With the store now open seven days a week, all member-owners have greater options for both shopping and working shifts. Looking for a new way to meet your work shift requirement? Want to pick up an extra shift? Check out the Help Wanted section.
And there’s lots of other ways you can help out. We’re looking for a new laptop for check in, new shift leaders and volunteers for our composting project. More details below.
If you’ve been on the fence about joining the Co-op—or know someone who is—check out our special Zucchini membership option.
Discover new ways to enjoy the abundance of fall veggies! Read on for inspiration and instruction on fermenting. And check out this month’s recipe for hearty salad topped with fresh, seared tuna.
In our Co-op Q&A, meet member-owner Angelica Falcinelli, one of our new part-time store coordinators!
Seven Canadians recently visited us (pictured above). They want to start a food co-op based on the 100% working model in Montreal. We told them how important it is to be open every day! Note that all weekdays we are now open till 9 pm.
Our updated store hours are:Monday through Friday, 3 pm to 9 pmSaturday and Sunday, 10 am to 6 pm
Thanksgiving Turkey Pre-Orders
100% Pasture-Raised Turkeys are available for pre-order from Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative. Turkeys are $5.19/lb and organic turkeys are 6.31/lb, are available for pre-order on a first come first serve basis, and require a $30 deposit. The Deadline for placing an order is Monday, November 7th. Birds would be delivered to the co-op fresh (ie. not frozen) the week of the holiday. Turkeys are anticipated to be between 15-20 lbs each. Specific weights may be requested but there are no guarantees we will receive all the weights requested. Details may be subject to change as holiday gets nearer and farm supplies change. There are signup-sheets at the co-op and you can place your deposit when you sign up. Please email rossediamond@gmail.com with any questions.
Seeking Volunteers for Composting Project
Are you a fan of compost? Want to help with the Co-op's composting project? We have a sifter to build, compost to turn and finished compost to use on our street trees. Join us on Sunday, October 23rd from 1 pm - 4 pm in our backyard for the first of our volunteer days this fall. Please RSVP, or email us to indicate your interest in future dates, to store@greenehillfood.coop. Please note that any volunteer work would need to be in addition to your regular or floater hours at the store.
Store Seeking New Laptop
The Co-op is seeking a new laptop for our check-in desk. If you have a working laptop that you can donate, please contact store@greenehillfood.coop.
Reminder: The Zucchini Plan!
If you’ve been debating joining the Co-op, now is an awesome time to join. For those on the fence, we have: the Zucchini Plan! With this plan, you get full membership at the Co-op for six months from the date you sign up. No investment is required. All you need to do is pay a $25 administration fee and fulfill the work shift requirement and you get full shopping privileges for six whole months. At the end of the plan, you can either join with one of our full investment plans or leave -- no penalty, no fuss!
Are you interested in becoming a shift leader? Shift leaders lead the in-store team during their regular or floating shift every 4 weeks. The purpose of this training is to empower current and future shift leaders with the knowledge to manage the store and provide consistent and awesome working and shopping experiences for all members. This training is both for members who are already shift leaders and would like to attend a training, and for those who are interested in becoming a shift leader for the first time. Please plan on sticking around after the training for a potluck lunch in the backyard!
What's Up Next at the Co-op?
Find out by coming to our next Board Meeting. It’s on Wednesday, October 26, from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm, at the Co-op, 18 Putnam Ave. As the meeting approaches, you can view the agenda online—usually by the 19th. We are a valued community asset and space. Get involved! Meetings are open to all in our community—members and non-members—bring a friend or two!
The next two new member orientations are set for Saturday, October 22, at 11:00 am and Saturday, November 12, at 11:00 am. All new members are required to attend an orientation. They last one hour, take place at the Co-op and earn you a full work shift credit.
Are you overwhelmed by the incredible selection of local fall veggies spilling off the shelves lately? It seems like the Co-op gets new heirloom varieties of cabbage, squash, cauliflower, and string beans on a weekly basis. It's enticing to try and buy all of the new produce on the shelves, but I often avoid purchasing everything appealing, knowing that if I buy too much I'll end up with a fridge crowded with spoiling vegetables. I imagine my fellow Co-op members have similar thoughts that prevent them from buying just one more veggie.
The next time you’re at the store and on the fence about buying that head of cheddar cauliflower or bunch of yellow romano beans, considering bringing them home and lacto-fermenting them to create a long-lasting, probiotic, and super-healthy side dish or snack. Your digestive system and the Co-op's bottom line will thank you!
