Sandy and the PSFC - Park Slope Food Coop€¦ · don-based chef Yotam Ottolenghi and his...

Next General Meeting on December 18The General Meeting of the Park Slope Food Coop is held on thelast Tuesday of each month.* The December General Meetingwill be on Tuesday, December 18, at 7:00 p.m. at MS 51, 350Fifth Ave., between Fourth and Fifth Sts. Enter on Fourth St. cul-de-sac. The Fourth St. entrance is handicap-accessible.

For more information about the GM and about Coop gover-nance, please see the center of this issue.

*December’s meeting is December 18 (not December 25).This is an exception.

IN THIS ISSUETabling for Hurricane Sandy Donations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Toughest Job You’ll Ever Love? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5From the Archives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Environmental Committee Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Calendar of Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Exciting Workslot Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Classified Ads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Community Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

By Liz Welch

Congregation Beth Elo-him was packed on

October 24. People filledpractically every pew tohear the Israeli-born Lon-don-based chef YotamOttolenghi and his Pales-tinian partner, Sami Tami-mi, discuss their latestcollaboration: Jerusalem.Named for the city bothmen were born and raisedin, this is the second cook-book the two men haveworked on together. Theirfirst, Ottolenghi: The Cookbook,was named after the popu-lar restaurant the two opened in 2002 in Notting Hill, aftermeeting in London years before when both worked in thekitchen of the restaurant Baker and Spice. Born in 1967 in thesame city, the two had never met before that moment, but wereamazed to discover they had parallel histories and paths thatled them from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv to London, where eacharrived in 1997.

Jerusalem, a CookbookAnd Love Letter to an Ancient City of Diverse And Delectable Tastes

Sandy and the PSFC

C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 4

Volume GG, Number 24 November 29, 2012

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

Established1973

CoopEventHighlights

Thu, Fri • See What the PAFCU OffersNov 29-30 4 - 6 p.m., Thu; 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Fri

Fri, Nov 30 • Wordsprouts: Memoir-Writing WorkshopWith Donna Minkowitz 7:00 p.m.

Thu, Dec 6 • Food Class:Healthy Hanukkah Treats 7:30 p.m.

Fri, Dec 7 • Film Night: A Matter of Taste:Serving Up Paul Liebrandt 7:00 p.m.

Look for additional information about these and other events in this issue.

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✮New location for General Meeting:MS 51, 350 Fifth Ave., between Fourth & Fifth Sts.✮ ✮

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By Lily Rothman

O n Saturday, October 27,early in the morning, at

a time when Coop shoppersmight any other week chooseto buy their groceries andavoid long waits to pay, thecheckout line stretchedthrough paper goods, throughthe frozen section, through thebulk and back around throughproduce. And there was anoth-er unusual sight that Saturdaymorning: the carts of thosewaiting on the epically longline had a high number of

items in common. Beans.Canned vegetables. Cannedfish. More beans. Hurricaneprovisions.

After Sandy, CoopersHelp Stock TheirNeighbors’ Shelves

Barely a week later, onSunday, November 4, cannedgoods were headed in a dif-ferent direction: out of cartsand shopping bags, intoboxes bound for Red Hookand the Rockaways. At adonation table in front of the

Coop, members who hadgone in to shop could, ontheir way out, donate extrapurchases of food, babygoods, cleaning supplies,batteries, flashlights andwater to Brooklyn residentswho were not as fortunate asthose who live close to theCoop and did not experiencepower outages or a loss ofheat. The goods would betaken to donation centers inSunset Park, Red Hook orClinton Hill by drivers who

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volunteered outside the Coop. Inside the building,members working shifts wore signs or madeannouncements encouraging shoppers to donate.

“I’m a native New Yorker. This is my city—and evenif I wasn’t a New Yorker, it’s a human thing,” said Coopmember Nura Rose Sala, after contributing cannedgoods to the cause. “When people are in trouble, youhelp them.”

The collection drive sprang up from the grassroots,organized by members, in the days following the stor-m’s arrival. And that’s fitting. A Coop General Meetinghas never prohibited the Coop’s direct involvement incharity, but a member’s motion to donate to a particu-lar cause has never been successfully passed. Coopmembers are thus encouraged to do the organizingand donating among themselves—and, with the Coopitself recuperating quickly, it worked well as a locationfor that organization to happen. “I was so impressedthat we were up and running so quickly,” said Sala.

Weathering the Storm at the PSFC The Coop had closed on Sunday evening before

Sandy hit, when Mayor Bloomberg instructed every-thing non-essential to close, and remained closeduntil midday on Tuesday, October 30. “You don’twant to create a place where people have to come,”explains staff member Elinoar Astrinsky. When thestore did get up and running again, the staff workedwhat she says was “ridiculously hard” alongsidemembers—receiving three 18-wheelers, full of morethan $200,000 worth of goods, in one day instead ofhalf a week, for example. But, while the Coopescaped relatively unscathed and was nowhere near

as affected as those destined to receive the cansbeing collected at the Coop entrance, nobody got afree pass from Sandy.

PSFC Phones Were DownFor one thing, while the Coop did not lose power,

the storm’s effect that was perhaps most immediatelyfelt was that, at some point on Monday—whennobody was in the building—the phone lines wentdown. Staff members used their personal cell phonesto try to help keep Coop communication flowing. Butwithout a working phone number for incoming calls, itwas difficult, particularly after Internet service failed onTuesday. “Members were not able to call in to scheduleFTOP, change workslots, ask about their member sta-tus and, in the beginning, even check if the Coop wasopen,” explains staff member Ann Herpel. Phone ser-vice was finally restored on Friday, November 9.

Coop Suppliers Feel Sandy’s WrathFurther damage not felt by the Coop right away but

with the potential to be much worse over time, hap-pened to local Coop suppliers who were hit badly bySandy. One has only to look at the impact on cheese tosee Sandy’s effect on the Coop’s food-supply chain.Weeks after the storm, a cashew-cheese supplier basedin Williamsburg was still not operational; neither waslocal cheese maker Ben’s Cream Cheese. Many of theimported cheeses sold by the Coop arrive through NewJersey ports that were flooded; in particular, productsfrom Epicure Foods Corp had not yet returned to theirdelivery schedules weeks after the storm.

For some, the damage was beyond measure.

It’s not just cheese. One bulk supplier lost whatGeneral Coordinator Elinoar Astrinsky says was mil-lions of dollars worth of nuts. She predicts that theprice of nuts and dried fruit will soon increase forCoop shoppers and says “most people, when theyraise the prices, it’s not going to go down.” The lack ofgasoline was another problem, even for those whowere able to produce their goods. Terrace Bagels, forexample, couldn’t make deliveries.

