, however remote, to Arab and Israeli lands. Group discussions helped participants better understand one other.
I mentioned a recent virtual meeting of Standing Together, an organization combining Israelis and Palestinians who are working to foster peaceful communications. Israeli and Palestinian people shared their thoughts in a workshop joined by almost 2,000 people worldwide.
I urge people to make their own decisions about which Coop products to buy and learn about initiatives that promote peaceful communications, such as:
1. Standing Together, Israel
2. Combatants for Peace, Israel/Palestine
3. The Parents Circle – Families Forum, Israel/Palestine
4. Women Wage Peace/Women of the Sun, Israel/Palestine
5. EcoPeace Middle East, Israel/Jordan/Palestine
6. Hand in Hand, Israel
7. Jerusalem Peacebuilders, U.S.
In cooperation,
Cynthia Blayer
SIGN THE PETITION TO BOYCOTT ISRAELI PRODUCTS AT PSFC
To the editor:
On a recent Sunday (January 14, 2024) afternoon outside the Coop, I signed a petition in support of a boycott of Israeli products at our cooperative. It’s bad enough by accident of birth my taxation aids the Israeli genocide in Gaza, but that my elective cooperation with a seemingly like-minded community also does is unacceptable and must be stopped immediately. I urge fellow members to join me in signing this petition by PSFC Members for Palestine, which is searchable online by that name.
Damien Neva
OUTSIDE THE COOP
Dear Coop:
This evening (January 11, 2024) as I went to enter the Coop to shop, I was swarmed by three individuals with clipboards and info about their cause relating to the Coop. This was in the area of the signposts numbered 1, 2 and 3 for immediate line waiters, closest to #1. I experienced being swarmed as disorienting and disconcerting. I also experienced these individuals as rude and belittling when they laughed at me for ignoring them and their cause. It wasn’t like I was being approached in a friendly manner by one individual and given the option to engage or not. There were two petitioners to my left and one to my right, leaving me feeling encircled, and almost trapped.
I think there should be a Coop rule similar to ones at voting polling sites. Petitioners should be held to standing a certain number of feet away from entry and line waiting for the Coop. Engaging with petitioners should be an optional experience, not an in-your-face experience.
I felt like I was being harassed at entrance of the Coop, as opposed to being benignly approached. Over the years I have experienced many petitioners in front of the Coop for various causes, or at the top of the block at Union & 7th Ave. This was the first time I felt threatened. The Coop has always felt like a safe space. This evening, it did not.
Barbara Bedick
THANK YOU
Dear Gazette:
We publicly thank the General Coordinators for their dedication, fortitude, and initiative in safeguarding the Coop. We 100% support the decision to remove the BDS discussion item from the November GM Agenda.
Anita Aboulafia
Ralph Friedman
Jill Friedman
Felicia Glucksman
Leonid Gorokhovsky
Asya Gorokhovsky
Bob Graziano
Sybil Graziano
Feotiniya Grechko
Allison Halpren
Fran Hawthorne
Elian Jeifez-Neiman
Maya Koenig
Joshua Kranz
Ben Krawitz
Corrine Lang
Harvey Lang
Constantine Kaniklidis
Sylvia Lowenthal
Diana Maislen
Ramon Maislen
Avishay Mazor
Barbara Mazor
Marjorie Ordene
Rodger Parsons
Saul D. Raw
Michael Rieman
Jesse Rosenfeld
Marion Stein
Nancy Spitalnick
Gerald I Weider
RESPONSE TO GAZETTE
Dear editors:
Happy New Year!
I was disheartened to see communications about BDS, especially after the terror attacks on Israel on October 7th. BDS as a movement is unfit for a community that embraces the background of all of its members. I joined the Coop after a particularly difficult time in my life and was in search of more community of like-minded people who are as food-obsessed as me. So seeing support for a movement that attempts to justify violence on a day when people were massacred because of their religion, is not aligned with the Coop’s mission statement to “make the Coop welcoming and accessible to all.”
It is not appropriate for the Gazette to be publishing letters supporting the BDS movement if it does not represent all of the community members or for that policy to be considered for adoption.
Looking forward to seeing you in the Coop soon.
Thank you for your time,
Rebecca Gladstone