September 2013 Newsletter
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THE GREENE HILL FOOD COOP - AUGUST 2013 NEWSLETTER
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In this issueIt’s nearly fall, and elections are in the air. Get ready to vote for your Co-op board at our next General Meeting. We’ve got a million ways to get involved this month, including our exciting new Up-Shift working group. Our Fall Celebration is nigh: you can paint our mural, help out, or just show up and party! Learn where we get our eggs, make a delicious late summer salsa, and hear from one of our local growers, too. Greene Hill News Elections to the Board of Directors -- September 26The Board of Directors is undergoing a lot of changes this year in the way that it is structured, and the role that it plays in steering the Co-op's direction. They have a lot of work to do and everyone involved is dedicated to the advancement of the Co-op. Placement on the board requires a minimum of one year membership in the Co-op, and commitment to regular attendance at both the monthly General Meetings and working meetings. In this time of transition for the Board, we have an excellent pool of candidates who have submitted their bios and experience for your consideration, so be sure to cast your vote either online or in person. The current Board will be presenting their mission for the members' review and approval at the GM on the 26th. Next General MeetingThe next general meeting will be held on Thursday, September 26, 2013 at 138 S. Oxford Street, between Hanson Place and Atlantic Avenue in Fort Greene. Come vote in the Board election and vote on what the Board’s role is and how it connects with all the Co-op’s committees. Also hear from the Website Committee which is looking for one or two new co-chairs, so if you are interested in a leadership role come to the general meeting to find out what they do (work credit, as always applies). The Design/Build Committee will propose construction and cost of a new receiving desk. The full meeting agenda can be accessed here. General Inventory: Help out on Sunday, Sept. 29It’s nearly the end of our fiscal year, and that means it’s inventory time. Calling all members! We need your help for this year’s General Inventory on Sunday, September 29th. Stock up on hours and help us check our stock. See Help Wanted for more details. Announcing the Creation of the “Up-Shift” Working GroupThe Greene Hill Food Co-op is initiating an exciting new initiative to think through the challenges of adequately staffing all shifts: Project Up-Shift. Using Design Thinking, the committee will interview members, brainstorm, and design and test solutions. Members interested in joining this team, either as subjects for interviews or as a team member, should see the job description, in the Help Wanted section below. Got any spare lockers?The Co-op is looking for lockers in which members can safely stash their bags while at work. If any member has any to donate, or suggestions on where some might be obtained, please contact allison@greenehillfood.coop. Fire SALE starting September 19To make room for new products, we're starting a SALE on the day of the Fall celebration, September 19 — come and stock up on Alphabets pasta, lemonade, Jason hand soap and more! Look out for the SALE signs in the store. Discounts range from 20%-75%. The merchandising committee is in the process of adding new products to our inventory and we want to hear from you what you're missing in your store! Please make use of the product requests clipboard across from the check-in desk. We can't guarantee that we can fulfill every request due to various reasons, but we will try! Happy shopping!
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A Tree Grows on Putnam
Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights residents gather to start a food co-op in their community. Greene Hill co-founder DK Holland (bending down, in middle) was there to support the effort.
| Ingredient |
Co-Op Price |
Total for Recipe |
| Plum tomatoes |
$3.37/lb. |
$1.69 |
| Peach |
$2.20/lb. |
$1.10 |
| Red Onion |
$1.92/lb. |
$0.96 |
| Cilantro |
$1.79/bunch |
$0.90 |
| Limes |
$2.11/lb |
$0.25 |
| Jalapeño pepper |
(not in stock) |
|
| TOTAL: |
$11.39 |
$4.90 |
This month, the newsletter interviews Richard Giles, operator of Lucky Dog Farm, an organic farm he and his family started in Hamden, NY in 2000. The Co-op offers a diverse array of produce from Lucky Dog. Greene Hill Co-op Newsletter met with Giles at his farmers' market stall last week to find out more.
Q: What do you grow at Lucky Dog Farm?
A: We grow organic vegetables — all sorts of greens. Potatoes, carrots, and beets too. Pretty much everything you can grow in the western Catskills.
We just recently started bringing our fruit to The Co-op. Right now we have blueberries and strawberries.
We also grow grains, like wheat berries and whole wheat flour.
Q: How did you get in touch with Greene Hill Co-op?
A: Rachelle Faroul of the Purchasing Committee and Co-op member Lauren Melodia networked with farms at the farmers market and that’s how we connected.
Q: When did you start selling in the Co-op?
A: April or May of this year. At that time we sold ramps.
Q: When did you start farming?
A: I’ve been farming all my life. I grew up in the South in Mississippi. I began managing farms right out of college. When the farm I was managing sold, I went to grad school, then came up here to New York, where I met my wife. We moved up to the Catskills, known for its beauty and farmland.
Q: What kind of sustainable growing practices do you have in place?
A: We are certified organic, and that process of growing organic is to grow good food. We also make our own compost, which is a combination of the grasses that we cut on our farm and our neighbors’. We are recycling the actual materials in the soil. We are also enrolled in several soil conservation efforts. Keeping the soil healthy is the goal.
Q: What are some things about the way our food system works that you would like to see change in the U.S.?
A: I’d like to think that we slowly are changing it. We’re focusing on local food, and mostly customer-driven markets. We like that people are demanding more and more local produce. And we tend to be sustainable with the shorter distances that our food is travelling.
I’d surely love to see more attempts by the land grant universities — Cornell is one of them in New York — to look at the food system. They’re very much on the sidelines of sustainable agriculture.
And much like anything that we want to change radically, there needs to be large-scale collaboration. For the food system to change towards local and small-scale sustainable growing, it needs a basic support to make a huge impact.