For some, the damage was beyond measure—evennearly a month after the storm had passed. Astrinskysays that the Coop’s worst-hit supplier was probablySteve’s Authentic Key Lime Pies, which is based inRed Hook. Steve’s electricity was restored on Novem-ber 13, but even so, the damage to equipment andperishable supplies was immense. Although Steve’s isworking incredibly hard to restore their facility, thecompany was not able to recover in time to make piesfor Thanksgiving, a major setback for a pie company.The Coop has been trying to find temporary replace-ments for the products shoppers will miss while theseCoop suppliers get back to a functional state.

On a happy note, though, the Coop’s produce sup-ply was largely unaffected by the storm.

Keeping Shelves Full to Aid Donation EffortA stocking headache brought by Sandy has been to

have enough on the shelves so that shoppers whowant to donate goods to those who were devastatedby the storm can do so. “That’s been a huge logisticalchallenge,” says Astrinsky. However the staff andmembers managed, it worked: Astrinsky reports that160 carloads worth of goods were purchased at theCoop and then dispersed via Occupy Sandy and otherorganizations to people in the Rockaways and else-where. A member tweeted on November 4 that duringher checkout shift, every person purchased items forthe Occupy Sandy drive.

Phoebe Berg, a member who was helping at thedonation table on that first Sunday, said that she hadbeen involved with Occupy and thought to start aneffort to help at the Coop. But when she arrived with asign, the effort was already underway. “The recoverycenters are overwhelmed [with volunteers], but wecan give,” she said. “The Coop’s response has beenoverwhelmingly positive.”

Help for Members Affected by the Storm The Coop is also trying to assist members who

were more directly impacted by the storm, whetherbecause of workslot disruptions caused by the Coop’sclosure or due to a household suffering losses or dis-location from Sandy. Members who had shifts sched-uled during the storm must still complete therequired 13 shifts a year but will only owe one make-up, not two, for any missed shifts between Sunday,October 28, at 7 p.m. through Thursday, November 8.(FTOP shifts were cancelled.) In addition, membershosting anyone displaced by the storm can get tem-porary shopping authorizations for their guests, andmembers whose own lives were seriously affected bySandy can receive a special dispensation excusingthem from all shifts for a period of time. ■

2 � November 29, 2012 Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NY

Read the Gazette while you’re standing on line OR online at www.foodcoop.com

Coop Job Opening:

Membership CoordinatorDescription:

The Coop is hiring a Membership Coordinator to fill an afternoon/evening and weekend schedule.

Membership Coordinators divide their time between shifts of approximately 6 hours in the Membership

Office, Technical Support shifts of approximately 6.5 hours working on the shopping floor, and oversight/

coordination of the Coop's administrative functions. Applicants must have excellent people skills, excel-

lent communication and organizational skills as well as patience, comfort with computers and comput-

er technology, and the ability to do detailed record keeping. Applicants should be able to remain calm in

hectic surroundings, oversee the work of others, teach and explain procedures, delegate work, give feedback,

pay attention to several things at once and maintain high standards of accuracy.

As a retail business, the Coop's busiest times are during traditional holiday seasons. Applicants must

be prepared to work during many of the holiday periods, particularly in the winter.

Hours: Approx. 39 hours in 5 days/week: Thursday–Monday. Weekday schedule

will be afternoon/evening hours (some shifts until 11:00 p.m.). Saturday and

Sunday hours will vary, though shifts are between 5 and 8 hours in length.

Wages: $25.29/hour.

Benefits: —Health insurance

—Pension plan/401(k) plans

—Vacation–three weeks/year increasing in the 4th, 7th & 10th years

—Health and Personal time

—Four paid holidays: New Year’s Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day

How to Apply:Please provide your résumé along with a cover letter explaining your relevant qualifications, skills

and experience. Materials will only be accepted electronically. E-mail resume and cover letter to

[email protected]. Please put "Membership Coordinator" in the subject field.

Applicants will receive an e-mail acknowledging receipt of their materials. Please do not call the

Office to check on the status of your application. Applications will be reviewed and interviews

scheduled on a rolling basis until the position has been filled. If you applied to a previous Coop

job offering, please re-submit your materials.

Probation Period:There will be a six-month probation period.

Prerequisite:Must be a current member of the Park Slope Food Coop for at least six months immediately prior to

application.

No Membership Office experience necessary to submit application materials. However, in order to be

considered for an interview applicants must have worked at least four shifts in the Membership Office.

After submitting your materials, if you wish to schedule shifts in the Office please contact the Coop at

[email protected]. Please put "Schedule Shifts" in the subject field.

We are seeking an applicant pool that reflects the diversity of the Coop's membership.

Sandy and the PSFCC O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 1

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Hurricane Sandy’s devas-tation was fast and furi-

ous. And, while it may behard to remember now, in thedays immediate-ly following thestorm, there werefew clear andorganized ways tohelp.

But that changedat the Park SlopeFood Coop when,just four daysafter Sandy hit, atable appeared onUnion Street with boldhand-lettered signs invitingpassersby to give food andsupplies and to volunteertime.

In the 10 days that fol-lowed, more than 200 Coopmembers offered to help this effort. Andmembers col-lectively donat-ed and deliveredmore than 170 car-and van-loads of foodand supplies to RedHook, the Rock-aways, Coney Islandand Occupy Sandy’s two city-wide distribution centers:Sunset Park’s Jacobi Churchand 520 Clinton Avenue.

How did all of this happen?

Coop Members Step into the Breach

On Thursday morning,three days after Sandy, Coopmember Chanelle Elainestarted the ball rolling whenshe approached PSFC staffmembers about how toinvolve the Coop in Sandy

relief . She learned that,while the Coop couldn’tmake an actual donation, itwas f ine for members to

organize a drive.Chanelle was

volunteering inthe Rockaways,so Carolina Kroon

stepped in toopen up the now-famous table.She didn’t yetk n o w

that OccupySandy was set-

ting up distributioncenters, so that firstnight’s donations werekept at her apartmentand sent to the Rock-aways with friends thenext day.

On Friday, the second dayof operations,enough food wascollected to fill

three vans, apickup truckand a station

wagon. Thanks tonew team member

Phoebe Berg, the foodwent out to the OccupySandy hubs, where it wasused to make thousands ofhot meals that were takenstraight to Zone A. And bySunday night, 50 to 60 morecar- and van-loads of dona-tions, mostly from PSFCmembers, were collectedand distributed by a volun-teer staff of tablers and dri-vers who used their ownvehicles—and gas!

The not-so-motley crew ofCoop women that quickly

formed to run this effortinclude Phoebe Berg (archivistand activist), Chanelle Elaine(a writer/producer at think-feel.tv), Carolina Kroon (pho-tographer and veteran of theLesbian Avengers), Jezra Kaye(public-speaking coach), JennaRitter (a teacher of yoga forhealing and stress relief), Har-riet Taber (a linguist by train-ing), Jen Wanous (chef) andJulie Hollar.

