July 2015 Newsletter

THE GREENE HILL FOOD COOP - JULY 2015 NEWSLETTER

Catching You Up on Co-op News We took a vote online to see if parents deserve a work break for the summer. Checked out our produce lately? Our sweet onions are to die for! Try this quiche recipe that you can use those onions in. Our two new Revel Point of Sales registers are buzzing. Check out has never been smoother, so come shop and help the store thrive. Board member Jeannie Hamilton talks about her support for local foods and environmental sustainability.. Did you miss the June General Meeting (GM) in our backyard? We’re on for next Wednesday, July 22--come on over. Maybe we’ll be outside again! Above: Some of the members who brought Revel into total functionality. From left to right: Annmarie Pisano, Ben Malnor, Julia Flath.

The Co-op Needs You. Yes, You! The Co-op needs everyone's help to stay open! We need at least 300 members to spend at least $50 each week to achieve $15,000 in weekly sales for financial stability. For the past month, we've averaged between $8,500-$10,000 per week. It’s the summer slump and we need to get back on target fast! We need everyone’s support. The future of Greene Hill is in our hands! Here's how you can help: Make the Co-op your primary grocery store. Throw an extra $5 item into your basket. Get a friend to sign up for a free trial membership at the Co-op and start shopping! Stock up! Special order in bulk. Train to become a Shift Leader and boost store operations. Sign up for an extra shift (particularly needed are Sat. opening and closings) so our operations run smoothly for shoppers.

What’s Up Next at the Co-op?There’s a lot going on! Join the next General Meeting at the store on Wednesday, July 22, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. We will go over many of the comments posted by members on whether parents can apply to get a time out from working during the summer. DeBop will tell us what they’ve been up to (De = design and B = buildout and Op = operations). We’re shaking up the board. Want to run for office? We’ll be reviewing/revising what directors do since we’ll be voting in a bunch of new directors at the annual meeting in September. Here’s the link to the whole agenda. Mark your calendar for the following GM - Wednesday, August 26. Just a reminder - if you attend, you may get work credit plus you can shop after the GM. Someone will stick around to cashier. Above: some of those who attended the June General Meeting, held in the Co-op’s back yard.

Moms and Dads May Get Summer ReliefIn June, a mom asked the Co-op’s Member Relief Council if she could have some relief since her kids are out of school for the summer and she has to care for them all the time. She agreed to spend more than $50 a week at the store. The Council thought granting a break seemed reasonable, given her commitment to shop. So we took a vote to see what all our member-owners thought about caregivers applying for relief this summer (until Labor Day). Here’s the question we put to you: Those who are taking care of their kids full-time while school’s out and are therefore unable to work at the Co-op may apply for Summer Relief if they commit to shopping at the Co-op. Do you support the idea of allowing member-owners who take care of their kids, while out of school for summer, to shop without fulfilling the 2.5 hour work commitment? Of the members who responded, a little over 50% voted “yes.” The members who voted “no” left a lot of comments. Many didn't want to seem heartless in voting “no,” but clearly felt that all member-owners should share in working responsibilities, that there should be no free-riders. The challenge is to solve this dilemma creatively. The comments raised a lot of issues that need to be discussed: Why don’t we have daycare? Why can’t they bring their kid to work? Why can’t they work from home? Why can’t they use banked hours? Can they work extra shifts in the fall? We’re adding these questions to the agenda of this month’s general meeting, so come join the discussion! We will consider whether this should be an option for future summers as well.

Friday Summer Hours Survey ResultsThank you to everyone who filled out our Friday Summer Hours survey. The results are: more people want to work in the mornings, but more people want to shop in the evenings. Alas, we can't do both with our current member staffing. So we're still figuring out what we can do, if anything, about opening on Fridays. We'll keep you posted. Thank you again for your participation. All your comments and concerns are wonderful to hear. Results are here (but mind you, many members that said they would NOT shop regularly on Fridays, entered in the 6-9 p.m. both work and shop section. We based our results primarily on the answers of those that said they WOULD shop regularly on Fridays).

Trial Memberships Continue! Tell your friends and neighbors to give the Greene Hill Co-op a try. They’ll get two months of unlimited shopping at the Co-op without working a single shift. Help get the word out so more people discover what makes the Co-op so great! Stop by the store to register and find out more.

