Lessons from Cali

By John Leary

I write this article fresh from a ten-day trip to San Francisco, a land where delicious food, healthy lifestyles, and social enterprise are as much a part of the landscape as the legendary hills, streetcars, and fogbanks. Unsurprisingly, co-ops are highly successful in California’s bigger and more progressive cities, and even in smaller progressive towns like Berkeley and Davis the cooperative paradigm is popular and expanding. While on vacation, Jamie and I took the opportunity to visit a number of co-ops. New Jersey and California are two very different places, of course, and it would be dangerous to assume that what works well in one place would automatically work well in the other; but even where the two environments are extremely different it can be en-lightening to consider how our Californian sisters and brothers make it happen. Not all Califor-nia co-ops are food co-ops either. A good friend lives in a housing co-op in Berkeley, and it was a bit surprising that much of what ap-

plied to one seemed to apply to the other!

Letter from the

Manager

Food for Thought J U L Y ~ A U G U S T 2 0 1 3

What’s

Inside...

89 Morris St. New Brunswick, NJ 08901

The George Street Co-op, Inc.

5 Breast

Cancer

Can Be

Prevented

9

Bicycling

14

The End of

an Era

11

Cook It Up!

12

George

Street

Member

Highlight

FREE

One of the first things we noticed upon entering any Bay Area co-op was the plentiful signage attached to nearly every piece of co-op equipment, informing workers how to properly use and maintain it. Run-ning the gamut from paint-ed placards to scrawled Post-its, this in-place docu-mentation ensured a con-sistent level of upkeep throughout each co-op facility. What was surprising (at least to me) was that this onslaught of documenta-tion didn’t really clutter the facilities or distract the shoppers. Customers seem

to get how to tune it out instinctively. Getting past the sea of text, we honed in on the food co-ops’ product selec-tion and pricing. Product selection was in many ways comparable to ours, especially in the smaller co-ops, with the notable exception of a great more emphasis on small, homegrown brands — mom & pop imprints which were often made just a few miles from the store.

Continued on page 4

P A G E 2

From The Editor

T H E G E O R G E S T R E E T C O - O P , I N C .

Food for Thought is published monthly by The George Street Co-op, Inc. It is a communications bulletin, as there can be no cooperation without communication. Opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect official policy of The George Street Co-op.

Newsletter Staff

Jasmine Burroughs

Dean Fredrickson Barbara Glasgow

Editor, Layout /Artwork

Staff/ Back page layout Ad Manager

Invest in Your Health

Everyday we make choices. Why not make the choice to consume healthy meals that will help you become balanced?

I can’t believe we are nearing the end of July! It seems like just yester-day when we saw everyone excited about the first day of summer. Just because we see the hot summer months quickly pass us doesn't mean we should slowly stop exercising, walking, and soaking up the sun. Our health should always be #1! This is the perfect time to visit the Co-op, and stock your fridge will fresh produce. Once you have your fresh produce, don’t forget to cre-ate summer juices/smoothies—that’s always exciting. I hope you all enjoy reading the July/August issue of Food of Thought. Always remember to stay healthy and stay calm. Food for Thought is available online: http://www.georgestreetcoop.com/newsletter

Jasmine ❤❤❤

Advertising Rates (2 months)

Business card (3½″×2″ high) ¼ page (3½″×5″ high) ½ page (3½″×10″ high or 7½″×5″)

$30

$75

$150

Please submit ads to Barbara Glasgow: 732-422-0221 — bglasgow@optonline.net

Ad payments to Barbara Mastroianni:

732-247-8280 — bookkeeper@georgestreetcoop.com

Newsletter Contributions We appreciate short, non-political articles and letters of

700 words or fewer. Longer articles of importance will

be printed at the discretion of the editor. All letters and

articles may be edited for length and clarity. Email your

contributions to:

jasmineburroughs76@gmail.com.Submission deadline

is the 20th of each month.

