February 2013 Newsletter
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FEBRUARY 2013 NEWSLETTER
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DELINQUENCY IS RAMPANT. HOUNDS RELEASED. This is a somewhat urgent situation. Almost half of our membership have logged zero hours during the past two work cycles, and as a result we are seriously lacking labor at the store. In the words of Nick Collins, the head of the Membership Committee and the person who loses the most sleep over this: “OMFG”... In fairness to those who have worked their shifts regularly, the Membership Committee has no choice but to implement a “no shopping” rule for those who haven’t kept up with their work requirement. Delinquent people are encouraged to work “one-off” shifts to fall back into the good graces of their loving Co-op. It’s very easy to swap shifts or work for another member and there’s a lot of flexibility built into the system to accommodate the hectic lives of our members. If you are delinquent in your hours, or in “arrears,” don’t be afraid to come forward. It’s not complicated to fix this. We urge you to sign up for a regular shift on shiftplanning and also make up any shifts that have been missed. If you have questions please email Maria at shifts@greenehillfood.coop or contact the store ahead of time by phone 347-799-1939 and we will figure something out. Let’s communicate and keep this engine running! |
GREENE HILL CO-SPONSORS FILM SCREENING OF “SOUL FOOD JUNKIES” WHAT: Film screening of a great new documentary (TRAILER). This is a borough-wide event, being screened by a number of organizations on the same night. This particular screening is organized by Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration and co-sponsored the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project (MARP), the Greene Hill Food Co-op, Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA) and University Settlement. WHEN: 2/22/13; 6:30pm screening, followed by a discussion at 7:45pm WHERE: NYCHA Ingersoll Community Center, 177 Myrtle Avenue (MAP) The discussion panel consists of: Keith Carr, City Harvest; Nicole Taylor, radio show host and producer of "Hot Grease" on Heritage Network; and T.I. Williams, Community Advocate and Trainer, who will make a healthy southern side dish and have samples and take home recipes. |
OPENING THE VAULT: BANKED HOURS BECOMING AVAILABLE IN MARCH.  We are opening the vaults! As of March 1, Co-op members who have banked hours and are in good standing can use up to two consecutive shifts (4 hours) in 2013. Go ahead and shop but no need to work! There will be a simple request form on the website beginning March 1 to fill out and send in – apply online 2 weeks in advance. All questions related to banked hours should be sent to Maria at shifts@greenehillfood.coop. Also, we'll review at the November GM any impact from this initiative; if all's well, we'll simply open up the vault completely in 2014! |
| JOBS: CHANGING OF THE GUARDS!February is a big transition time and we've got several important jobs available. Most of these positions can be done from your computer and are great for parents or those that travel a lot or just prefer working from home. Outreach and Food Justice committee heads needed! (2+ positions) We need some new/additional leadership to help develop and expand our Outreach and Food Justice Committees. The jobs entail attending 1-2 meetings per month, minimally oversee other committee members with their projects, supervise and approve work credit on Shift Planning and sometimes more. Other than meetings, all the work can be done from home. These positions do require some time additional time (5 hrs per month or more), so this is perfect for people wanting to bank hours for future time off (one year commitment is requested). Interested? Email either: outreach@greenehillfood.coop or FoodJustice@greenehillfood.coop depending on which position you are interested in. Tabling Coordinators needed We need someone(s) to help recruit and schedule our regular and special event tabling opportunities. This work is done primarily via email, so an ideal job for someone who wants to work from home and who is a clear and prompt communicator. This is a seasonal position, meaning it runs from mid March - mid Oct. with the shifts being roughly 4 hrs every 4 weeks (instead of the normal 2). This is perfect for someone that wants to bank hours during those heavy months in exchange for no work in the winter. For those seriously interested, pls email: tabling@greenehillfood.coop. Membership Desk shifts need filling: In order to provide membership services, we need members to sign up for the "membership desk" store shifts (formally known as “membership office”). It shouldn't be a daunting task; it's a core and essential role of the Co-op and involves entering paper membership apps, approving in store shifts, answering any member questions, etc... head on over to shiftplanning.com and grab a Membership Desk work shift today! |