Our goal hasbeen to (a) makeit easy for PSFCmembers todonate; (b) get asmany donationsas possible towhere they wouldbe of most use; and(c ) do it in a waythat protects the Coop fromhaving its shelves stripped bygenerous members. Thiswouldn’t have been possiblewithout the support of sever-al Coop staff, and we want togive special shout-outs to JoeHoltz and Dalia Yarrow.

Kudos as well to the manyvolunteers who joined us.With their help, the tablewas staffed, pickups werescheduled, signs were made,donations were sorted andturnaround time was kept toa minimum. In fact, donationswere collected and delivered foreight hours a day for 10 daysstraight without interruption.

This didn’t go unnoticed.When Carolina, who alsovolunteered at an Occupyhub, mentioned that shehad been working at theCoop, she was told, “Youguys are a legend!”

What’s Next for The Donations Table?

Lots of people are askingwhat’s next for this effort.

“That’ll depend on whatwe see and hear on theground,” says organizerPhoebe Berg. “We might beback at the Coop by the timethis article appears. Or wemight set up in front of ahardware or building sup-plies store.”

Whatever happens, though,PSFC members can beproud that—in addition tothe individual volunteeringthat hundreds of Coopmembers have done—we’veplayed a collective and coopera-tive role in Hurricane Sandyrelief efforts. ■

Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NY November 29, 2012 � 3


Tabling for Hurricane Sandy DonationsBy Jezra Kaye, Jenna Ritter and Harriet Taber

Coop members Gabriela Ammann, Jenna Ritter and Jezra Kaye lend a hand at the Coop’sSandy-relief donation table on Sunday, Nov 4—day three of ten days of donations.

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Three vans, a station wagon and a pick-up full of largely Coop-donated food/supplies landsat the lobby of 7400 Shorefront in the Far Rockaways on Saturday, Nov. 3, to distribute tothose in need.

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Ottolenghi had a master’sdegree in philosophy and lit-erature, but after taking acourse at the famed culinaryschool Le Cordon Bleu, hedecided to pursue a career incooking. Tamimi, however,always knew he would work ina kitchen. His first job, at age15, was at the Mount ZionHotel, which, he told Gourmetmagazine in 2009, was the“lowliest and hardest job inany kitchen.”

Different Tongues, But a Shared Palate

That extraordinary story—how two men from Jerusalem,one Arab, the other Jewish,met in London and went onto create one of the mostpopular restaurants in theonce culinary bereft city—isthe genesis of their first cook-book. But why they have bothcommitted their life’s work tocooking is the reason theywrote the second one. Asthey write in the openingpages of Jerusalem, “Every-thing we taste and everything

we cook is filtered throughthe prism of our childhoodexperiences: foods our moth-ers fed us, wild herbs pickedon school trips, days spent inmarkets…. Fresh pita withground lamb, chopped pars-ley, chopped liver, black figs,smoky chops, syrupy cakes,crumbly cookies.” The linemakes me hungry, the bookmakes me want to cook.

Jerusalem’s introductionbegins with an anecdoteabout both authors’ favoriterecipe in the collection: “asimple couscous with tomatoand onion based on a dish bySami’s mum, Na’ama.” It thendescribes a similar dish thatYotam’s father made. Sincethe Ottolenghis are part Ital-ian, the recipe called for smallpasta balls called ptitim.“Both versions,” the authorswrite, “were beautifully com-forting and delicious.” Thissingle dish highlights how anancient and complex city ishome to an extraordinary culi-nary tradition born from thecrisscrossing of cultures, anintermingling catalogued in asection called “JerusalemFood,” which lists RussianOrthodox priests; PolishHasidic Jews; nonorthodoxJews from Libya, from Tunisia,from France; Palestinian Mus-lims from the West Bank; andSephardim from Morocco. Oh,and Russian nuns, too. Andthis is only a small samplingof the groups who have calledthe place home.

“Food has the potential of creating some sort of

healing.”

“Confusing?” the introduc-tion asks before setting thepremise for the book and itsintention: “This is Jerusalem ina nutshell.” Both authorsrealized when first meetingand now, more than a decadelater, that “the flavors andsmells of this city are ourmother tongue.” During thehour-long discussion at BethElohim, Yotam and Samitalked about that language asboth grew up with cumin andcardamom, pomegranatesand okra, ground lamb andza’atar. Burnt eggplant saladsare popular in both cultures,as are semolina cakes, andboth men admit they canweep over a perfect hum-mus—and include a recipe inthe book. The short recipefollows a two-page introduc-tion in which a pull quoteoffers a hopeful anecdote tothe recent controversy at theCoop over the sale of Israeli-produced hummus. “It takesa giant leap of faith, but we

are happy to take it,” theauthors claim, “to imaginehummus would bring Jerusa-lemites together, if nothingelse will.” They also remi-nisce about the perfectcucumber tomato salad—called Arab or Israeli depend-ing on point of view, but asboth authors point out,equally delicious all the same.

Two Cultures Can Sit At the Same Table

This is the narrative threadof Jerusalem, where all of therecipes, regardless of theirconflicting cultural heritage,often use the same ingredi-ents to make exquisite food.During the Q and A session ofthe Beth Elohim event, pre-sented by Brooklyn by theBook and co-sponsored bythe synagogue and ParkSlope’s Community Book-store, a young woman askedabout the power of food tobring people together. Yotamwas the first to respond. “Wetry not to be naïve,” he said,“but we do think that food isthe one thing people sharewithout knowing it. Jews andArabs don’t go to the sameschools or work in the sameplaces, but they do eat thesame food.” Sami spoke next,adding, “Food has the poten-tial of creating some sort ofhealing.”

Jerusalem is both a stunningcookbook—with mouth-watering recipes such asLamb Stuffed Quince withPomegranate and Cilantroand Charred Okra with Toma-to, Garlic and PreservedLemon, accompanied bystunningly vibrant photo-graphs—as well as a love let-

ter to the city where eachman grew up and first learnedto love and celebrate food. Itincludes a history of the city,which gives both cultures’perspectives, including aboutthe 1947 war. As the authorsexplain, “This war has differ-ent names: for the Jews, it isthe War of Independence…for Arabs, however, it is calleda nakba, ‘the catastrophe’.”

The authors write abouttheir real reason for collabo-rating on the cookbook. Theauthors hope, “perhaps naive-ly” they admit, that the citycan be “acknowledged by allas part of the world’s her-itage—and provide the key forsharing, acceptance and co-existence.” And what betterway to start working towardthat goal than through food?

I bought Jerusalem as Ientered the book event thatWednesday night and flippedthrough its pages as theauthors sat on stage withRozanne Gold, the event’smoderator and a cookbooklegend in her own right. Thefollowing day, I decided tomake the roasted cauliflowerand hazelnut salad and thechicken sofrito. A couple ofdays later, I made the turkeyzucchini meatballs.