The Co-op has a good selection of raw and fermented products like kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, and others in the "fermentation fridge," but learning the basics of home fermentation can unlock tons of new flavors and uses for your foods that you never thought possible. Here’s the underlying science of lacto-fermentation: if you submerge a vegetable in an anaerobic, salty brine for long enough, all bacteria except for the naturally-occurring and beneficial lactobacillus bacteria on its surface will die. This lactobacillus will convert sugars in the vegetable to lactic acid, fermenting and preserving it while creating a distinctively sour "pickled" taste.
In order to successfully ferment vegetables at home, you'll need to do four basic things:
1) Prepare the vegetables, by cutting them or shredding them, and making sure you save the skin or rind that contains the surface bacteria;
2) Prepare a brine -- either by adding salt to water, or by kneading salt into leafy veggies like cabbage to draw the brine out of them (this is how you make sauerkraut);
3) Submerge the vegetables in a container (such as a mason jar bought from the Coo-p!) and make sure they are fully covered by the brine;
4) Cover and let ferment at room temperature for as long as you want. In general you'll want to let it ferment for at least one to two weeks, but you can let it keep going for months for a more intense flavor. You can slow down the process by putting it in the fridge!
Interested in some easy ferments that you can try with your next haul from the Co-op? Check out these simple recipes online to gain the basic skills, and feel free to improvise with any veggies and spices you find at the store!
One of the many things I'm grateful to the Co-op for is introducing our family to Mermaid's Garden and their community supported fishery (CSF). If you’re interested in fresh, sustainably caught fish, have a look into their program. Our family has been a member of the CSF since Mermaid’s Garden began offering it as an option at the Co-op and it's been really amazing. This week's share was yellowfin tuna and it was simply glorious.
This means this isn't really a recipe but a preparation -- one ripe for adjustments, eliminations, and additions. To showcase the tuna, I made a simple Salade Niçoise with purple potatoes, green beans, hard boiled egg, capers and a lemon-Dijon mustard vinaigrette. I sat the tuna in a marinade of ginger, tamari, and sesame oil before searing it quickly in a cast iron skillet. This is likely one of the more pricey dishes you can make from Co-op goods, but it's worth it!
Serves 2-4.
Ingredients:
For the tuna and marinade:½ lb. yellowfin tuna1 T fresh ginger, grated1 T tamari sauce
1 T sesame oil
For the salad:1 head green lettuce1 bunch (¼ lb) green beans, cut in half and blanched1 large purple potato, cut in slices and blanched
2 large hard boiled eggs, cubed
2 T capers
For the vinaigrette:1 T Dijon mustard1 lemon, juiced1 T sherry vinegar
3 T olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
In a shallow dish, combine the ginger, tamari, and sesame oil. Cover tuna with marinade and set aside for 30 minutes. In another bowl, whisk together the mustard, lemon juice and sherry vinegar. Slowly add olive oil to emulsify and add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
In a hot skillet, sear the tuna on each side for 2-3 minutes. Remove it from the heat to rest, then slice it against the grain.
In a small bowl, toss the potatoes and green beans in two tablespoons of the vinaigrette. In a separate bowl, toss the lettuce in three tablespoons of the vinaigrette until all leaves are coated. Spread the lettuce on a large platter and top with the potatoes, green beans, tuna and hard boiled eggs. Garnish with capers and drizzle with remaining vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
Cost estimate: $20 or $5-10 per person.
Mermaid’s Garden and Co-op members cooperate to provide a pick-up fish shares at the store on Saturdays. For more information, Check out their website.
Q&A With Angelica Falcinelli
Meet Angelica, one of our new part-time store coordinators. You might meet her in the store, where she helps make sure everything runs smoothly.
Q: How did you find out about the Co-op and what were some of your reasons for joining?A: I first found out about the Co-op when I moved into a new apartment in July 2013. My old roommate Ilona was a member and told me about her own experience as a member and encouraged me to check it out. I liked the idea of being a part of the local economy and supporting sustainable food practices, so I joined on my first visit to the store.
Q: When did you start in your new role? Can you explain what you do for those of us who don't know?A: I took on the role of a store coordinator back in March, along with three other part-time coordinators. I first experienced this role as a kind of super shift leader, but basically the store coordinators work as a team to ensure that store operations are running smoothly. We are physically present to assist and train working members during the store’s hours of operation as well as fill in when there is low staffing. We also assist with membership inquiries, manage shift coverage and inventory as well as collaborate on how to improve store operations.
Q: What is your favorite Co-op produce/snacky item and why?A: One of my favorite Co-op items is the Equal Exchange chocolate bars because they are not too sweet, have a really smooth texture, and are produced by workers who are paid a fair wage. My favorite variety is the 65% Ecuador Dark Chocolate bar. I am also a big fan of the Maple Seven Stars yogurt, which is great on its own or with some granola.
