A MOVIE ABOUT NEW YORK’S PARK SLOPE FOOD COOPERATIVE
ON DEMAND
in English, Spanish, French & Italian
NOV. 13, 14, 15, 2022
Cost $5 - $50
The Park Slope Food Cooperative is the oldest and most successful food cooperatives in the United States. Located in Brooklyn, it is unique because it breaks the co-op rules – most cooperatives operate almost like a supermarket, you come and buy food. In some food co-ops, you pay a membership fee, which can be voluntary. At Park Slope, your membership fees are not voluntary; you cannot shop unless you work almost three hours every three months. This allows the co-op to cut one of its largest expenses – labor – by about 75% and offer goods at a cheaper price.
In New York City, residents of all classes flock to work their mandatory hours. The co-op has over 16,000 members, many of whom feel fortunate to have this opportunity to buy healthy food at lower prices. It is a welcome contrast to corner stores and small supermarkets which sell substandard produce or products at very expensive prices. Park Slope is one of the few co-ops that has been able to operate according to the Rochdale Cooperative Principles, and a French co-op replicated the model, along with others in New York.
Yet Park Slope Food Co-op is not without its critics. Some have called its work requirement elitist; others cite a failed union organizing attempt. There are, however, some great things about the co-op. See and decide for yourself.
After you watch, GEO would love to hear your opinion. Let’s talk about it via Zoom:
a Park Slope Food panel discussion Monday, Nov. 14 at
8:00 pm ET
7:00 pm CT
6:00 pm MT
5:00 pm PT
This is an education event and fundraiser for Grassroots Economic Organizing, an online newsletter that advocates for cooperatives and catalyzes the solidarity economy. As one co-op member said: “This country is going to collapse one day if this type of system doesn’t catch on.”
Have a watch party and discuss the lessons we can learn from the film!
Buy tickets at Eventbrite
For more info email: edi...@geo.coop, or visit geo.coop