Store Hours

Monday – Friday

Saturday

Sunday

10 AM – 8 PM

10 AM – 7 PM

10 AM – 6 PM

Board of Directors

John Leary President/Outreach, Tech Chair

732-850-6547 john.leary@gmail.com

Marilynn Winston Vice President

732-249-7509 winsom1@aol.com

Richard Menashe Treasurer/ Finance Chair

732-906-8866 little4273@aol.com

Chad Hetman Secretary/Product Committee

732-485-6877 chadhetman@gmail.com

Jamie Balancia Membership Committee Chair

908-202-3539 jamie.balancia@gmail.com

Joel Wattacheril Tech Committee member

214-734-8160 joeljw@gmail.com

Other Committee Chairs

Norman Zboray Facilities Committee Chair 609-516-0186 r nzboray@comcast.net

Jasmine Burroughs Newsletter Committee Chair

Joe DiFillippo Personnel, Meetings & Elections

732-220-0931 nzboray@comcast.net

Paid Staff

John Leary General Manager

Barbara Mastroianni Office Manager

Sean Gallagher

&Neal Treec Floor Managers

Bob Wright Produce/Bulk Closer

Arnette Phipps Closer

Volunteer Coordination Team Nora Devlin & John Leary

732-993-VOLC

gstcoopvolcoord@gmail.com

Upcoming Events

Get Involved!! Come to our

Board Meetings!

The second Monday of each

month at the Co-op in our

upstairs meeting room.

We’re looking for a few good

candidates for the Co-op

board.

Would you like to:

Earn a 15% discount on

purchase?

Learn more about retail

cooperatives?

Do something for your

community owned busi-

ness?

If you would like to get in-

volved then contact John or

Marilynn.

Thu, Jul 4 . . . . . . CLOSED for Independence

Day!

Mon, Jul 8 . . . 7:30PM . . . Board of Directors meeting

Sat, Jul 13 . . . 4:00PM . . . Member orientation

Tue, Jul 16 . . . 6:00PM . . . Member orientation

Wed, Jul 17 . . . 6:30PM . . . Finance Committee meeting

Sun, Jul 28 . . . 11:00AM . . . Member orientation

Sat, Aug 10 . . . 4:00PM . . . Member orientation

Mon, Aug 12 . . . 7:30PM . . . Board of Directors meeting

Vision

Mission

The George

Street

Co-op is

creating a

place for

people

who value

healthy

food, a

healthy

planet,

and

P A G E 4 This is something we’ve also been working on at George Street Co‑op, and from a purely aesthetic standpoint it’s truly beautiful to see the proliferation of small brands on San Francisco’s store shelves. I was surprised at the pric-es for local, organic produce in San Francisco’s co-ops. An organic avocado costs $2.39 at one San Francisco co-op, while at George Street Co-op we stock it for $1.99. (For comparison, at San Francisco’s ubiquitous Safe-way chain, a non-organic avo-cado is $1.50.) I’d figured that the nearness of Califor-nia’s fertile Central valley might keep prices wonderful-ly low for organic produce, but it seems not even the co-ops can escape the costs of being in the Bay Area. San Francisco’s average co-op worker has an incredible level of devotion to their cause. They are highly pro-tective of co-op interests, and they work hard to achieve positive outcomes, but at the same time they seem truly open and flexible about what methods and means will be used to get there. We en-countered this personally at one food co‑op when two workers approached us with completely contradictory in-formation, but when in-formed of the contradiction

they communicated intensely (but 100% respectfully) with each other until they’d re-solved the contradiction to everyone’s satisfaction. It was inspiring to see this sense of committed steward-ship with absolutely no pos-sessiveness or territoriality. We often achieve this ideal at George Street, but seeing it there again reaffirmed to me that this is the way a coopera-tive truly needs to be. We spent a great deal of time there talking with co‑op members about their co-ops’ histories and turning points. Individual stories varied widely, but one trend clearly emerged: San Franscisco’s co-op culture is resolutely ideal-istic, yet relentlessly pragmat-ic in making decisions which actually make members’ ideals achievable in the real world. In story after story, we heard about serious issues that were identified and taken head-on — and ineffective ideas that the co-op consid-ered and then rejected so eve-ry minute of their workers’ effort would be in the service of seriously meaningful change. Their co-op boards have not feared to take on poten-tially controversial and/or divisive issues. When co-op changes have come at the expense of small

constituencies within the group, the co-op as a whole has made great efforts to find a fair reconciliation so all members can feel whole about the change. It took these co-ops a great deal of extra effort to work on these concessions, but the longevity and positivity of the results tells me it’s more than worth it. Finally, there seems to be very little in the way of hierar-chy in the average Bay Area co-op. Or more accurately, the people high in the hierar-chy consider themselves side-by-side with the newest re-cruits. Jamie and I were at Other Avenues food co-op (in San Francisco’s seaward Sunset District) hearing the cashier tell us her own co-op story (she’d once been at Weaver’s Way in Philadelph-ia), when suddenly we learned she was the CFO of the whole organization. That’s a beautiful thing — because everyone in a co-op should be able to talk directly to the officers who work for them.

