Park Slope Food Coop - the Pro(duce) & the Con(ditions)

My mom sent me a link to Chowhound to read a post and threads about why someone would remain loyal to the Park Slope Food Co-op. I got in the debate and thought I'd publish my response here. Click HERE for the rest of the story...







Greetings All:

My mother send me a link to this thread, thinking I might be interested and, even though I'd run from a PSFC General Meeting, I do actually have some thoughts about why I'm a member.

I completely respect the views all writers have outlined in their responses. I think that the produce is usually awesome, but yes, those moldy strawberries were disgusting (and expensive)! Shopping in the grid-lock crowds is crazy and can be taxing on the nerves. Also, yes, they do sometimes employ non-eco-friendly packaging.


However, I do love the co-op and my love, I believe, goes beyond the food and the shopping experience. I love my workshift; childcare. I love that this is a place that thought childcare was a good idea and took up a large chunk of their obviously valuable and much needed real-estate to make it happen.


I love that the PSFC only marks their goods up by 20%, as opposed to the ~ 200% of supermarkets, because of the member-as-worker system. I love that even though I sometimes wish the aisles contained traffic lights to help with the weekend congestion, no one is ever cross, or rude and mostly navigate the mess with a smile. I love their dogged support of Hepworth farms (see the NYTimes article) and the trumping of minimally treated local, to imported organic.

I love the clothing swaps, the member movies, the non-NYC plastic recycling and the orange vested workers who amicably walk me to the bus on 5th Ave. I live in Sunset Park and travel to and from the co-op isn’t easy, but even if I’m in line for 20 minutes, I value grassroots ethics and community the PSFC has created in the city.

Doing a quick Google search, I found that PSFC even has their own blog!