Park Slope Coop Members Welcome Don’t forget to tell your friends. As a thank you for all of PSFC's support over the years, Greene Hill Food Co-op has opened its doors to Park Slope Food Coop members for a limited time (yes, PSFC spells “co-op” differently!). No work commitment, no membership needed!

ew Point Of Sale (POS) System Up and Running! Is the transition complete? It certainly looks that way! As you lug your basket to the cashier counters, you can see that both registers are now operating on the new POS system. Several committees will continue to tweak it, as well as the processes directly involved with the point of sale, such as merchandise ordering, inventory maintenance, shipment receiving, and cashier procedures. This should ensure we're utilizing this new system to its greatest potential. If you want to learn how to cashier, the trainings are held every other Monday from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weeks B and D (this 30-minute training is required for all new cashiers). Sign up for the training shift on shiftplanning and get to know the new system for credit hours! Above: Some of the cashiers being trained in the new Revel POS system.

Recipe: Sweet Onion, Emmentaler and Thyme Quiche Recipe by Molly Neuman Above: sweet onions from the produce baskets at the Co-op. $2.35 a bunch. Hand model: member Amy Hundley Quiches are a great way to incorporate vegetables and protein into one dish. Once you get the hang of the method, it's pretty easy! If you're not up for making pie crust, using pre-made crust or puff pastry can work well too. The spring onions at the store right now are sweet and tasty. Leeks or shallots would make a great substitute as well. Ingredients: Crust 1 cup plus 2 T all-purpose flour 1 stick butter 1 pinch salt 6 T ice water Filling 2 T olive oil 3 medium spring onions, chopped 5 slices Emmentaler cheese 3 eggs ½ cup whole milk 2 T thyme 1 t pepper 2 t salt For crust, my go-to recipe is Mark Bittman's because it's so easy to remember: one cup flour and one stick of butter, ice water, a pinch of salt and a little more flour when you're rolling it out. Just follow his instructions for making the the dough. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. After you've chilled, rolled and chilled the dough again, pre-bake it in the oven to get a bit of color and crispness to the crust. Reduce oven to 375 degrees and set the crust aside as you prepare the filling. In a medium sauté pan, heat two tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the onions until slightly caramelized, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add one tablespoon of thyme and one teaspoon of salt. Mix and then remove to a bowl and let cool. In a separate bowl, beat three eggs. Add one tablespoon of thyme, one teaspoon of salt, one teaspoon of pepper and half a cup of milk. Combine thoroughly. Once the crust and onions have cooled, add the onions to crust. Cover with slices of cheese and pour the egg mixture over top. Return the whole thing to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Rotate 180 degrees, bake for another 15 minutes, then test for firmness. Remove if firm (if not, let it bake a few more minutes and check again). For an extra bit of color, put the quiche under the broiler for a quick 30 to 60 seconds. Let it cool for at least 30 minutes, then slice and serve with a fresh green salad. Absolutely satisfying and easy to adapt the filling to whatever you like! Serves 4-6 people. Total cost of ingredients? $6.00! That’s about a buck per serving.

The Co-op Q&A with Jeannie Hamilton Meet Jeannie Hamilton, a neighbor of the Co-op and proud supporter of local foods and environmental sustainability. Once the fish buyer at the Co-op, she explains her former role in helping the Co-op purchase fish. Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself! Where are you from? A: I grew up in a farming community in Scranton, Pennsylvania and I live in Clinton Hill. Q: What are some things you like about your neighborhood? A: I love living here because Clinton Hill is the only place where I actually got to know my neighbors. People will stop on the sidewalk to say hi to me and have conversations. That never happened to to me in any other neighborhood. Q: How did you find the Greene Hill Food Co-op and what were some of your reasons for joining? A: DK Holland (member of this newsletter team and more!) introduced me to the Greene Hill Food Co-op. I wanted to join the co-op to help build a stronger community. Q: What is your job/position here at the Co-op? A: I am the Board liaison for the Design Build Operations (designing, building and planning the operations of the store).and a member of the merchandising committee. Plus, I am a shift leader for receiving on Sundays. Q: What are the essential foods that you get pretty consistently? A: I always get bulk oatmeal, bananas, bulk pasta, mixed salad greens, whole chicken, almonds, and sausages! Q: Where would you like to see the Co-op in 20 years? A: In 20 years, I would like the Greene Hill Co-op to be in a situation where we have the same buying power, membership bank, and profit flow as the Park Slope Food Coop! Q: Can you tell me a little bit about your background and how you became interested in local food and plants? My interest in organic foods stems back from the late eighties when global warming became part of my vocabulary. It was apparent that pesticides and poor farming practices were a contributing factor toward killing our environment. Today it’s a much different story, especially with places like the Greene Hill Food Co-op supporting local and organic farming. In general, local foods and plants have always been an interest. I grew up in a farming town where the best food could always be found at our local farmers market. Q: Do you work with food for a living? A: My current job is on the management side of events with Patina Restaurant Group. They currently run the catering business and events at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and other venues. My team and I style the venues, food displays, and events there. Q: What was it like to be a fish buyer at the Co-op? What, in your mind, is our most sustainable fish in the Co-op? A: I handled buying from United Natural Foods (UNFI) which is one of the largest distributors for the co-op. Every month the merchandising team meets and goes over what products people are requesting. Fish was one of the requested items. UNFI offered frozen fish and from there I became a fish buyer. All of our fish is either caught in the wild or responsibly farmed. The most sustainable thing we have would be the crab cakes. The crabs are caught in the wild in Massachusetts.