RECIPE: BEET AND APPLE SALAD Ingredients:
Directions: Preheat the oven to 375°. In a baking dish, lightly drizzle the beets and thyme with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and roast until the beets are tender, about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Let cool, then peel the beets and cut them into 3/4-inch dice. In a large bowl, whisk the vinegar with the mustard. Whisk in the remaining 1/2 cup of oil until emulsified. Add the horseradish and season with salt and pepper; toss with the beets and pistachios. Transfer the beets to a platter, top with the apple and serve. |
ODDS AND ENDS
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| GOOGLE GROUPS: CHANGE IS COMING!One of the IT committee's tasks is to help manage co-op communication. Google Groups (sometimes known as mailing lists, or listservs), are a big part of that. We'd like to consolidate all groups into the greenehillfood domain, as well as get rid of the shared email accounts that some committees use. If you use or manage a non-"greenehillfood.coop" group (e.g. my-ghfc-committee @ googlegroups), or use a shared or generic email account (e.g. greenehillveggies @ gmail), please fill a short survey. Your fellow IT co-op members thank you for your cooperation! |
| MEET A FELLOW CO-OP MEMBER: OLIVIA
Q: Olivia, you've been in charge of "branding" for the store since before we had a store. Why is branding so important, even for a homespun operation like ours? Branding is key in any enterprise. It makes us stand out, and gives us a sense of unity, visually. Q: If you could live in any neighborhood in New York City, which would you choose? Clinton Hill, where I live currently!! I love the diversity of the people, and the beauty of its architecture. Q: I hear you're from France. Do we have good French food in this city? I'm also from Italy, and my cooking is far more italian than french. But I have to say, that the Co-op carries excellent heavy cream, sometimes creme fraîche, and hazelnut butter which we call pralin in France. I also LOVE our hand dipped ricotta! When eating out with the boys (4 and 6), I go to Saraghina, the best pizza in the warmest setting. Q: What are some of the products you regularly buy at the Co-op? All of the above, and always kale (for juicing), Mango Passion Sorbet (my kids' favorite), Apple Chicken Sausages (for a sweet potato and kale soup), Newman’s Own cookies, and the farro! Q: What would you like to see us stock in the future? I'd love to see more fruit and vegetables and a selection of responsibly-caught frozen fish. Also, I wish there were more variety in fruit yogurts, and breads. "French parenting" has recently become all the rage, as an American living in Paris documented cultural differences between American parents and French parents in the book Bringing Up Bebe -- are you familiar with this book? Where do you fall along the spectrum? Yes I heard about it, but do not care to read it. I have to say that food is so important to me, that I made a point to have my kids become foodies too. First, I diversified ingredients when making purées for the boys, as early as when they were 6 months old: always mixing new vegetables and fruits, adding curry, etc.. I also never forced them to eat or finish their plate, but never gave them options (if they won't eat, they will go to bed with no dessert). Now that they're older, I ask them to help me plant and harvest fruit and vegetables in the community garden next door to our apartment. I cook with them as often as I can, and just started having them make fruit and veggie juices for all of us with our new slow juicer, they love it! I also tell them to close their eyes and taste the greatness of the food, instead of saying "It's good for you", because they don't understand that concept anyway! Q: Do you take your boys with you to shop at the Co-op, or would they trash the place? Leashes for kids are a no-no, right? Yes I do, and they seem to like it if I ask them to pick their own products. Involve your children in everything you eat: let them pick what they wish to taste! You can't go wrong at the Co-op! Q: As a designer, I imagine you stare at a Macintosh computer screen all day like the rest of us. How do you balance this out with screen-free time? Yoga? Gardening? Long lunch breaks? Yes! Yoga at Dou on Greene (Jana is my favorite instructor there), Cooking, Drinking wine, Dancing with my kids, Giving art classes at my son's public school, and Painting. Long lunch breaks: not so much unfortunately, but I'm all for it! |
At the General Meeting this Thursday we’re getting some very special cameos, one from Greene Hill Food Co-op savior / store coordinator Allison Stewart, one from Co-op member Sarah Chinn who will walk us through the basics of home canning, and one from a local vendor called “
