Launch of Coop’s First Demographic Survey
April 1, 2025
By Jordan Dunn, Vikas Hiremath and Dory Thrasher for the Equity, Access and Community Committee
The PSFC Equity, Access and Community Committee (EACC) has been developing a demographic survey for Coop members. This is the first demographic survey to be conducted at the Coop. The survey is anonymous, confidential and brief. Every adult member of the Coop (including those who are part of the same household) is invited to individually complete the survey at: bit.ly/coopsurvey2025.
We are proud to announce that the survey is now live. We ask that all adult members of the Coop who are reading this take five minutes to complete it.
The survey has been several years in development, as we have worked to make it as inclusive and representative as possible while keeping it anonymous and concise. The survey asks about 15 demographic questions and is expected to take approximately five minutes to complete.
The more members take the survey, the more comprehensive and illustrative our data will be.
Our goals include having a snapshot of the Coop’s membership, identifying underrepresented groups and being able to better understand barriers to joining and participating in the Coop. Based on the survey data, we intend to conduct outreach to community groups to better understand some of their needs along with barriers they may encounter joining the Coop, such as language access, (dis)ability, hours of operation, among others. We will be able to compare the data to demographic trends in Brooklyn and in the metropolitan area. This will help us understand to what extent the demographic makeup of the Coop reflects the surrounding communities or whether factors unique to the Coop are contributing to underrepresentation of certain communities such as people of color and working class New Yorkers.
Participation is voluntary, but highly encouraged. The more members take the survey, the more comprehensive and illustrative our data will be. Survey responses are anonymous and members cannot be identified. Our proposal for the survey was reviewed and approved at a General Meeting.
In the current political climate, in which there is tremendous backlash against diversity and inclusion initiatives, participating in the survey is an opportunity to join Coop members in taking action based on our values. As a cooperatively-owned organization which values social justice and food justice, we want to ensure that what we cherish about our Coop can be accessible to and enjoyed by all community members who seek affordable and healthful food. This survey will help us to be more systematic in how we carry out our mission, an appropriate—if not overdue—step for an organization of our size.
Please take five minutes of your time to complete the survey. After you finish, please encourage your friends, squad members, the next person you interact with at checkout or on line, along with other adult members of your household, to complete it too.
Many thanks!