I had left the synagoguewith my signed copy ofJerusalem, delighted that Ialready had Ottolenghi’sarsenal and excited to getcooking. “Enjoy the cook-book!” he wrote inside, andsigned next to his coauthor,Tamimi. I was all ready. Notonly savoring the recipes, butperhaps more so the senti-ment that food really doeshave the power to heal. ■



Crossword Puzzle

Puzzle author: David Levinson Wilk. For answers, see page .

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13 14 15

16 17 18

19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30 31

32 33 34 35 36

37 38 39

40 41 42

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46 47 48 49 50 51

52 53 54

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61 62 63

64 65 66

Across1. Org. of Cubs and Eagles4. Tip ____7. TV show named after the sounddonkeys make13. Paddle14. Suffix with Taiwan15. Arugula alternative16. 1973 horror flick about humans whochange into snakes18. Refers (to)19. “Ask me anything”20. Buster of ESPN22. “Life of Pi” author Martel23. Couple24. Coup d’____28. 1965 Roy Lichtenstein painting thatdepicts an angry dog32. Rm. coolers35. Flemish painter Jan van ____36. Without breaking a sweat37. Theatergoer’s choice39. Actress Cates and others40. How Rome wasn’t built41. Tiki torch setting42. Ballpark fig.43. Line delivered by Jennifer Lopez in“Gigli” just after she says “It’s turkeytime”46. “As I Lay Dying” father47. Preschool basics48. They’re plucked at a 41-Across52. It’s plucked in “Norwegian Wood”54. Battle line55. Addition to a musical staff59. Lyric repeatedly heard in the 1978 hitsong “Werewolves of London”61. Conceived of62. Prevailed63. USPS delivery64. Word appearing in the first sentenceof the bestselling novel “The Secret Life ofBees”65. Trailblazed66. Witness

Down1. Giving orders2. One of the Obamas3. Bad lighting?4. Kid around5. Balloonhead6. It may be renewable7. You can dig it8. “Little” girl in “David Copperfield”9. Mer flow10. Squirreled away11. What a Tennessee cheerleader asksfor a lot?12. “Rushmore” director Anderson15. Time off, casually17. “Yesterday” or “Tomorrow”21. Pleasant diversion23. One that’s hard to find at a tearjerker24. Scottish tongue25. “Survivor” unit26. City on the Rhone27. Romantic rendezvous29. Kidney-related30. Dries out, in a way31. “High Sierra” director Walsh32. Guadalajara girlfriend33. Church law34. Pierces38. “____ delighted!”39. Journey from bar to bar41. 2009 Shakira hit whose Englishversion is titled “She Wolf”44. Like some communities45. It began circulating in 200249. Cigarettes once pitched by a cartoonpenguin50. Cybermemo51. Bodega, e.g.52. ____ bath53. “Mockingbird” singer Foxx54. Enamored (of)55. Show ____56. Carpenter’s tool57. Ian Frazier book “On the ____”58. ____-Boy recliner60. Weed whacker

JerusalemC O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 1

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Puzzle author: David Levinson Wilk. For answers, see page 15.

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By Willow Lawson

It’s crossed the minds ofmore than a few Park Slope

Food Coop members: whynot trade that dreary officejob for paid work in the aislesof 782 Union Street?

Although some membersdread fulfilling their Coopworkslot requirement, othersderive a particular kind ofcontentment from fillingthose dairy cooler slots orhacking at a wheel of Parme-san in the basement. (And ifyou have the patience of Job,answering the phone in theMembership Office.) Formany members, it’s one ofthe rare times in a day whenone’s efforts can be mea-sured in a tangible way—soup cans shelved versuse-mails sent.

PSFC Staffers ComeFrom Varied WorkBackgrounds

The Coop has long been alifeline to members seeking alife change. The current staffincludes two former bar-tenders, a hospital worker, aVerizon technician, an operasinger, an audio-book editor,a seamstress, a lightingdesigner and a preschoolteacher. Just to name a few.

Debbie Parker, a Member-ship Coordinator on theCoop’s second floor, left acareer as a photography labtechnician 13 years ago. Ini-tially, the PSFC job wasappealing because sheearned full benefits eventhough she started out work-ing part time.

Working at the PSFC HasIts Benefits, in Many Ways

The Coop continues toexceed the expectations thatmost New Yorkers have of anemployer. Today, the Coopoffers health insurance, adental plan, a pension planand an employee- funded401(k) plan and three weeksof vacation to workers juststarting out. Vacation timeis bumped up after a work-er’s fourth, seventh andtenth years, maxing out atfive weeks per year. Exceptfor the nine General Coordi-nators and the three ITCoordinators, who earnsalaries, all Coop Coordina-tors earn the same hourlyrate, regardless of seniority.Right now, that rate is$25.29 per hour, plus over-time after 40 hours. That’smore than $50,000 a year if a

staffer works full time.That rate usually goes up

annually. “Historically, wehave tried to upgrade thesalary in relation to the annu-al COLA [Cost of LivingAdjustment] issued by thegovernment for the NY Metroarea, but that salary upgradeis not guaranteed,” JessRobinson, one of the GeneralCoordinators, wrote in an e-mail. “We don’t considerthose upgrades raises per se,since the point of them is toensure that staff members’salary does not become rela-tively less valuable in rela-tion to the cost of living.”

“I love this giant anthropology experiment

I work in.”

Other perks can include aflexible schedule and gener-ous amount of parentalleave, although it is unpaid.

The Coop’s pay is certain-ly a livable wage for mostparts of the country, butParker said new Coopstaffers can rarely afford tolive in Park Slope. BothRobinson and Parker live inSunset Park. There are fewstaffers that have the luxuryof walking to work.

The best part of the job isthe friendships amongcoworkers, Parker said. “It’s ahard job to leave,” she said.“Sometimes people leaveand come back. The Coop is agood employer.”

Wanted: A Sense ofHumor and ProvenAbility to Multitask

It’s not a shock to memberswho pay attention that theCoop also asks a lot of itsemployees. The latest adver-tisement, posted in Novem-ber, puts the many demandson office staffers in stark relief:

Applicants must haveexcellent people skil ls,excellent communicationand organizational skills aswell as patience, comfortwith computers and com-puter technology, and theability to do detailed recordkeeping. Applicants shouldbe able to remain calm inhectic surroundings, over-see the work of others, teachand explain procedures, del-egate work, give feedback,pay attention to severalthings at once and maintainhigh standards of accuracy.

So given the frenetic

nature of the job, which qualities are required? “Asense of humor, just to light-en your day,” said Parker. “It’sa great job, but if you wearyour heart on your sleeve,you could go home prettyupset sometimes.”

The learning curve issteep, even for new stafferswho have been longtimeCoop members and knowwhat makes the organizationtick. (Membership for at leastsix months is required ofapplicants.) Parker said itmight take a year for a newworker to feel comfortableand confident in the Mem-bership Office.