So we’re back in NJ now, back in the humidity and the more frenetic pace of East Coast life. It’s good to be home, but there’s some things I hope we’ll be bring-ing here from California. Wherever you go this sum-mer, I hope it brings beautiful things to you too.

Letter from the manager continued

By Bonnie Camo MD

Angelina Jolie's recent decision

to undergo a 'prophylactic' double mastectomy due to her BRCA status, was her choice, but those who may wish to follow in her foot-steps should be aware that there are other options. According to breast surgeon Su-san Love of UCLA, at least 30 per-cent of tumors found on mammo-grams would go away if you did ab-solutely nothing. These tumors ap-pear to be destined to stop growing on their own, shrink, and even go away completely. Your immune sys-

tem is always on the alert, removing most cancer cells that develop be-fore they are able to multiply. One way to strengthen your immune sys-tem is to minimize your exposure to mammograms and other sources of ionizing radiation. You can strengthen your immune system by good diet and lifestyle choices. First optimize your vitamin D3 level. Vitamin D is actually able to enter cancer cells and trigger apoptosis, or cancer cell death. Jo-Ellen Welsh, a researcher with the State University of New York at Al-bany, injected vitamin D into human breast cancer cells, killing half of them within days. Vitamin D was as

effective as breast cancer drugs like Tamoxifen, without the side effects and at a cost of pennies. If you’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer you should have your D level checked and maintain a level of at least 70 ng/ml. Vitamin A also plays a role in pre-venting breast cancer; your best sources are organic egg yolks, raw milk and butter, and beef and chick-en liver from organically raised, grass pastured animals. However, commercial red meat may be a seri-ous risk factor for breast can-cer. When animal protein is cooked, especially at high heat, like frying, carcinogens are formed. Saturated animal fat is converted into a carcin-ogen by bacteria in your large intes-tine. Animal fat is also the storage site for all the pesticides on the food the animal ate, as well as the antibi-otics, hormones, and growth stimu-lants the animals were given. Grill-ing meat adds additional carcino-gens. Fruits and vegetables are “virtual anticancer pharmacies.” Phyto-chemicals in plants have many ways of protecting you from cancer. Ca-rotenoids which give color to red, orange and yellow fruits and vegeta-bles are potent antioxidants and block different steps in development of cancer. All cruciferous vegeta-bles, like broccoli, cabbage and kale, contain indole-3 carbinole, which stops breast cancer cells from grow-ing, and converts estrogen into a non-cancer-promoting form. Broc-coli also contains sulforaphane, which promotes liver enzymes which destroy carcinogens and move them out of the body.

Continued on page 6

Breast Cancer

Can Be

Prevented

Natural Medicine & Homeopathy

Breast Cancer Can Be Prevented continued

P A G E 6

Of course, all these fruits and vegetables should be organic, so you are not in-troducing more carcinogen-ic pesticides into your body.

A powerful anticancer spice is turmeric, the bril-liant yellow-orange root used in curries and in Ayur-vedic and Chinese medicine for over five thousand years. Turmeric is one of the most potent tumor-inhibiting foods, destroys toxins in the liver, is a pow-erful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, and prevents DNA mutations that lead to cancer.

Herbs like black cohosh, artemisinin, and kelp have anticancer proper-ties. Green tea is the num-ber one anticancer bever-age, full of anti-inflammatories and antioxi-dants, such as polyphenols like ECGC. Raw cannabis

and “hemp oil” (not to be confused with hempseed oil, which is highly nutri-tious, but not known to be a cancer cure) both look very promising, for those who live in places where they are legal.

Avoid all forms of sugar, cancer’s favorite food, as well as artificial sweeten-ers. Stevia is a safe sweet-ener.

Good sleep is essential to good health. During sleep the mind/body is repaired and purified. In darkness the pineal gland produces melatonin, which promotes natural sleep and is a pow-erful cancer preventer. The best melatonin production occurs when you go to bed by 10 pm and get up by 6 am.