Help WantedAll members work a 2 hour shift every 4 weeks. It's part of being a member/owner. Here are some opportunities to earn work credit. Interim Directors Wanted The nine member Board of Directors has 2 open seats, and any member with a minimum one-year membership at the Co-op is qualified to join. You can help shape the direction of our Co-op. The Directors are involved in all aspects of guiding Greene Hill activities from maintenance and store management to strategic planning. Directors are expected to about meet monthly (12x/yr) at the GM. More details here. If you’re interested or have questions, please contact governance@greenehillfood.coop. Secretary Wanted for General Meetings The Board is looking for a secretary that will be official note takers for General Meetings, the 4th Wednesday of each month . This position will be roughly 2.5-3 hours per month and responsibilities are to take detailed notes at meetings, edit, and upload them to our website! Contact Board@greenehillfood.coop if you are interested. Join the Social Media Team! Are you good with words? Do your captions and status updates attract the admiration of your followers? Consider joining to the Social Media team! With flexible hours and the ability to work from home to fulfill your shift hours, the SM team would be great for you. Email socialmedia@greenehillfood.coop for more details. Help Build the Co-op's Membership Incentives Program We're building our incentives program, and need a member to help! In order to build our incentives program, the Co-op needs a point person to organize prizes and stay in touch with our WinWinWin business peers. Our WinWinWin peers are nearby businesses who offer Co-op members discounts on food, merchandise and more. If this is something you'd be interested in helping out with, email outreach@greenehillfood.coop. Become a Shift Leader Want to help create a cohesive shift crew? Want to make working and shopping in the store more easy, efficient, and dare I say...ENJOYABLE?!? Take the plunge and become a Shift Leader! There are no qualifications necessary. We’ll get you formally trained so you have the tools to lead with confidence. You’ll be invited to our monthly meeting--for July it’s Wednesday the 29th at 7pm in the store expansion space--where you can meet the other leaders and contribute your ideas and opinions. You can make a difference in how our store runs! Shift Leader training sessions take place every other Monday evening from 6:30 – 8 p.m.(weeks B&D). Sign up on ShiftPlanning and get trained! For answers, send questions to Matthew Talmage, Shift Leader Coordinator at shiftleaders@greenehillfood.coop. Shift Leader Co-Coordinator Wanted Earn your monthly credit hours by helping the Shift Leader Coordinator. Tasks include handling regularly occurring monthly contact with the newsletter, social media and website teams; assisting with the scheduling and follow-up action items of the monthly Shleader meetings; and maintaining a good attitude. It is not necessary to be a shift leader (yet!). Organizational skills and a good sense of humor is a plus! Work load is 2.5 to 5 hours/month depending on your availability/needs. For further information contact Matthew Talmage at shiftleaders@greenehillfood.coop.

Et cetera Credits: Quiche photo by Molly Neuman. Kid pic, GM, sweet onion and cashier photos by DK Holland. Bio photos courtesy their subjects. The Greene Hill Food Co-op Newsletter is edited and published by (in alphabetical order) Carola Burroughs, Roxanne Earley, Sonia Putzel, Alexandra Miller, Amy Nazer, Molly Neuman, and Gitta Zomorodi. 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 Avenue) with any questions!