The Co-op Q&A with Ray Jowdy
This month we interviewed Ray Jowdy, one of our new board members. He joined the Co-op at our 2018 fundraiser for the new space and has been helping us grow ever since!
Q: When did you become a member of the Greene Hill Food Co-op, and what were some of your reasons for joining?
A: I joined the Co-op at the fundraiser at C'mon Everybody, a few months before we opened in the new location on Fulton Street. My initial reason for joining was really that a friend of mine, Rae Ishee, had been been singing the Co-op's praises and encouraged me to bid on a membership in the fundraiser’s auction. Plus the fundraiser was very enjoyable and the group seemed like a great bunch of people to work with.
Q: What do you like most about being a member?
A: I like the sense of community that we're creating in our neighborhood. New York can be a very harsh place, and I find it refreshing to work with people in my area who share a common goal of creating a store that provides healthy, ethically-sourced food.
Q: What roles did you play at the Co-op before becoming a board member?
A: When I first joined, I looked at Humanity (our work tracking system) and saw that we needed shift leaders more than anything else, so I signed up for that. I figured I could learn enough through the trainings to get good at the job, even though I didn't have any previous co-op experience. Luckily, Christopher Gollmar and Matthew Talmage trained me well and I really enjoyed my work as a shift leader. I also occasionally filled in on cashiering and receiving shifts as my schedule allowed.
Q: Why did you decide to run for a board position?
A: I was invited to run by Renée Renata Bergen at a recent Co-op party hosted by DK Holland. Since I had already been taking on extra shifts at the store when my work schedule allowed, I thought I could use some of my experience for the good of the Co-op.
Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?
A: I travel a lot to visit friends who have moved away from NYC in the last 15 years. I take a lot of walks and occasionally play racquetball, but I don't have a bunch of hobbies. I spend way too much time staring at my phone so I'm trying to reclaim some of that by reading the books that have been sitting around my apartment for longer than I'd like to admit.
Q: Where do you see the Greene Hill Food Co-op in five years? 10 years?
A: I see us gaining enough members to run smoothly, with full coverage on all shifts and extra workers who can take on projects. This will allow us to think beyond just surviving as a store from week to week.