The list of natural pre-vention methods should in-clude not wearing bras. There's lots of evidence for bras impeding the blood and lymph flow that keeps tissues healthy, as documented in Dressed to Kill by Sydney Ross Singer and Soma Grismaijer.

Exercise lowers your risk of breast cancer, in part by helping prevent obesity which increases your risk. Aerobic exercise causes the brain to produce healing neuropeptides which reduce stress and prevent depression.

P A G E 7

Sign up for our book club!! There is a book club in

progress!!

The first book up for

discussion: Eating An-

imals by Johnathan

Safran Foer.

The book makes a

compelling argument

for how imperative it

is ecologically and

socially to get away

from the factory meth-

ods of farming currently

used in nearly all of

America’s meat indus-

tries.

It’s an engaging read,

supported by facts, and

could challenge you on

the question, “what

should I eat today.”

It’s a fun read, and may

inspire some good peace-

ful conversations, which is

what we need on a hot

button topic like the con-

temporary food industry.

If you are interested

please contact me by

email:

bookkeeer@georgestreecoop.com

New Members!! Welcome! Gabby Fricke

Dorothy Ott

Gabrielle Fricke

Winona Dunlap

Mary Hynes

Millie Abbate

Rob Pires

Paola Pinzon

Gary Brill

Sadae Hori

Kevin Morris

Tamar Brill

Amber Wilmore-Hurley

Rachel Degutz

Matthew LeBoeuf

Andrea Sullivan

Ravit Keren

Abby Callahan

Paul Brennan

Damian Catera

Sarah Frier

Danielle London

Caroline Lipiec

Peter Lipiec

P A G E 8

By Barbara

Glasgow

Membership Committee Goals are facilitating member pro-cesses, increasing general member-ship and member labor, and keeping materials current. The committee’s proposal for Rolling Membership was completed and delivered to the Meetings and Elections Committee (with Board approval), which mailed it out to all Co-op members in the form of a referendum to be voted on. They have begun interviews with the Co-op’s paid staff, the first of which is printed in this newsletter. Ideas for future proposals and clarifi-cation of various membership issues were discussed. Policies will be set to ensure consistent and fair treatment for all members. They are eager to develop a mes-sage board to improve internal com-munication and have requested that the Tech Committee offer support toward this goal. The Co-op contin-ues to have a thriving volunteer group that is providing many pro-ductive hours toward keeping our store running smoothly. Any mem-ber wanting to discuss a concern or having a comment or question should contact a member of this committee.

Facilities Committee Their goal is to maintain the phys-ical plant of the Co-op. Routine maintenance was completed and the water filters in the prep room were

changed. They activated the fans to the basement, but are considering cooling the compressors with water as a more effective alternative. They are working on the plumbing in the café and have installed a 3 bay sink there. The committee is always hop-ing to increase their workforce and members can contact Richard Menashe (732-767-0720) to help.

Outreach Committee Goals are recruiting volunteers and organizing monthly and special events to promote awareness of, membership in, and sales at the Co-op; and updating Co-op literature. In June, the Outreach Committee re-turned to sending monthly sales spe-cials emails to the Co-op’s full mail-ing list of 2,107 people. This email includes our biggest sales deals each month, and also an encouragement to sign up as a volunteer. The com-mittee has made a number of correc-tions to our Spanish-language trifold brochure and has begun printing the corrected version in the store. The Co-op currently has 1,610 Facebook friends and 1,781 follow-ers on our Facebook page. We have 389 Twitter followers and are on 35 Twitter lists.

Finance Committee This committee’s goals include increasing revenue, promoting fund-raising, and decreasing costs by iden-tifying and reducing financial waste. Work is on-going on the 2011 taxes and a new account was opened for the café. Money was transferred

from the Co-op’s savings account into the general operating fund to pay some bills and the accrued paid time off was updated. May’s net in-come showed improvement over the previous month due to a reduction in loss.