The USDA does have some programs to support small-scale farmers, but they’re smaller than most programs. If we want lots of food brought directly to consumers from farms, then we’re going to have to support those farms in more ways than having them build the farms the best they can. There has to be some farm building, whether that’s through land preservation, loan assistance, grant assistance, or by enabling farmers to purchase farms and equipment.
Help Wanted:Work & Shift Opportunities
Work and shift opportunities can also be found on our website!
Fall Celebration Needs You on Sept. 21
Are you an avid gardener or composter that likes to share your knowledge? We'd love to have some gardening or composting workshops at the Fall Celebration on September 21, any time from noon-6pm. Get work credit for teaching something you love to do. Email events@greenehillfood.coop to volunteer.
Face painters needed for the Fall Celebration! Come earn your hours working with kids, it will be super fun. You can pick any 2 hour slot between 12-6pm. If you are interested, contact events@greenehillfood.coop.
Want to have a great time at a party while doing your work shift? We need volunteers for the day of the Fall Celebration to help with all sorts of tasks from grilling to tabling to silk screening. If interested, contact outreach@greenehillfood.coop or sign up for a job directly here.
Tablers Needed: Putnam Triangle, Sept. 21
Sign up to table at Putnam Triangle on Sept 21, the day of the fall celebration, then come to the backyard to do some celebrating of your own. Sign up on ShiftPlanning or email tabling@greenehillfood.coop!
Take Stock of the Co-op
Help the Co-op take its annual inventory on Sunday, September 29, and earn extra work credit. The Merchandising and Finance Committees need lots of dedicated members to count unsold goods in the store, for the end of our fiscal year. Please e-mail finance@greenehillfood.coop if you can help, and indicate in your message whether you can work one or more of these shifts: 10 am-noon, noon-2pm, 2-4pm and 4-6 pm. The more members who count our stock, the faster we'll get it done! An inventory count is needed for us to produce accurate annual financial statements and tax returns.
Help Build a New Membership Committee, October 7th
The erstwhile Membership Committee is ready for a revival. As a committee, we’ll devise ways to increase member engagement, develop a new member orientation, and update the Co-op handbook. Interested folk will convene on October 7 to turn the page and see which roles need to be filled, re-define some procedures, and collectively take on some of the committee's tasks. If interested, email Nick at nick@greenehillfood.coop.
Problem Solve In-Store Staffing
We'd love your feedback! There's a big opportunity for improvement at the coop right now - reliably covering all the work shifts required to meet store operations. So we've initiated an exciting project called "Up-Shift", to help come up with creative solutions. Would you be willing to speak with an Up-Shift team member for 20 minutes, over the phone? Of course, your time will count toward your Co-op work requirement, and will be an invaluable contribution to our success. Please send an email to Jonathan Landau, at j@jlandau.com by Sept 23rd, to make your voice heard!
Office Work Available
Interested in doing some office work at the store? One of our members is a professional bookkeeper, who's stepped up to coordinate accounting at the Co-op! She's organized bookkeeping tasks at the store into easy, well-structured steps: handling invoices, entering data into our accounting software, and so on. You'd get all the training and guidance you need, while working at a dedicated Finance desk and computer. And you'd be helping the Greene Hill produce financial statements on a regular basis. Please email finance@greenehillfood.coop if you'd like to join us.
Call for Designers, Writers and Marketers
The Co-op’s Marketing Committee needs experienced graphic designers and marketing pros to help with design, brand strategy, and copywriting. We have an exciting list of creative projects, community engagement events and campaigns, and would love some fresh new members to join our team. Email Sara at marketing@greenehillfood.coop to learn more. We can’t wait to meet you!
Join the Membership Relief Council
The Membership Relief Council needs new folks. Are fairness and equity important to you? Are you responsive to emails? By joining Membership Relief, you could help the Co-op make important policy decisions (without a big time commitment). Contact us at membershipreliefcouncil@greenehillfood.coop.
Members please note: changes to work shift procedure
Effective September 23, emails addressed to the shifts@greenehillfood.coop will no longer be read on a daily basis.
Have a question?
If it's not too urgent, email shifts@greenehillfood.coop or membership@greenehillfood.coop. If you need an answer sooner, you can call the store at 347-799-1939 or stop by during working hours.
Need to miss a shift?
As of September 20 the work shift reminder that you've been receiving from shifts@greenehillfood.coop (not the automated reminder that you get from Shift Planning) will include a link to the week's schedule (shared via google docs). Instead of emailing shifts@greenehillfood.coop to note your absence, you will need to make a note directly to the google doc instead so that Allison knows not to expect you at the store.
Don't forget the shift trading network!
Find coverage for missed shifts! We're all back from the summer, reinvigorated and looking to make up for a little bit of slack. If you need to make up a shift check the google group and see if you can cover for someone. If you're still in summer mode and can't make it to your shift, find someone to cover for you! And make it up to them when you get back in the game.
More Importantly, The phone works!
Shift cancellations can also be made by calling the store - particularly if it's the day of and members may not have time to check the google doc or email. Call 347-799-1939.
Et cetera
My Brooklyn image by Laurie Sumiye. Bed-Stuy meeting and tree images courtesy of DK Holland. Salsa image courtesy of Jill Hoffman. Mural Workshop image courtesy of Rachel Robbins and Erin Gleason.
The Greene Hill Food Co-op Newsletter is edited by Carola Burroughs, Debbie Grossman, Matthew Hayes, and Alexandra Miller. Contact us with any feedback, suggestions, or requests at newsletter@greenehillfood.coop.