Trouble Down At the Food Co-op: Sustainability Isn't Easy!

by Mike Smith · 2009-10-26 18:48:00 UTC
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The story of being suspended from the Park Slope Food Co-Op in Brooklyn, exiled from the borough's hub of environmentally friendly groceries where members get up-to 40 percent off is featured in today's Times. But of course, such a saving comes at a price — every member must work one or two shift a month, along with 15,000 other members. Alana Joblin Ain missed one too many shifts, and told her story — one of slipping away from the store, but not from sustainability altogether. Alana isn't bitter, explaining that the co-op is "a place that raises aspirations for society, makes us raise aspirations for ourselves."

She notes that not everyone is enamored by the cost cutting community atmosphere, with one ex-member explaining the co-op is "something between an earthy-crunchy health food haven and a Soviet-style re-education camp." Many of the exiles, cast out, end up shopping at a grocery store two blocks down from the co-op's HQ.

Sustainability, of course, is no drive-through. You've got to makes sacrifices — whether it's making the extra effort to get to a market, or searching out farmers box scheme. Making a positive change requires an active contribution.

Photo credit: Steven Damron

Mike Smith
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