Technology Committee Goals include implementing a Point of Sale (POS) system with inte-grated UPC scanning, inventory con-trol and detailed sales statistics re-porting, maintaining the Co-op’s website, and increasing Co-op reve-nues by having online credit card approval processes. The Tech Com-mittee met to discuss priorities for the next several months, and to iden-tify ways to proceed on them. There is now an active national community of developers working on the Point Of Sale system, which should make it much easier for the Co-op to suc-cessfully roll out our installation. Two Tech Committee members (John and Paul) will be taking part in the national conference call every Friday. The Membership Committee has requested support for a new membership tracking system and development of a message board. As a member of both committees, John will be responsible for those tasks. Finally, the Tech Committee is look-ing for ways to better partition and secure the Co-op’s internal network, and to keep secure backups of our files. A central server could be used, as could a cloud-based solution.

Continued on page 13

Committee Corner

By Virginia Ahearn

IN 1989 a friend and I rode cross country on our bicycles. There are times when I still can’t believe we did it. Since I am having a hard time thinking of a topic in midwifery or herbal medicine to talk about this month, I will tell some stories from my trip. We started at the end of April, which is still pretty chilly. We didn’t go straight across the US, we went south, then zig zagged up through the middle. We wanted to visit a lot of alternative communities, many of which are in the south where land is cheaper. We visited Twin Oaks in Virginia, then a yoga retreat cen-ter, a gay men’s community outside Nashville, and sev-eral women’s communities. We visited The Farm, the famed community known for its midwifery clinic and services run by Ina Mae Gaskin, herself a well-known midwife. We got caught in a freak snowstorm in Virginia (in

May!), lightening in Montana, 102 degree heat in

Washington State, and lots of lovely weather too. We

spent summer solstice in a campground in Kansas, lay-

ing outside out tents watching jagged bolts of lighten-

ing flash across the huge open sky. We ate tons of ice

cream and cookies the whole way.

I think I will tell the story of the full moon gathering

at the gay men’s community called Short Mountain

Sanctuary (SMS). This was before cell phones and the

internet. When we wanted to visit places we called

from pay phones, hoping to get an answer, although

answering machines were in use then. We heard of

SMS from the women at the land trust in Kentucky,

and they gave us the contact number. There was no

phone at SMS itself. WE called the contact person who

gave us directions and told us that if we got there by

Friday night ( 2 days away), we would be there for the

full moon gathering. She said just show up. We were

stoked. It would be lots of miles to ride, but we could

do it. We rode into the rinky dink town that the com-

munity was near, either the Thursday or Friday, and

went to a rinky dink restaurant to eat.

Continued on page 10

Bicycling

In places like this we were a spectacle, and like doz-ens of other places in the south, everyone turned to stare when we walked in. And they would keep staring. We pretended not to notice. When we were on our way again the directions included lots of unnamed streets and eventually a dirt road. There was an occasional metal pink triangle nailed to a tree to guide visitors. Although we had not been told of the markers, we were reassured to see them. The road got steep and rough and we could no long-er ride. We had to push our bikes up the road, over rocks and bumps and pits. IT is hard to push a bike with 60+ pounds of gear, probably weighing 80 lbs in all. The bike wants to go backwards. WE had to push at a 45 degree angle to the road. IT was hot and this was not fun. Finally, we found the place, lots of prop-erty, several dwellings, a garden. The women in Ken-tucky had introduced us to the term ‘radical fairies’, which is how these gay men identified. They were gay hippies. Living close to the land or off the grid. Many followed the Goddess ‘religion’ or Wiccan traditions. We introduced ourselves, told them the contact per-son told us we could show up, and that we would be glad to do work exchange to stay a few days. They helped us find a spot for our tents, gave us a tour. Some guy named Milo did an herb walk, my first foray into herbal medicine, actually. We tromped through the woods and he pointed out medicinal plants and what they did. Somewhere I still have notes.

The day of the full moon everyone was gathering kin-dling, logs, fallen branches and whole dead trees. People started arriving in pick up trucks, some from as far as Alabama, several hours drive. We talked with folks, and they were excited to meet us. Many brought drums, and soon a full-on pagan, wiccan-like event was underway. The bonfire was getting bigger, later in the night it was alarm-ingly huge, flames as high as a three story house. Folks were singing songs celebrating the goddess. Tammy and I looked at each other, in wonderment that we had ended up there. Tucked away in the hills of Tennessee. It was only our 6th week on the trip. So much more ahead. We watched the flames leap skyward. 10 GEORGESTREETCOOP.COM/NEWSLETTER

Beet, Apple and Feta Cheese Sal-

ad Nestled in Winterbor Kale

Rating: 3 Level: Easy

Servings: 4

Cook Time: 10 min

Ready Time: 45 min

Ingredients: 6 beets, cleaned

2 cups water

1 apple, cored and diced

2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or white

wine vinegar)

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon dill, minced

2-3 kale leaves, cleaned and chopped

Preparation: Bring beets and water to a boil.

