The Co-op Q&A with Louis Casanave
By Robert Eshelman-Håkansson
Member-owner Louis Casanave is one of the newest contributors to this monthly newsletter! (In case you didn’t notice, Louis wrote that great article on The Okra Project above.) Though stuck at home, Louis continues to support food justice and social justice — and spotlight the connections between them.
Q: How long have you been a member of the Co-op, and what motivated you to join?
A: I've been a member of the Co-op since February. I had been considering joining a food co-op for a while. Last year, I did a CSA (community supported agriculture) for produce, eggs and maple syrup and enjoyed that, but was looking for solutions for a wider variety of foods. I used to work at a farmers’ market behind the register for a local New York farm and missed the quality of fresh produce, but couldn't afford to pay non-worker rates for farmers' market quality products.
Q: Can you describe your work at the Co-op? Have your roles and responsibilities changed in the last couple of months with the COVID-19 outbreak and the protests?
A: When I first joined the Co-op, I signed up immediately for register training. Working behind a register was something I missed about old retail jobs, giving me an opportunity to talk to folks, and be extraverted. I became quite ill with COVID-19 in early March, however, and immediately put myself in strict self-quarantine. I'm still recovering from being ill and have needed to find a way to contribute to the Co-op and protests remotely. Luckily for me, I was able to begin writing content for the monthly newsletter focused on the intersection between food justice and social justice. Likewise, I've been trying to contribute to protests remotely, as I'm still under strict orders from my doctor not to leave the house. I've been doing fundraising for bail funds, doing remote organizing for jail support and helping run a LGBTQ+ mutual aid Facebook group called The End Is Queer.
Q: How have you reconsidered your membership, if at all, since all of this happened?
A: I've not been able to shop at the Co-op since I've been sick, as I've been relying on family members, roommates and neighbors to go shopping for me, as I've not been up to it. At first, it felt like extremely bad timing. I'd been so excited to join the Co-op and then the second I did, COVID hit and I wasn't able to volunteer or shop. But when I heard the Co-op was doing things like letting non-members shop during the shutdown, doing the buddy system to help folks like myself get groceries and remaining committed to anti-racist work, I was glad I joined.
Q: What are your goals in the coming year at the Co-op?
A: I'm very excited to be writing for the newsletter, and I hope I can grow my skills while others enjoy reading the column.
Q: What’s your favorite thing to shop for at the Co-op?
A: Before COVID hit, I was drinking a lot of the kombucha and eating a lot of the ground lamb. If I was at the Co-op right now, though, I think I'd make a beeline for the fresh ginger and get a whole mess of pomelos.
Q: Anything you’d like to see more of at the Co-op, whether it’s a product or practice?
A: I'd love to see the Co-op do more buying from Black-owned farms! The Transgenerational Farm is great too, if you've ever visited their market in the Union Square Greenmarket. It would also be really cool if, in autumn, we had some yarn to buy, like wool or alpaca, because I like to knit.