In this week’s New York Magazine, Park Slope new mom Amy Sohn asks, "Will Fairway Kill the Park Slope Food Coop?"
Kudos to Sohn, who used to have a sex column in New York but post-bebe seems to be switching to other topics, for coming up with a new way of describing Park Slopers that doesn’t use the words crunchy, lefty, or Birkenstock-clad. Instead her lede goes: "The scruffy, Michael Pollan–reading culture of Park Slope is probably
best embodied by the Food Co-op, the 13,000-member DIY grocery store
founded in 1973."
Okay. So, we’re scruffy. And she coulda said Elizabeth Royte-reading culture…to be more specific. Still, later in the piece, jazz musician and former Coop member, Roy Nathanson refers to himself as an "old lefty."
Yeesh. You just can’t lose those cliches. Hippie era. Old lefty.
Nonetheless, her story was informative and on the mark. Are Food Coopers defecting to Fairway? Park Slopers want to know.
Sohn reports that the Food Coop dropped 300 members last month. Could Fairway be partly responsible for this?
Yes and no. The first-wave of Fairway defectors will be those who have a love/hate relationship with the Coop; those who are fed up with the workshifts; and those who have cars.
But they must have cars.
However, I don’t think people are leaving for Diet Coke and Twinkies as the article suggests. I do, however, agree that parking spaces will be a big pull for car people. The fact that Fairway has parking is very appealing and gives Brooklynites that fleeting feeling that they’re living in suburbia.
A couple I know, recent Coop defectors, are now happily shopping at Fairway. They did say that they’re spending a lot more money there. They told me that the prices are higher and you buy more because everything looks so good.
Spouses who have to work their spouse’s shifts, because of the rule that all adult members of the household must work, will also be early defectors. Sadly, this is mostly women who work for their husbands. Those who join without mentioning their husbands are called Coop Widows. Over six hours a month is a big commitment.
Also, those who can only shop during Coop rush hour will probably choose Fairway to avoid long checkout lines. Again, if they have cars.
That said, many Coop members, myself included, enjoy the sense of community, the wackiness, and the great food at the Coop. It’s a shopping environment without junk food where there are warning signs about genetically altered foods.
Shopping there makes me feel like I am being more conscious about sustainable agriculture and healthy eating. I am constantly learning about new products and new things to eat. I feel adventurous and willing to give new things a try. Like Vegan Hunan dumplings.
I also admire the way the Coop works; the system is quite an amazing thing. The fact that it works at all day in and day out is itself a miracle.
There’s lots to complain about. But Dag, Key Food and all the others have big, big problems, too. I guess I’m just really hooked on the Coop: the idea of it, the fact that it isn’t just Park Slopers but people from all over Brooklyn. As one member said the other day, "If people are willing to work here, it must be pretty good."
Finally, the PSFC has gotten too big; there are so many members that there aren’t enough for jobs for people to do. This could be addressed by reducing the number of work hours required. But it hasn’t been. About a year ago, when Whole Foods was said to be coming to the neighborhood, someone said that the Coop wasn’t dealing with the overabundance of members because they expected, yes expected, to lose members when Whole Foods and Fairway came in.
So maybe this is the shake-out that will result in shorter lines — a win-win for loyal members.
Well, count me among those who just recently left the co-op. After 3 years, I finally had enough of the Soviet-style Communism masquerading as socialism (which as Michael reminded us is rooted in the philosophy: to each according to their needs, from each according to their means). The PSFC’s “love us or get out” attitude is hardly exemplary of anything resembling cooperative. I have been a supporter of sustainable agriculture for two decades. One of my best friends was executive director of the largest activist organization in the country for sustainable agriculture and even she told me that the PSFC hard-core were notoriously known as the Co-op Nazi’s – even in those liberal circles!
And oh yeah, on Fairway, first of all, you totally DON’T need a car – the F train to Smith and 9th and the 77 bus is a quick and easy route, and with no long lines AND FREE home delivery for orders over a hundred dollars, we have saved hours over the co-op life every week, AND don’t let anyone lie to you, the prices are totally comparable to the co-op’s, in some cases significantly cheaper, and they have ever-expanding organic sections, including beautiful organic meats and chicken. By adding the two local greenmarkets in Prospect Park on Wednesday and Saturday to our bi-monthly trips to Fairway, our food-shopping life has once again become pleasurable. The bottom line is this: like most fascist regimes, the PSFC’s dogma has ended up superceeding its original mission, which in this case was to help local, small, organic farmers stay in business and help consumers obtain healthy food. I believe in sustainable agriculture as a way of life. I’m also very busy as a psychotherapist, writer and parent of two kids. Most other serious food co-ops in the country today allow members the option to work at the co-op and pay lower prices, or not work and pay higher prices. Who does that hurt? Really?
The number-one problem I have with the Food Coop is the fact that all the savings are realized by not paying for labor.
While the members contributing their time may be laudable (it does not bother me if they are not professional or courteous) the fact is that supermarkets like Key Food and Fairway that employ union workforces, which are paid living wages and full benefits, are critically important in our communities.
Yes, a union job in a supermarket is nobody’s idea of a dream job. But a union position as a cashier at Key Food with health insurance, pension benefits and job security sure beats no such job being available at an institution such as the Park Slope Food Coop.
I’m going to quit the coop. I was really excited about it for awhile–its philosophy, the great produce, the great prices on certain items–but have found it to be more of a headache then it is worth. Some of my most unpleasant encounters with Brooklynite has been at the coop-overzealous work managers and extremely crowded isles are enough to test the patience of a saint-which I most definitely am not.
When I was four months pregnant, I was actually chided by a full time manager for sitting down while on cart duty, and handed a broom (none of the male cart pushers, who were standing, yet idle, were afforded the courtesy). Just the assumption that you’re somehow trying to “steal” time from the coop seems to inform managers style in dealing with members. Too many unpleasant experiences like this have soured it for me, and I know, for others.
I don’t expect “special” treatment, just not to be treated like an employee at Wal-Mart.
feh, that article reeks of Fairway PR.
A pox on both, and long live Sahadi’s :)
RIGHT ON.
some people (i.e., the author of the ny mag article) don’t understand what a cooperative enterprise is. we aren’t competing with fairway and whole foods. we are a non-profit.
i have a car, i drive to the coop, i live in windsor terrace, i work 9 to 7, M-F, my wife doesn’t work my shift and i would never ask her to (well, not permanently), and I WILL NEVER LEAVE THE CO-OP UNTIL I DIE!!! (or until i move out of the tri-state area).
And i think it would be great if Fairway and Whole Foods took half our members. true, i think it would be even better if we expanded, and opened locations throughout the city, and eventually the world. for that matter, I would like to see cooperatives replace the vast majority of for profit enterprizes. but as that’s never going to happen, I am going to go to Fairway and Whole Foods occasionally to pick up what I can’t get at the Coop, and when I don’t have time to wait in line.
Why does everyone who doesn’t belong to the Coop have some chip on their shoulder about it?
i couldn’t agree with you more that the arrival of fairway in the area will be a positive for those of us who stick with the co-op. like you, i love shopping at the co-op, and i love the idea of it, warts and all.