Receiving Coordinatorsstart out shadowing a col-league to learn the rhythmsof the delivery schedulesand how to best move theproducts onto the shoppingfloor. They can expect to

receive regular feedback onhow to improve their perfor-mance. For new staffers, theCoop has the right to termi-nate an employee within thefirst six months of employ-ment in case a new hire isn’ta good fit or up to the job.But Parker says that hasrarely happened.

Competition for Coop jobsis hefty. For one job opening,the office regularly receivesmore than 50 resumes. Thoseselected for the next roundmeet with three to fivestaffers in the second-floorconference room for an inter-view. Membership Coordina-tors run not only the Coop’sadministration, they alsoprovide technical supportand expertise on the shop-ping floor.

When asked what she’d

want to convey to the mem-bership about the Coop staff,Parker hesitated for amoment, then said, “Some-times there can be a lack ofrespect from memberstoward the staff. That is a bigobstacle.” She went on to saythat when things get hectic inthe Coop’s small space, frus-trated members often directtheir anger at staffers. It’sworth reminding membersthat staffers are not the

enemy, she said. Everyone isworking to make the Coopthe best it can be.

What makes up for thedifficulties on the job arethe interesting and fun peo-ple the staffers work with,said Parker.

Eric Vasquez, a ReceivingCoordinator who has been onstaff at the Coop for nearlyfive years agreed: “I love thisgiant anthropology experi-ment I work in. It’s fun.” ■

Receiving Coordinator Lisa Hidem, along with her “linereader,” receive Krasdale’s weekly afternoon delivery.

Toughest Job You’ll Ever Love?Coop Staffers Are Devoted to This Crazy Place, Get Dental Insurance

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FROM THE ARCHIVES

Happy 5th and 15th Birthday, Park Slope Food Coop!

In 1978, the Coop celebrated its fifthanniversary with a party. Ten years later,Allen Zimmerman entertained thecrowd at the Coop’s 15th birthday party.Photographs of these events, along withmany others in our history, are part ofthe Coop’s archives. The Archives Com-mittee has been organizing and scan-ning an eclectic collection of Linewaiters’Gazette photos and snapshots and will besharing a sampling in each issue leadingup to the Coop’s 40th birthday celebra-tion in Spring 2013.

We would love member responsesabout these photos—details about theevents, names of the people shown, andyour memories—and we will publishsome in future columns. We will also beasking members to submit their ownsnapshots and memorabilia to the Cooparchives in a later issue. Stay tuned formore information and sharing guidelines.

Please send your comments, questions,and memories to [email protected].

—Archives Committee

Help the Queens Harvest Food Co-opbring sustainable and affordablefood options to Queens and earnFTOP hours at the same time.

The Queens Harvest Buying Club is looking for volunteers to help during our monthly distributions.

If you love farmers, fresh foods, conversation, and arithmetic,then spend a couple hours with the crew and get to know us

(and Queens!) a little better.

We are a monthly buying club and need volunteers,Monday, November 19, between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.

We could use extra hands during the following shifts:• Morning Shifts—Setup, Data Entry, Receiving, Inventory• Afternoon Shifts—Receiving, Data Entry, Kitchen Prep, Packing• Evening Shifts—Packing, Data Entry, Cleaning, Breakdown

Our distribution site is St. Jacobus Lutheran Church, in Woodside, which is just three blocks from the Roosevelt Ave.

stop (E/F/R/M/7 trains) in the heart of Jackson Heights.

Interested in volunteering? E-mail us: [email protected]

If you are interested in the history of the Coop or in when and how particular subjects have been

discussed in the Gazette...

Send an e-mail to Len Neufeld, Gazette indexer, [email protected], to request PDF files of

either or both of the following indexes:

◆ An alphabetized list of the titles of all articles published in theGazette from 1995 to the present, with issue dates.

◆ An alphabetized list of all subjects (including people’s names) discussed in Gazette articles from 1995–99 and 2001 to the present,

with article titles, issue dates, and page numbers (subjects for the year 2000 are being added).

Many of the Gazette issues referenced in these indexes are available as PDFs on the Coop’s website.

What Is That? How Do I Use It?

Ask Me QuestionsAbout Coop Foods

Monday, December 10, 12 to 2:45 p.m.Monday, December 17, 12 to 2:45 p.m.

You can join in any time during a question-and-answer session

on the shopping floor.

Look for tour leaders in produce aisle.

PSFC IT is looking for several Coop members to help build a Membership application for one of the coops that the Park Slope Food Coop has been advising. Workers will receive FTOP credit.

Skills:◆ PHP programming

◆ SQL commands◆ Experience with FormBoss

(RackForms) is a big plus.

Work Expectation:◆ At least 30 hours over asix-month period of time.

◆ Note: Our work requirementsare about 36 hours per year

per household adult.If you are interested in this initiative,please send your resume or details ofyour relevant work experience to the

following e-mail address: [email protected]

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By Eric Daniel Metzgar

As part of the EnvironmentalCommittee’s effort to educate

other members about ways to shopwithout plastic bags, committeemembers created a short film calledThe Shopper, loosely inspired by TheArtist. The film portrays a typicalCoop member, played by Ilyana,shopping for produce and bulk, andlearning about alternatives to plas-tic. The following is a conversationbetween Ilyana and Eric, two Envi-ronmental Committee members.

Eric: So, Ilyana, what inspired thecreation of the short film The Shopper?

Ilyana: When I first joined theCoop, I was very mindful about whatkind of food I bought and ate butless so about my “shopping prac-tices” at the Coop. I didn’t thinkabout how I was taking the food out ofthe Coop. After hearing some of theresearch done by the EnvironmentalCommittee about the effects of usingall those plastic bags, I decided todo some experiments during myshopping. I realized that I had otheroptions, and I didn’t allow myself tokeep grabbing all those “free” plasticbags! The Shopper film is about meand all those shoppers like me whoneeded a wake-up call about shop-ping without so much plastic.

Eric: Can you tell me about theexperiments you tried during yourshopping?

Ilyana: For example, I wanted tosee if I could shop for my producewithout using those plastic-rollbags. So I used just my own Chicoand reusable bags. I must admit Icaught myself a few times going forthe plastic bags out of habit. But Iwould keep bringing myself back bysaying to myself just put that head ofbroccoli in your Chico bag. I knew that Icould wash these bags in the laundrywhen I got home, so I didn’t have toworry about germs or dirt. I also triednot buy any produce that was

prepackaged in a plastic container.Eric: Easier said than done, right?

I think most everyone is aware thatplastic and packaging is wastefuland environmentally detrimental,yet when we’re in the Coop racingaround to grab our food, dammit,nobody better slow us down or get inour way! We all want the quickestand most effortless shopping experi-ence possible. And when we’re inthis mindset, plastic seems like agodsend. It’s “free.” It’s light. It’s see-through. Just throw everything in, gohome, toss it in the fridge, pull it outlater and chuck the plastic bag.Voila! Easy enough. But . . . as we’relearning in the course of our manyenvironmental battles, the conve-nience-based mindset is blind to thelong view, and thus very dangerousand damaging.

