O F F I C I A L N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E P A R K S L O P E F O O D C O O P Established 1973 Volume Z, Number 24 November 24, 2005 Thieves at Work— Coop Shoppers and Workers Beware! By Erik Lewis s re p o rted by General What lessons does this C o o r dinator Tr i c i a incident hold for Coop work- A Leith, on Saturd a y ers and shoppers? Clearly, October 29th a member shoppers should not leave re p o r ted that her handbag valuable items unattended was stolen from her shopping and exit and entrance work- c a r t at approximately 7:20 ers should remain vigilant. p.m. while it was parked at the But what should you do if f r ont end of aisle 6. She had you see suspicious behav- been leaving it there while ior? Coordinator Leith advis- running to the next aisle to es: Do not confront the pick up items. She called 911 person. “If you see some- and the police arrived and she thing, discreetly let a staff made a re p o rt . person know,” says Leith. The security system Often the nearest Coop revealed, according to Leith, s t a f fer can be found in the East New York Food Coop to Be that a male had entered the Receiving Department. If you Coop through the exit door c a n ’ t easily find a Coop Modeled on PSFC—Project is Linked and walked unstopped into s t a ff e r, use the telephone to the Coop. The exit worker was page one, suggested Leith. to Study of Community’s Health reading a magazine. Tw e n t y Also, make note of as much minutes later the thief walked i n f o r mation as possible: the By Ed Levy past the member’s cart and date, the time, the descrip- ast New York is about s t a rtup. It is being designed high-income neighborh o o d s straight to the exit door clear- tion of the person, location to get a new food coop, to become self-sustaining in Brooklyn. “Regarding fresh ly holding the member’s in the Coop, what part i c u l a r Epart of a study that will within four years. vegetables,” one such study purse, along with two of the items were taken and where look at that community’s The grant was awarded by states, “a 60% higher pre v a- C o o p ’s canvas bags filled they were concealed: in a health and eating pattern s . the National Institute of lence in the availability of with items. The exit worker shopping bag or coat pocket The coop is to be closely E n v i r onmental Health Sci- vegetables was observed in had paused reading a maga- for instance, or what other modeled on the Park Slope ence, a branch of the National the low-medium areas and an zine to stamp the receipts of f o r m of stealing was Food Coop, which is the “gold Institutes of Health. 80% greater prevalence in the someone else. The thief involved, such as the steal- s t a n d a r d of food coopera- In the early stages of plan- medium-high areas were walked past them and out the ing of the handbag in the tives,” according to Kimberly ning, the East New Yo r k o b s e r ved compared to the door unstopped. However, incident described. Morland, Ph.D., a professor at g r oup sought advice fro m lowest wealth areas.” photos of the thief, made Specific information is Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, General Coordinator Joe Coop Grant Part n e r s f rom the Coop’s security sys- particularly important if Coop who was instrumental in Holtz, of the Park Slope Food include Mt. Sinai Hospital’s tem, have been provided to s t a ff end up confronting the securing the grant. Coop, who tutored them in D e p a r tment of Community the Police. person. ■ The idea for an East New the philosophy of food coops. and Preventive Medicine, York food cooperative began Joe, they said, pointed out Wy c o f f Hospital and the to germinate about a year that unlike competitive busi- Local Development Corpora- Next General Meeting on December 13 and half ago, after the com- nesses, most coops consider tion of East New York (LDC- **NOTE DATE CHANGE** munity invited academics it their responsibility to help ENY). The project is known and other experts to a day- other coops get started. And f o r mally as Building Food The General Meeting of the Park Slope Food Coop is held on long conference to discuss to back up his words, he Justice in New York. the last Tuesday of each month with the exception of what could be done about the w r ote a letter of support for November and December. The next General Meeting will be a re a ’s lack of healthy foods. the project that was included Urban Gardens to Supply Tu e s d a y, December 13, 7:00 p.m. at the Congregation Beth O v e rw h e l m i n g l y, the attendees in the application to the Coop Elohim Te m p l e House, 274 Garfield Place at 8th Avenue. asked for a community-o rg a- NIEHS. The awarding of the The Local Development The agenda will appear in the next Gazette and will be avail- nized, community-sponsore d grant for the four-year study, Corporation of East New York able as a flyer in the entryway of the Coop beginning food coop. Dr. Morland, one amounting to about one mil- also helps run the East New December 7. For more information about the GM and about of the participants, proposed lion dollars, was announced York Farmers Market, which Coop governance, please see the center of this issue. that Mt. Sinai Hospital and in September. could become an integral East New York apply for the D r. Morland has alre a d y p a r t of the food cooperative. I N T H I S I S S U E grant, which will make quan- done studies that show a The Farmers Market is cur- titative and qualitative stud- wide disparity in the quality rently supplied by 22 urban Coop Cornucopia . 3 ies of local residents’ health and availability of fruits and g a r deners in the East New Almost Organic . 4 as well as fund the coop’s vegetables between low- and C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 2 Safe Food Committee Report . 6 Help Squad 1 – Update . 7 Making the Healthiest Food on Earth Even Healthier . 7 •Food Class: Fermentation, 7:30 p.m. Thu, Dec 1 Coop Hours, Coffeehouse, Puzzle. 8 Coop Fri, Dec 2 • Film Night: Exploring Memory. Three short films: Coop Calendar, Workslot Needs Home Cookin', I Remember, Presence of Water, 7:00 Governance Information, Mission Statement. 9 Fri, Dec 16 •Good Coffeehouse: An Evening of Spoken Word, Community Calendar . 10 Event 8:00 p.m. Letters to the Editor . 11 Sun, Dec 18 •Pub Night: 7:00 p.m. Garlic . 12 Highlights People of the Dome (Part Two) . 13 Look for additional information about these and other events in this issue. Classified Ads . 14 2 F November 24, 2005 Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NY Grant Also Funding East New York Food Coop Mobile Van and C O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 1 Documentary Film York area. “We are hoping the commu- grants and of those 80% are from the As part of the overall nity gardeners will have enough prod- Caribbean (Puerto Rico, Dominican community study, Wy c k o f f uct to sell both in the coop and at the Republic, Jamaica, Barbados, Heights Medical Center will market,” said Laura Sanzel, a co- Trinidad, etc.). The remaining 20% are p r ovide clinical services in investigator of the grant. The 22 gar- either Russian or from Central or the form of a mobile van for dens, which began as vacant lots, are South America. Like the sellers, cus- health screening; the van now a beautiful and vital community tomers generally come from within a will be available for coop re s o u r ce. Almost all are cert i f i e d 15-minute radius on foot. members as well as non- organic or transitioning to being fully A c c o rding to the PPS, over 45% of members. Grant money will o r ganic. Many of the gard e n e r s customers at the market receive food also be used to study the employ practices even more stringent stamps, which fill critical gaps in effects of eating patterns on than those required by organic certifi- household budgets. Currently, several health and quality of life, to cation—for example, rarely using vendors at the market accept the study what people eat and even organic pesticides—and engag- coupons. By later this year the market where they shop, and to cre- ing in sustainable practice like rain- will acquire an Electronic Balance ate classes for those looking water harvesting and composting, Transfer (EBT) machine, enabling all to make dietary and life according to the East New York Farms the vendors to accept them.