09.06.04_pages 1-16 6/3/09 3:53 PM Page 1 OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE PARK SLOPE FOOD COOP Established 1973 Volume DD, Number 12 June 4, 2009 The Brooklyn Food Conference A Few By Alison Levy ay 2’s well-attended Brooklyn Food Conference was co-sponsored Less-Celebrated by the Park Slope Food Coop and held at the John Jay High School. MFrom gourmands to policy wonks, from community Veggies organizers to chefs and gardeners, the conference had something for By Ed Levy everyone. For green-thumbed city dwellers, there were offerings on growing your own food, including “Permaculture, Community Gardens” and “A ll the regular spring Tatsoi Modern Victory Garden: Making and Growing Food in Your Backyard.” vegetables are arriving Tatsoi is an Asian green, A in force, partly because with dark green spoon- one of the Coop’s main suppli- shaped leaves that form a “A Roundtable of New York ers got an earlier start than thick rosette. Tatsoi also goes Chefs” featured innovators usual this year in hothouses. by the names spoon cabbage, who offer local, sustainably The old regulars like spinach, spinach mustard and rosette grown food in their chard, kale, lettuce and beet bok choy. A member of the restaurants, while a session greens have brought along brassica family (which called“Gastropolis” focused some of their less familiar includes broccoli, brussel on the variegated food cul- cousins —like cardone, tatsoi, sprouts and cabbage), it has ture of New York, highlighted mizuna and nettles. One by the appearance of a cur- caveat: some, but probably not CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 rent-generation family mem- all, of these vegetables may ber of Russ and Daughters, still be on the shelves by the the Lower East Side’s smoked time this is published. fish emporium and landmark. Tatsoi and nettles current- As the children enjoyed ly come from the Lancaster demonstrations of butter Family Farm Cooperative. At churning and cider pressing, the moment, mizuna and car- make-your-own spring rolls done originate with our sup- and other fun activities, pliers in Maryland and adults could sample foods California, respectively. ranging from organic ghee to homemade pickles to Brook- Allen Zimmerman, who has lyn-made Kombucha tea. spent over 20 years in the Local growers shared their produce department at the wares, including beans, Coop, says “I have the best breads and jams, while job in the world.” MORRISON BY ROD PHOTOGRAPH activists invited others to sign up and support a wide range of initiatives, including Next General Meeting & Annual Meeting on June 30 a program that collects left- The General Meeting of the Park Slope Food Coop is held on the over food at sporting events last Tuesday of each month. The next General Meeting and and delivers it to the hungry. Annual Meeting will be Tuesday, June 30 at 7:00 p.m. at the Con- Coop member Anna gregation Beth Elohim Temple House (Garfield Temple), 274 Lappé, author of Hope’s Edge: Garfield Place. The Next Diet for a Small Planet, The agenda is in this Gazette and available as a flyer in the was the speaker at the entryway of the Coop. For more information about the GM and conference’s closing plenary. about Coop governance, please see the center of this issue. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ILLUSTRATIONS BY ETHAN PETTITE IN THIS ISSUE Thu, Jun 4 • Food Class: Mexican 7:00 p.m. An Oasis Where Once There Was Conflict . 4 Fri, Jun 5 • Film Night: Flow 7:00 p.m. Puzzle . 7 Coop Coop Hours, Coffeehouse . 8 Sat, Jun 13 • Garden and Houseplant Swap 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Coop Calendar, Workslot Needs Event Fri, Jun 19 • The Good Coffeehouse: 8:00 p.m. Governance Information, Mission Statement. 9 Sat, Jun 20 • Adult Clothing & Costume Jewelry Exchange Calendar of Events . 10 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. The Tipping Point: Member Contribution . 12 Highlights Letters to the Editor . 13 Look for additional information about these and other events in this issue. Community Calendar . 14 Classified Ads . 14 09.06.04_pages 1-16 6/3/09 3:53 PM Page 2 2 June 4, 2009 Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NY individual’s responsibility to The Brooklyn Food Conference seek out healthy food sources, Lappé wondered, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “Shouldn’t we be asking: Why is there mercury in our fish? Lappé, a second-generation about the current state of Why do we have to worry food activist (she’s the daughter food was notably missing as about our meat harboring of Frances Moore Lappé), is “all the conversation about scary, even life-threatening, pregnant with her first child. food was framed around what food-borne illnesses? Why do Through reading the required a pregnant woman should do we have to seek out food that pregnancy books, Lappé told as an individual.” Lappé told hasn’t been grown with the conference