Ilyana: Yep. And in the film TheShopper we had a living example of that“long-view shopper” by having a literalperson, played by Jenna S., to keepguiding me during my shopping andoffering me that long view as opposedto the quick-and-easy-for-meapproach that we can all fall prey to.

Eric: So in practical terms, whatdoes a mindful shopping routinelook like, from home to Coop tohome again?

Ilyana: Mindful shopping startswith a list! If you can plan ahead a bitand know what you want to buy, thismay help you bring the reusable bagsyou need for those items! Next, whenin an aisle at Coop, you may feel anxi-ety and pressure to finish your shopas fast as you can, overwhelmed bythe crowds and lines and choices. Butbefore you reach for a plastic bag, takea beat. Consider if you might be ableto use a reusable bag, or no bag at all,or a box. This mindfulness means youare thinking in real time and consider-ing the impact of your shopping rou-tine.

Eric: So I heard the film screened at

a GM meeting? How was the response?Ilyana: Yes. We thought what bet-

ter way to spark a conversation thanto illustrate visually what we aretalking about. When it screened, theCoop members really enjoyed it andfound it funny. It was also bloggedabout, even reaching the HuffingtonPost and New York Observer, amongother outlets. So overall, it had agreat response.

Eric: And if someone wasn’t at theGM when The Shopper was shown,where can they see it now?

Ilyana: On the Environmental Commit-tee blog at www.ecokvetch.blogspot.com/2012/02/shopper.html.

Eric: And now, the most importantquestion. Since your starring role inThe Shopper, have you been recognizedin the street or in the Coop?

Ilyana: Yes, on the subway of allplaces, and it made me feel good, likea proud Coop member! ■

To learn more about the EnvironmentalCommittee and their mission, you can visit:www.ecokvetch.blogspot.com.



Are you a novelist, poet, playwright,

songwriter, essayist, journalist, or blogger?

Are you looking for a forum where you can

promote your work or get feedback?

Do you want to moderate a panel or

teach a writers’ workshop?

Do you want to meet fellow Coop writers?

Wordsprouts, the Park Slope Food Coop’s reading series,is looking for writers who are members of the Coop.

Even if you’re not ready to commit to an upcoming event,drop us a line and let us know you’re out there!

E-mail [email protected].

To receive workslot credit for attending themonthly General Meeting, members must sign up in

advance in one of the following three ways:

◆ On the Coop’s website(www.foodcoop.com)

◆ Add your name to the sign-up sheet in the ground-floor elevator lobby

◆ Call the Membership Office

Follow the Food Coop on

@foodcoop

E N V I R O N M E N T A L C O M M I T T E E R E P O R T

Making ‘The Shopper’

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COOP HOURS

Office Hours:Monday through Thursday

8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.Friday & Saturday

8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.Shopping Hours:

Monday–Friday8:00 a.m. to 10:00* p.m.

Saturday6:00 a.m. to 10:00* p.m.

Sunday6:00 a.m. to 7:30* p.m.

*Shoppers must be on a checkout line 15 minutes after closing time.

Childcare Hours:Monday through Sunday

8:00 a.m. to 8:45 p.m.Telephone:

718-622-0560Web address:

www.foodcoop.com

This Issue Prepared By:Coordinating Editors: Stephanie Golden

Erik Lewis

Editors (development): Diane AronsonPetra Lewis

Reporters: Willow LawsonLily RothmanLiz Welch

Art Director (development): Patrick Mackin

Illustrators: M. ColemanDiane Himmelbaum

Photographers: William FarringtonTravis Hartman

Traffic Manager: Barbara Knight

Thumbnails: Mia Tran

Preproduction: Sura Wagman

Photoshop: Steve Farnsworth

Art Director (production): Lauren Dong

Desktop Publishing: Joe BanishDavid Mandl

Editor (production): Lynn Goodman

Puzzle Master: David Levinson Wilk

Final Proofreader: Teresa Theophano

Index: Len Neufeld

Advertising: Mary Robb

Deborah Shelton weaves together an evening of jazz,

poetry and improvisation, bringing soulful words and

sounds into the deep December dark. With her warm

voice and adventuresome and improvisational spirit,

she offers a mix of poetry set to jazz, live multi-tracked

vocals and poems, original compositions and poetic

lyrics. With Cynthia Hiltz, piano; Alexis Cuadrado, bass;

Lily White, sax; and Todd Isler, drums.

Friday, Dec 21, 8:00 p.m.

Jen Chapin’s music is urban folk: story songs that search

for community and shared meaning, powered by the

funk, soul and improvisation of the city. Critics have hailed

her work as “brilliant...soulfully poetic” (NPR), “thoughtful...

worth-savoring” (People), “addictive” (Boston Globe), “smart,

observant, lyrically deft, politically aware and emotionally

intuitive” (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).

www.ProspectConcerts.tumblr.com

53 Prospect Park West [at 2nd Street] • $10 • 8pm [doors open at 7:45]Performers are Park Slope Food Coop members and receive Coop workslot credit.

Booking: Bev Grant, 718-788-3741

The Linewaiters’ Gazette is published biweekly by the Park SlopeFood Coop, Inc., 782 Union Street, Brooklyn, New York 11215.

Opinions expressed here may be solely the views of the writer. TheGazette will not knowingly publish articles that are racist, sexist, or oth-erwise discriminatory.

The Gazette welcomes Coop-related articles, and letters from members.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINESAll submissions must include author’s name and phone number andconform to the following guidelines. Editors will reject letters andarticles that are illegible or too long. Submission deadlines appearin the Coop Calendar opposite.

Letters: Maximum 500 words. All letters will be printed if theyconform to the guidelines above. The Anonymity and Fairnesspolicies appear on the letters page in most issues.

Voluntary Articles: Maximum 750 words. Editors will reject articlesthat are essentially just advertisements for member businesses andservices.

Committee Reports: Maximum 1,000 words.

Editor-Writer Guidelines: Except for letters to the editor, whichare published without editing but are subject to the Gazette letterspolicy regarding length, anonymity, respect, and fairness, allsubmissions to the Linewaiters' Gazette will be reviewed and ifnecessary edited by the editor. In their review, editors are guidedby the Gazette's Fairness and Anonymity policies as well as stan-dard editorial practices of grammatical review, separation of factfrom opinion, attribution of factual statements, and rudimentaryfact checking. Writers are responsible for the factual content oftheir stories. Editors must make a reasonable effort to contactand communicate with writers regarding any proposed editorialchanges. Writers must make a reasonable effort to respond toand be available to editors to confer about their articles. If thereis no response after a reasonable effort to contact the writer, aneditor, at her or his discretion, may make editorial changes to asubmission without conferring with the writer.