Q: Where would you like to see the Co-op in five years? 10 years?A: I would love to see the Co-op in healthier standing financially, but I believe that in order to get to that goal we need to have actively involved members. I would like to see near-full staffing in the store, with experienced members who are confident in the tasks involved in running the day-to-day operations of the store. This would attract potential members and help to incorporate them into the already existing structure more smoothly. The Co-op is also more than a store and I would love to see how members can utilize their skills and talents best in our community.
Q: What do you like to do outside of the Co-op? A: When I am not at the Co-op, I spend most of my time biking, dancing, practicing yoga, and cooking up delicious food.
Help Wanted
All members work a 2½ hour shift every 4 weeks. It's part of being a member/owner. Here are some opportunities to earn work credit.
Governance Committee in URGENT NEED of Members!Want to learn more about how our bylaws and our Board of Directors are amended and elected? You can play a vital role in shaping the Co-op’s future by joining the Governance committee. We are urgently seeking new members to assist with the elections process and future projects, as needed. All work can be completed on your time, from home. Please email governance@greenehillfood.coop to learn more.
IT Committee in Urgent Need of PHP/LAMP Stack Developer!The IT Committee is looking for help with the Co-op’s public-facing website (www.greenehillfood.coop) as well as our internal systems, including our CRM and Shift Planning. If you have skills with PHP, Drupal, MySQL and CRMs (we use CiviCRM), then we could use your expertise. This work can be done remotely and is critical to ongoing success of our co-op. For further information, email Chad Donnick, membership@greenehillfood.coop.
Membership Desk The Membership Committee is seeking members for the Membership Desk to work in store fielding member questions both in person and online, signing up new members & processing hours crib sheets. This is an in store shift for work slot credit 2.5 hours every four weeks. You may choose a regular time slot during any of the store shopping hours. Please contact membership@greenehillfood.coop if you are interested.
New Membership Orientation LeadersDo you know the Co-op in & out? Do you like speaking to others about the Co-op? We’re looking for new membership orientation leaders to help run the monthly orientations. You need only commit to a minimum of two orientations for an entire year. They last one hour and you get a full work shift credit for conducting them. Help us educate the new generation of Co-op owners!
Seeking Designers & Writers for New Membership Campaign!Help us design an outreach campaign to engage new members to join the Co-op community! We’re looking for writers, designers, community organizers, and people with experience in event planning and marketing. Working for the Marketing and Outreach Committees are great ways to get your shift credits from home, or have more flexible hours. Email marketing@greenehillfood.coop to help out.
Seeking Finance Committee MembersIf you have an interest in being involved in the day-to-day financial operations or finance strategy for the Co-op, please email finance@greenehillfood.coop.
Finance Office Assistant Shifts AvailableInterested in doing some office work at the store? Your role would focus on handling invoices and entering data into our accounting software. 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 Co-op produce financial statements on a regular basis. You can set your own hours! Please email officeassistant@greenehillfood.coop if you'd like to join us.
Merchandising Committee Needs New MembersInterested in how food ends up on the Co-op shelves each week? Join us and make the magic happen. This position requires a 2½ hour monthly commitment (like any regular work shift), including attending one monthly meeting of 1½ hours. If interested, email merchandising@greenehillfood.coop.
Beer and Wine! Help Us with the License Application Process!Depending on our finances, we’re considering the feasibility of applying for a beer and wine license. If we decide to go ahead with this, we will need help as we attempt to expedite the application process. Many hands will lighten the load: dividing up the application, identifying what needs to be done, doing it, compiling, and submitting. If you’re interested in being a part of this process, please respond to keith@greenehill.coop with SLA in the subject line.
Et cetera
Credits: Co-op sign, general meeting, check out counter and cabbage photos by Co-op, Salade Niçoise pic courtesy of Molly Neuman.
The Greene Hill Food Co-op Newsletter is edited and published by (in alphabetical order) Carola Burroughs, Sonia Garbes Putzel, DK Holland, Alexandra (Aly) Miller, Molly Neuman, Shannon Sodano Heffernan, Alejandro Varela, and Gitta Zomorodi. Contact us with any feedback, suggestions, or requests at newsletter@greenehillfood.coop.
Join and/or follow the Greene Hill Food-Op!
Interested in joining the Greene Hill Food Co-op? Check out our website to learn about membership, Like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter. Or simply stop by our store at 18 Putnam Avenue (off Grand Avenue) with any questions!