attendees she the conference attendees chemicals? And what about learned all the pregnancy that such individual health those of us who have no food no-no’s (like eating recommendations are missing choice? The mothers who mercury-contaminated fish). the big picture. read in a book, ‘You should But to her surprise, outrage Instead of making it an be eating organic food,’ and nto then go to the neighborhood ec- store and can’t find a single end The Brooklyn Food Conference activists piece of produce that hasn’t been raised with chemicals?” are helping to develop neighborhood Looking at the big picture edit meetings to organize locally to change the about where and how and ree food system. with what impact people the access food was what the and conference was all about. Neighborhood Meetings will consider As Lappé pointed out, not • working on a neighborhood food issue everyone has access. Opening • linking up with other neighborhoods through a plenary speaker LaDonna network Redmond, the founder and president of the Institute • staying aware of volunteer and lobbying opportuni- for Community Resource s ties Development, a grassroots, • supporting new food coops in more neighborhoods community-based organization SKY ([email protected]) BY DOROTHY PHOTOGRAPHS in Chicago, told the assembly, Scenes from the Brooklyn “I can buy every variety of We hope to organize meetings in every neighbor- Food Conference, this fried chicken imaginable on page: Exhibitors at John Jay hood in Brooklyn, but for right now please check out the West Side of Chicago. High School (above); one of the list below and come to a meeting in your neigh- I can buy cigarettes. I can get many friendly volunteers borhood. liquor. I can get designer (right); New York State tap clothes. I can get heroin, I can water was provided in lieu get crack. I can get a gun, but Bed-Stuy, Thursday, June 4, 6:30-8:00 p.m., Magno- of bottled water, and I can’t get an organic tomato. visitors were asked to write lia Tree Earth Center, 679 Lafayette Avenue between I can’t get a cup of yogurt. their names on their cups to Tompkins & Marcy, Organizers: Reverend Robert Jack- I can’t get romaine lettuce. (I avoid extra waste (below). son, Jammu Brown, Erica Lonesome, ericalonesome@ can’t get iceberg lettuce. Let’s gmail.com just keep it simple.) I can’t Next page: Real food get a banana or an apple. But stamps at PS 321 (top); I can get every variety of potato Kensington/Dimes Park, Saturday, June 6, 5 p.m., Vex Cooking demonstrations at chip there is.” John Jay High School Pop, 1022 Cortelyou Rd, Organizer: David Buckel, The conference featured (bottom). dbuckel @gmail.com workshops on access, including “Good Food Now: Getting Prospect Heights/Crown Heights, Wednesday, June Healthy Food into Under- 10, 6:30-8:00 p.m., Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, 1000 served Communities,” “Feed- ing the Hungry in Our Washington Avenue, room 236, Organizer: Erica Communities” and “Race and fa Lonesome, [email protected] the Food System.” Other ses- co sions focused on New York h Gowanus/Carroll Gardens, Thursday, June 11, 7:30- City food policy, as the confer- an 9:00 p.m., Brooklyn Creative League, 505 Carroll St ence also featured a public th hearing with state and city off 3rd Avenue., Organizer: Leslie A. Stone, leslieast- elected officials. L one @yahoo.com Redmond and a host of th other speakers and presenters p Park Slope, Thursday, June 11, 7-8:30 p.m., Congre- at the conference claim we m gation Beth Aloha, Garfield Pl, corner 8th Ave, 2nd fl, need to ask: Where is our an food coming from? Who grew w Organizer: Nancy Romer, [email protected] this? How did it get here? m “You can’t just rely on the fact w East New York, Tuesday, July 7, 7:30-8:30 p.m., East that you can go someplace w NY Farms, United Community Center, 613 East New and purchase food,” Redmond in York Avenue, Organizer: Sparta Daftary, sart6@hot- pointed out. “An unjust food n mail.com system hides the faces sy of those that you’re too b uncomfortable to see, like ce More to come… those farm workers down in I Please let us know if you want to help organize a Florida. An unjust food th meeting in your neighborhood. Keep checking the system doesn’t allow a website: www.BrooklynFoodConference.org farmer that’s actually growing aw food for his or her family to fr eat it. It enslaves them. That co Read the Gazette while you’re standing on line OR online at www.foodcoop.com 09.06.04_pages 1-16 6/3/09 3:53 PM Page 3 Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NY June 4, 2009 3 administration, according to Arnold, state residents lack protective legislation for assessing and addressing VALET BIKE PARKING health and environmentally damaging chemicals used in HAS COME gas drilling, which is currently being planned for the Marcellus TO THE COOP! Shale, gas-rich geological ter- rain in New York State and Saturdays this summer, from 12:30 p.m.–5:30 Pennsylvania.