Submissions on Paper: Typed or very legibly handwritten andplaced in the wallpocket labeled "Editor" on the second floor at thebase of the ramp.

Digital Submissions: We welcome digital submissions. Dropdisks in the wallpocket described above. The email address forsubmissions is [email protected]. Receipt of yoursubmissions will be acknowledged on the deadline day.

Classified & Display Ads: Ads may only be placed by and on behalfof Coop members. Classified ads are prepaid at $15 per insertion,business card ads at $30. (Ads in the “Merchandise–Non-commercial”category are free.) All ads must be written on a submission form(available in a wallpocket on the first floor near the elevator). Classi-fied ads may be up to 315 characters and spaces. Display ads mustbe camera-ready and business card size (2"x3.5").

Printed by: Tri-Star Offset, Maspeth, NY.

P L A S T I C S

RECY

LING

Monthly on the...Second Saturday

December 810:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.

Third ThursdayDecember 20

7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.Last Sunday

December 3010:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.

On the sidewalk in front of the receivingarea at the Coop.

What plastics do we accept?Until further notice:

• #1 and #6 type non-bottle shaped contain-ers, transparent only, labels ok

• Plastic film and bubble wrap, transparentonly, no colored or opaque, no labels

• #5 plastic cups, tubs, and specificallymarked caps and lids, very clean and dry(discard any with paper labels, or cut off)

•NOTE: We are no longer accepting #2 or #4 type plastics.

PLASTIC MUST BE COMPLETELY CLEAN & DRY

We close up promptly. Please arrive 15 minutes prior to the

collection end time to allow for inspection andsorting of your plastic.

29-11-29 p1-16_Layout 1 11/28/12 4:13 PM

Attend a GMand Receive Work Credit

Since the Coop’s inception in 1973, the GeneralMeeting has been our decision-making body. At theGeneral Meeting (GM) members gather to makedecisions and set Coop policy. The General-Meeting-for-workslot-credit program was created to increaseparticipation in the Coop’s decision-making process.

Following is an outline of the program. For full details, seethe instruction sheets by the sign-up board.

• Advance Sign-up required:To be eligible for workslot credit, you must add your

name to the sign-up sheet in the elevator lobby. The sign-ups sheet is available all month long, except for the day ofthe meeting when you have until 5 p.m. to sign up. On theday of the meeting, the sign-up sheet is kept in theMembership Office.

Some restrictions to this program do apply. Please seebelow for details.

• Two GM attendance credits per year:Each member may take advantage of the GM-for-

workslot-credit program two times per calendar year.

• Certain Squads not eligible:Eligible: Shopping, Receiving/ Stocking, Food

Processing, Office, Maintenance, Inventory, Construction,and FTOP committees. (Some Committees are omittedbecause covering absent members is too difficult.)

• Attend the entire GM:In order to earn workslot credit you must be present

for the entire meeting.

• Signing in at the Meeting: 1. After the meeting the Chair will provide the

Workslot Credit Attendance Sheet.2.Please also sign in the attendance book that is

passed around during the meeting.

• Being Absent from the GM:It is possible to cancel without penalty. We do ask that

you remove your name if you know cannot attend. Pleasedo not call the Membership Office with GM cancellations.

Park Slope Food CoopMission Statement

The Park Slope Food Coop is a mem-ber-owned and operated food store—analternative to commercial profit-orientedbusiness. As members, we contribute ourlabor: working together builds trustthrough cooperation and teamwork andenables us to keep prices as low as possi-ble within the context of our values andprinciples. Only members may shop, andwe share responsibilities and benefitsequally. We strive to be a responsible andethical employer and neighbor. We are abuying agent for our members and not aselling agent for any industry. We are a partof and support the cooperative movement.We offer a diversity of products with anemphasis on organic, minimally pro-cessed and healthful foods. We seek toavoid products that depend on theexploitation of others. We support non-toxic, sustainable agriculture. We respectthe environment. We strive to reduce theimpact of our lifestyles on the world weshare with other species and future genera-tions. We prefer to buy from local, earth-friendly producers. We recycle. We try tolead by example, educating ourselves andothers about health and nutrition, coopera-tion and the environment. We are com-mitted to diversity and equality. Weoppose discrimination in any form. Westrive to make the Coop welcoming andaccessible to all and to respect the opin-ions, needs and concerns of every member.



Our Governing Structure From our inception in 1973 to the present, the openmonthly General Meetings, to which all members areinvited, have been at the center of the Coop’s decision-making process. Since the Coop incorporated in 1977, wehave been legally required to have a Board of Directors.The Coop continued the tradition of General Meetings byrequiring the Board to have open meetings and to receivethe advice of the members at General Meetings. TheBoard of Directors, which is required to act legally andresponsibly, has approved almost every General Meetingdecision at the end of every General Meeting. Boardmembers are elected at the Annual Meeting in June.Copies of the Coop’s bylaws are available on the CoopWeb site, foodcoop.com, at the Coop Community Cornerand at every General Meeting.

Next Meeting: Tuesday, December 18*, 7:00 p.m.The General Meeting is held on the last Tuesday of eachmonth. *Exception for December.

Location MS 51, 350 Fifth Ave., between Fourth and Fifth Sts.Enter on Fourth St. cul-de-sac. Fourth St. entrance ishandicap-accessible.

How to Place an Item on the AgendaIf you have something you’d like discussed at a GeneralMeeting, please complete a submission form for theAgenda Committee. Forms are available on the Coop Website, foodcoop.com, in the rack near the Coop CommunityCorner bulletin board and at General Meetings. Instructionsand helpful information on how to submit an item appearon the submission form. The Agenda Committee meets onthe first Tuesday of each month to plan the agenda for theGM held on the last Tuesday of the month. If you have aquestion, please call Ann Herpel at the Coop.

Meeting FormatWarm Up (7:00 p.m.) • Meet the Coordinators • Enjoy some Coop snacks • Submit Open Forum items • Explore meeting literatureOpen Forum (7:15 p.m.) Open Forum is a time formembers to bring brief items to the General Meeting. Ifan item is more than brief, it can be submitted to theAgenda Committee as an item for a future GM.Reports (7:30 p.m.) • Financial Report • Coordinators’Report • Committee ReportsAgenda (8:00 p.m.) The agenda is posted on theCoop Web site, foodcoop.com, the Coop CommunityCorner and may also appear elsewhere in this issue.Wrap Up (9:30-9:45) (unless there is a vote to extendthe meeting) • Board of Directors’ vote • Meeting evalua-tion • Announcements, etc.

A l l A b o u t t h eG e n e r a l M e e t i n gC O O P CA L E N D A R

New Member OrientationsAttending an Orientation is the first step toward

Coop membership. Pre-registration is required forall of the three weekly New Member Orientations. To pre-register, visit foodcoop.com or contact theMembership Office. Visit in person or call 718-622-0560 during office hours.

