Crain's Article on Park Slope Food Co-op
Dana Weissman
Hello,
I apologize if this was already circulated and somehow I missed it. The cover story of this week’s Crain’s NY is about the Park Slope Food Co-op’s overabundance of profit and members. I think the following passage presents an opportunity for the LES Food Co-op:
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20100418/REG/304189959
In trying to alleviate the pressure on the Park Slope store, longtime members like Mr. Holtz are now looking beyond Brooklyn to help other communities replicate their success.
While there are three other food co-ops in the city, including one in Flatbush, Brooklyn, that opened in 1976, they haven't really caught on. Yet some Park Slope members are hoping they can help make co-ops part of the solution to a lack of grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods. They note that prices can be as much as 40% less than at other stores, which have higher labor costs. To that end, the Park Slope board recently voted in favor of allowing the store's members, who hail from all over the city, to earn their work requirement by helping to start food co-ops elsewhere.
It is a response, in part, to what is already happening across the city. There are nearly a dozen food co-ops in various stages of development. Last year, the South Bronx Food Coop opened its doors on Third Avenue and East 158th Street, while organizers in Brooklyn are making strides to open co-ops in neighborhoods such as Fort Greene, Bushwick, Crown Heights and Flatbush.
Known for their affinity for natural and organic products, food co-ops have long attracted affluent, well-educated consumers. But as nutrition becomes one of the hottest political issues of the day, New Yorkers in all socio-economic groups are becoming more concerned about what they eat and clamoring to buy healthier food. Co-ops also are gaining new popularity for their emphasis on locally produced products.
Benefits for city
“We are working very hard to make the city recognize the benefits of food co-ops,” says David Buckel, a 20-year member of the Park Slope store, who last month wrote a white paper on the topic to win support from the city.
Mr. Buckel points out that the Park Slope co-op last year sold nearly $800,000 worth of food to people receiving public assistance. There are other ways the co-op helps the community: Members can earn their monthly volunteer credit outside the store by working in soup kitchens, spearheading blood drives or cleaning up garbage in their neighborhoods.
Stuart Reid, who runs an organization that provides assistance to startup co-ops across the country, says about half the requests he gets are from low-income communities.
“The traditional demographic for a food co-op is an upper-middle-class area, but that's not always what we are seeing now,” says Mr. Reid, executive director of the Food Coop Initiative, based in Minnesota.
200 co-op startups
He's tracking more than 200 startups currently under development across the country and expects about 150 of them to open over the next five years. Put another way, the new crop equals two-thirds the number of existing food co-ops in the country right now.
Dana Weissman
Director of Community Programming
The Educational Alliance
197 East Broadway NY, NY 10002
tel: 646-395-4245
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