Next General Meeting: Tuesday, February 18th, 7-9pm

South Oxford Space (138 S. Oxford St., between Hanson Pl. and Atlantic Ave.)

Have questions about the Co-op? Have concerns? At each general meeting, there’s time for members to bring these up. Join us on Tuesday, February 18th, at 138 South Oxford St. from 7-9pm, and don’t hold back! You’ll get work credit and participate in running your Co-op. Plus, this month, with the Outreach committee, we’ll work on how to better reach out to the greater community. We’ll give an update on the refrigeration situation and the installation of our new receiving desk, discuss plans for opening on Sundays, and congratulate store coordinator Allison Stewart on completing her first year on the job. For more details, check out the meeting agenda. And save the date for the subsequent meeting on March 27th.

Winter Film Screening a Success

Almost 50 people braved the cold, wintery weather on January 24th to attend Greene Hill’s screening and Q&A of No Impact Man. Thanks to the documentary’s subject (and Co-op member), Colin Beavan, for being present and answering questions. With the continued popularity of our screenings, we may need a bigger venue! Keep an eye out for our next screening coming in May.

Shift Leader Meeting: Monday, February 10

Shift leaders, unite! We’re getting together on Monday, February 10th at 7:30pm at the store. Come by to meet other shift leaders, share updates and information, and get more training. We are looking to replenish our Monday 8am shifts, in particular with new shift leaders. Monday mornings are an important start to our Co-op week, with fresh deliveries and inventory swap-out ready for our 1:30pm store opening. And, there's nothing like setting a great tone for the rest of the week! Please consider leading an early shift on Monday and help us get a great start to the week!

Refrigerator Clean Up: Sunday, February 23

We couldn’t be more excited about the prospect of our new refrigerators—our produce will stay fresher, and everything will be easier to find! Want to help us get it all set up? The equipment, which was generously donated by Greene Grape Provisions, needs cleaning, and we need volunteers. Help out on Sunday, February 23, from 2:00 - 6:00 pm. You can make up a shift or bank extra hours by joining us at the store. E-mail membership@greenehillfood.coop, ahead of time if you can, or just show up.

Save the Date: March 22nd Tree Giveaway & Open Shopping Day

Greene Hill has been selected to participate in the Million Trees NYC program! In our backyard, on Saturday, March 22, 2014, from 10am to 12pm we will be giving away FREE trees for ANYONE (members and non-members alike) who would like to plant a tree on their property. Check out more info about the project here. In addition, we will have our Spring Non-Member Shopping Day. If you have questions or would like to help during the events, contact events@greenehillfood.coop.

Cooking time: 5 min.

Yield: 12 servings

ingredients:

• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup agave nectar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and heat on low or warm setting while stirring constantly until well combined. Don’t let the mixture boil.
2. Add water, if necessary, to bring to desired consistency.
3. Once combined, remove saucepan from and heat and cool to room temperature.

Great on top of strawberries, ice cream, homemade cookies - basically anything you can imagine! (In addition to the the brands mentioned below, we also carry Equal Exchange cocoa and Frontier vanilla extract.)

Buy Bulk for Great Value

It’s been a long, hard winter. Might we suggest a nice hot bowl of chili, with cornbread on the side? You can find all the dry ingredients you need in our bulk bins! Providing members with a diversity of affordable bulk items has always been a major part of Greene Hill’s mission, and we’re working on expanding our offerings further. Right now, because of the kind of permit we have from the Health Department, we can’t offer products that are eaten raw (nuts, dried fruits, seeds, etc), but we do have a full range of basic grains and legumes. You can choose from a variety of different dried beans: black, kidney, navy, pinto, plus red and French lentils. We’ve also added locally grown and milled fine-ground cornmeal, which along with our wonderful local all-purpose flour, makes a tasty cornbread (we like to mix some frozen corn in for extra deliciousness). (Editor’s note: As a PSFC member too, I can testify that some of our bulk prices are even cheaper than PSFC’s!)

Amazing bulk prices:

Cornmeal: .81/lb

Kidney beans: 1.29/lb

Black beans: 1.55/lb

Navy beans: 2.86/ lb

Pinto beans: 1.88/ lb

Red lentils: 1.99/ lb

Green lentils: 2.49/ lb

Equal Exchange Chocolates: Just in Time for Valentine’s Day!

Nothing warms the heart like love—and chocolate. These chocolate hearts from Equal Exchange are available in both milk and dark chocolate varieties, and at a killer bargain price—$5.31 for the box—these little, healthy (really!) treats are a great way to show a significant other, relative, neighbor or anyone else that you have room for them in that big heart of yours!

Now that's a notion that doesn't need to wait for, or end, on February 14th.

Q: When did you first embark on The Co-op Challenge?

A: This is our first month that we’re trying to do it. I have to say, we haven’t done it as strictly as we will next month. There are a couple of exceptions: I am a member of two buying clubs. I’ll buy from either of those if there 's something I need that the Co-op doesn't have, but I don’t want to go into the local stores and delis.