Cover and reduce heat to medium.

Cook 35-40 minutes or until beets soften.

Remove beets, peel and dice.

Combine diced apple, beets and feta cheese.

Whisk olive oil, vinegar, dill and a pinch of

sea salt and black pepper. Mix into the salad.

Steam kale leaves until bright green and soft

(5-7 minutes). Place kale on a plate and top

with Beet Apple Feta Salad.

Recipe courtesy of Veria.com

Photo courtesy of TastyKichen.com

COOK IT UP!

By Barbara Glasgow

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing the Co-op’s newest staff member, Laura Eppinger. It is my in-tent to talk to each one of the Co-op’s awesome staff with the hopes that Co-op members, as well as non-member shoppers, will more deeply appreciate the won-derful people that keep our store going each day. Laura is one of the Co-op’s Floor Managers, working both weekend days and several evenings. Her job con-sists of keeping the basic functions of the store running, which is actually a multi-faceted feat. She makes sure the coffee is brewed, the soup is ready, the produce is plen-tiful, the shelves and sandwich case are well stocked, all items are priced and, at the end of the day, the floors are mopped, the soup and coffee vessels are cleaned, and the cash register totals are accurate. She cashiers when she’s needed too, but her main job is supporting cus-tomers and volunteer workers. When I asked Laura what she liked best about working at the Co-op, she shared how impressed she is by the volunteers and their commitment to the Co-op. She said that they often come up with great ideas and always have such good attitudes about giving their time and energy to their work there. She also likes learning new information about healthy foods and supplements, which she gathers from doing personal research for customers and from knowledgeable customers too. A little background…….. Laura grew up in South River, NJ, went to St. Mary’s High School and then moved to Milwaukee, WI to at-tend Marquette University, where she majored in jour-nalism. During college, she did a study abroad in Cape

Town, South Africa. While there, she shared a kitchen with other vegetarians and learned to see food not only as a way to nourish the body, but also as something communal that brings people together. This belief fur-ther enhanced her already-formed passion for healthy eating. Back in Milwaukee, she shopped at local farmer’s markets, joined SEAC (Students for Environmentally Active Campus), and helped start a CSA. After graduating, Laura served 2 terms with Ameri-Corps/VISTA, whose focus is on reducing poverty in America through various service projects. Then she re-turned to Cape Town to complete her Master’s degree. Laura originally discovered the Co-op during high school when her mother was employed at the New Brunswick Public Library and they went to the Co-op on her breaks. With sensitive skin, her initial purchases were in the HABA department, particularly Dr. Bronner soaps. One thing led to another and soon after moving back to NJ upon completion of grad school, she became a Co-op SuperWorker. At the same time, she began her 3rd term with AmeriCorps, this time in New Brunswick. As synchronicity would have it, a week after completing this 3rd term, the job of Floor Manager was posted at the Co-op. Laura interviewed and was hired in April. She works at the Co-op part time as well as working part time at New Brunswick’s 4H, whose mission is to teach school-age children about healthy living and leadership. Laura’s personal interests and hobbies include reading (with a goal of completing 52 books each year), listen-ing/seeing live music (her brother plays in a band), eat-ing out, and trying new foods. Using Facebook, she has

started a Writers’ Group where members share their personal creative writing. I really enjoyed this interview with Laura and left feeling sure that our Co-op is very lucky to have her as part of the team of our wonderful staff.

Interview wih

Laura Eppinger

George Street Member Spotlight

Product Committee

The committee’s goals are determining overpriced products with the intention of eliminating high prices that turn off customers, minimizing product waste, in-creasing member participation in the Product Commit-tee, and working to create a strategic product mix in the store. They are creating a survey using online links and various members are doing online competitive analyses of nearby grocery stores. The committee is looking at the current inventory tracking system as well as the tracking of product expiration dates in an effort to im-prove these systems. They are discussing ideas to better address customer requests and inquiries and improving the visual representation of products on the end caps as well as in the produce section. Some of their future goals include painting the Co-op, providing samples on Saturdays along with a short survey, and providing prod-uct education (nutrients, health benefits, recipes, etc.) on the shelves beneath various food items.

Personnel Committee This committee did not meet and has no current re-port.

For future scheduled meetings please consult the Co-op’s calendar (online or in the store). To contact a committee chairperson, please see the inside cover of this newsletter.

Committee Corner continued Page 13

We want to hear from you!

If you have comments, suggestions, or contributions, please contact us:

jasmineburroughs76@gmail.com

By Morris Kafka Well, it had to happen … eventually. The writing was on the wall. Our relationship began way back in 1987. She was my first. It was not love at first sight, though she certainly grew on me over time. She suited me and in exchange for all she gave me I paid her way and took care of her every need through better or worse. We were partners for the long haul and it seemed like we’d be together forever. But towards the end things began to change. Her constant complaints and ailments demanded more and more of my time and money. I can’t fault her, as I constantly unloaded my burdens on her and pressed her to do everything she had as if she was still young after all these years. Bessie was my knight in shining armor. You may have seen her in the Co-op lot or around town. She was my white 1986 Ford F150 long bed pick up truck. She was the only vehicle I had of my own from age 21 until nearly age 48. We clocked over 380,000 miles and countless memories together. Previous articles have explained how I’d managed to keep her somewhat effi-cient and safe and running all those years. I did much better than expected, but given our harsh climate Moth

er Nature ultimately had her way. She looked good and ran strong but her frame finally rusted enough to render her risky for highway travel. Even with full restoration the end result would be a truck marginal on economy and emissions with dated safety features and in terms of being a practical conveyance for my needs her time was now over.

In terms of being ‘green’ she may not have been as efficient as newer trucks but one crucial way to re-duce waste is to keep things as long as possible and not purchase more than you need. For 26 years I never put a vehicle in the landfill or caused a new one to be manu-factured. My accountant also told me it was most cost effective way to ‘drive it until the wheels fall off’. I’m glad to say that someone who was thrilled to have her has taken her to PA to do the restoration necessary and use locally. She certainly is a classic now. As she glided nearly silently down my driveway and out of sight for the last time, gleaming as if new yet, I confess I began to cry. I had underestimated just what a visceral, primal bond I had to her. She had been crucial to my ability to earn a living, to get necessities and to travel to see fami-ly and loved ones for more than a generation. You nev-er forget your first they say. But you have to move on.

The End of an Era

Those older trucks predated the con-

cept of pick up trucks as a status vehicle, when trucks were for farmers and contractors and were cheaper than cars. I was disappointed that any long bed truck made in the last decade was at least a foot longer than Bessie. New trucks also run about a half a foot or more higher in back, meaning you have to lift cargo farther and your rear visibility is diminished. I did copious research to find a late model truck that would fit my garage while still giving me that 8 foot cargo bed. It is disappointing that nearly three decades later trucks are not much more efficient. Still I was able to get the most efficient one for my needs and the emissions controls are more advanced.

Overall, perhaps outside of Cuba (which is the textbook case of auto preserva-tion) Bessie’s longevity is rather amazing as an only vehicle, in heavy daily work and interstate travel use on salted roads in wet climates, for nearly 26 years. Should ‘new Bessie’ last me as long I would be shopping for my third vehicle at age 73! Consider this ‘food for thought’ about how many of us end up with constant car loans and new cars every few years, feeding into a cycle of disposability. How much car do we really need? If we maintain it how often do we need to replace it? While mine is not a typ-ical case it shows what is possible when one does diligent maintenance on one of the most costly items most of us purchase.

Old home or household questions? Please visit my old house lover’s blog at http://oldhouseresource.wordpress.com to find back articles and post questions, comments or suggestions.

RECEPIE: Wake and Shake

Level:

Easy

Servings:

1

Cook

Time: 05

min

Ready

Time: 05

min

Ingredients: 11/2cups coconut

water

3 stalks kale, large stems re-

moved

Leaves from 2 small sprigs

fresh mint

1/2 frozen banana

1/2 frozen pear

Preparation: Put all ingredients

in a high-speed blender and

blend until smooth.

Photo courtesy of infinitygreens.com

*Article courtesy of Veria.com

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