Q: What are some of your reasons for not wanting to buy food elsewhere?

A: The grocery store near us is expensive and overpriced. We were spending a lot of money there. I want to support the Co-op, so I don’t want to go to other stores to buy things that are one-and-a-half times the price of Co-op prices. Also, they don’t prioritize local organic produce like the Co-op does.

Q: Do you have any tips to help members who might consider doing this?

A: Yes. Order in bulk. You save time if you stock up once a month. You can email specialorders@greenehillfood.coop to ask questions or place your order. (You can also visit the Individual Members Bulk Order Form on our website.) Order foods that you know you’ll need, and foods that have a long shelf life: what you don’t need fresh every week. For me, it’s butter and yogurt, which have really long expiration dates. Right now, I’m considering ordering meat in bulk because it would be easy to store in the freezer - the meat comes frozen anyway.

Q: What are some challenges in buying exclusively in the Co-op, and how are you overcoming them?

A: The only challenge is consistency: there are some things that the co-op has most of the time, and then sometimes doesn’t have. And that’s the case with any store - it’s hard to be completely consistent. You just have to be flexible.

And I have to say, we have not been perfect this month. There is always something we need to get better at. We have not planned our menu as much as we should have...I also have to think about my kids’ lunches, so I generally cook extra each night and then heat it up in the mornings.

But it’s not that difficult - and we eat a lot of food. With me and my husband, our two boys, and a little one who breastfeeds, we make it work. We were shopping for the majority of our stuff at the Co-op anyway. It’s a small jump from the majority to everything.

Q: Is it difficult to find space in your kitchen for bulk items?

A: No, I don’t find that an issue. We have a very small refrigerator - the cubic unit is much smaller than the average fridge.

It helps to shop on a regular basis. We make at least two trips to the Co-op, if not three, every week. We buy vegetables regularly, and eat fresh food fairly quickly. As for the bulk orders: it may sound like 12 pounds of butter takes up a lot of space, but it doesn’t if you stack it.

Q: And last but not least, are you saving money?

A: Yes, we must be, because I have not gone to a grocery store or deli in close to a month now.

Health Coordinator Needed

The Co-op needs a member to take leadership on creating procedures in order to ensure that our store remains clean, healthy and safe. The health coordinator will design procedures and create a manual to ensure that healthy practices continue at the store, and will train shift leaders on how to conduct cleanings and inspections. Please email board@greenehillfood.coop if you are interested or have any questions.

Come Clean the Fridges

On Sunday, February 23, from 2:00 - 6:00 pm, we need volunteers to help in cleaning out the new refrigeration equipment (see Events section, above, for details). If you need to make up a shift, or want to bank extra hours, please join us at the store.

Marketing Committee Needs Coordinator

The Marketing Committee needs a coordinator—no previous marketing experience is needed. Responsibilities include responding to emails, allocating tasks, and updating the Google Drive folder. Contact Marketing@greenehillfood.coop.

Events Committee Needs Your Help

Love to party? Need to make up additional hours? Shifts at the store not for you? Come help the Events Committee plan the March 22nd Tree Giveaway and May 9th Film Screening. Minimal meetings are involved and most work is done from home. We also need volunteers during the events. Please get in touch no matter the number of hours you can commit. As a bonus, you'll get to meet some cool co-members! Email events@greenehillfood.coop.

New members and board chairs needed on the Governance Committee

The Governance Committee needs at least three new members in order to continue to ensure that the Co-op complies with local, state and federal laws, as well as our own by-laws. Regular governance committee member tasks include:

• Running General Monthly Meetings and the Annual Meeting, and conducting interim Board/officer elections as needed.
• Assisting with getting necessary permits and licenses.
• Maximizing our organizational capacity through occasional formal strategic planning meetings, ongoing informal project management efforts, and a variety of process suggestions.
• Getting answers to legal issue questions as they arise.
• Above all, finding 1-2 new co-chairs.

Contact us at governance@greenehillfood.coop.

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. You can set your own hours!! Please email finance@greenehillfood.coop if you'd like to join us.

Interested in Building Our Financial Infrastructure?

The Finance Committee needs more members with financial experience, and with interest in helping build our business, that is, members interested in working more than the minimum 2 hours every 4 weeks. Our start-up business still requires a lot of work, as we build up our accounting, budgeting, financial control and forecasting systems. If you'd like to help us build Greene Hill's "financial infrastructure," please email finance@greenehillfood.coop.

The Greene Hill Food Co-op Newsletter is edited by (in alphabetical order) Carola Burroughs, Debbie Grossman, Matthew Hayes, and Alexandra Miller. Contact us with any feedback, suggestions, or requests at newsletter@greenehillfood.coop.

Join or follow the Greene Hill Food Co-op!

Interested in joining the Greene Hill Food Co-op? Check out our website to learn about membership, like us on Facebook, or stop by our store at 18 Putnam Ave. (off Grand Ave.) with any questions!