Have questions about Orientation? Please visitwww.foodcoop.com and look at the “Join the Coop”page for answers to frequently asked questions.

The Coop on the Internetwww.foodcoop.com

The Coop on Cable TVInside the Park Slope Food CoopFRIDAYS 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Channels: 56 (Time-Warner), 69 (CableVision), 84 (RCN), 44 (Verizon),and live streaming on the Web: www.bricartsmedia.org/community-media/bcat-tv-network.

General Meeting Info

TUE, DECEMBER 4AGENDA SUBMISSIONS: 8:00 p.m.

Submissions will be considered for the Dec 18

General Meeting.

TUE, DECEMBER 18GENERAL MEETING: 7:00 p.m.

Gazette Deadlines

LETTERS & VOLUNTARY ARTICLES:Dec 13 issue: 12:00 p.m., Mon, Dec 3

Dec 27 issue: 12:00 p.m., Mon, Dec 17

CLASSIFIED ADS DEADLINE:Dec 13 issue: 7:00 p.m., Wed, Dec 5

Dec 27 issue: 7:00 p.m., Wed, Dec 19

WELCOME!

A warm welcome to these new Coop members who have joined us in the last two weeks. We’re glad you’ve decided to be a part of our community.

Nicole Abahuni

Omar Aithellal

Samia Aithellal

Zahra Ali

Fabrizio Barbagelata

Paul Boothe

Peter Buettner

Sean Byrnes

Zoe Carey

Fran Champagne

Diana Dellamere

Hannah Diamond

Brent Dickinson

Sarah Dickinson

Yael Doron

Samantha Earl

Nicole L. Falloon

Paul Ferris

Theresa Freet

Marine Futin

Cecilia Galarraga

Kikki Ghezzi

Earl Gordon

Daniel Gould

Jesse Greer

Jai Griem

John Griem

Anna Griniuk

Meredith Holch

Naimah Jack

Anne Johnson

Evan Kaplan

Mie Kjaergaard

Michael Kosak

Peter Kronreif

Carolynn Laurenza

Brian Levine

Bara Levitt

Rufina Litvak

Jenny K Maguire

Claire Mahler

Frank Manheim

Deborah Marcuse

Bonnie Mazza

Christopher Mazza

Holly Messitt

Hannah Moore

Shiri Mordechay

Jeanine Oleson

Tasha Parker

Valerie Parker

Saumil Patel

Alan Phillips

Karla Pippa

Tony Plate

Daniel Popadynec

Owais Rafiq

Shannon Roberts

Dana Schmitt

Chany Schonberger

Chris Schrempp

Sebastian Schwark

Jason Schweid

Erica Shapiro

Michael Shapiro

Mayer Silber

Yotam Silberstein

Kevin Smith

Mayuko Soga

Joshua Sperling

Margaret Paige Spiker

Brandi Sundby

Jean Sung

Nico Syverson

Larysa Szanc Smarsh

Jillian Tate

James Tolan

Peter Traunmueller

Stuart van Leenen

Rhea Ward

Susan West

Sarah Whalen

Topher Wheeler

David White

Juliet Widoff

Vitus Wieser

Katherine Wilson

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See What the PAFCU OffersRepresentatives from People’s Alliance Federal Credit Union will be at the ParkSlope Food Coop in the Meeting Room to sign up members for credit union mem-bership. Learn about: $5 minimum savings balance; loans starting at 2.99%; holi-day club account; debit/Visa cards; mobile/text message banking; no-fee checking;Internet banking; kids’ accounts; vacation club accounts. Any new member to openan account, any existing member to add a PAFCU product, or any member to refer anew member to the credit union will be entered to win a Drive Away VacationPackage. Stop by for a chance to win a surprise gift.


Wordsprouts: Memoir-Writing Workshop with Minkowitz

Take a free memoir-writing workshop with award-winning mem-oirist Donna Minkowitz. Author of Ferocious Romance: What MyEncounters With the Right Taught Me About Sex, God and Fury(Free Press), Donna Minkowitz has taught memoir writing and cre-

ative nonfiction since 1998, at the 92nd Street Y, The Kitchen, the World FellowshipCenter, and the In Our Own Write program of the Lesbian and Gay Community ServicesCenter. A former columnist for The Village Voice, Minkowitz has also written for The NewYork Times Book Review, Salon, New York magazine, Ms. and The Nation. You can read herblog and the first chapter of her second memoir at donnaminkowitz.wordpress.com.To book a Wordsprouts, contact Paula Bernstein, [email protected].

Preparing for ParenthoodHow to become the parents you want to be for your new baby: two doulas share their knowl-edge. You have just learned that you are pregnant. Now what? We give practical advice oneverything from what to buy to breastfeeding. We want expectant parents to feel empow-ered and ready for the birth and beyond. Come join us and bring all your questions! PamelaSmith and Lisa Cohen are both certified postpartum and birthing doulas. They are also cer-tified lactation counselors who have worked with hundreds of families.

Strategy to Ban Fracking Fluids & Pipelines in NYC

Concerned about fracking and the continued viability of New York State’s food shedand eco-systems? Heard reports that fracking fluid contaminates water supplies andcompressors pollute air? Worried about the Rockaway Pipeline and the effect itwould have on Gateway National Park? Aware that Spectra, which is laying a gaspipeline in the densely populated West Village, has a dismal safety record? Thisworkshop offers a long-range strategy based on the work of The CommunityEnvironmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) to spearhead a citizens’ initiative toamend the NYC Charter to ban fracking fluids from being trucked into NYC waste-water treatment plants, and pipelines from going through NYC neighborhoods. Thislong-range goal will support the work of existing environmental organizationsupstate and down, that are also working toward bans.

Effective Tools for Rapid Personal Transformation

Are you being present? Are you being yourself? Are you in your own reality? If you are opento transforming your old patterns of fear, worry and anxiety and leave room for joy, happi-ness and fun, it can be done. And it’s easy and fun! The body is like a magnet, and whenthese experiences are in cellular memory, the body attracts the same experiences. Doctorsand other professionals have used these techniques for daily stresses, eating disorders,robbery, rape and emotions such as anger, anxiety, fear and others. These remembrancescan destroy the quality of life if not cleared. This unique, life changing technology will bedemonstrated. Marija Santo-Sarnyai is a Geotran practitioner.

Creating Health with the Foods of the Season

Many of us strive to eat healthy, tasty and deliciously, however, to achieve optimalhealth, balance with the season and our environment and lifestyle, we need to under-stand more about the nature of food. The key is the understanding of the Energetics ofFoods. The Chinese Medicine 5 Elements System, along with its underlying Yin/ YangTheory, assists us in determining what food choices we should make. Join us for thisdiscussion on the Water Element. Dan Becker is a dietary health counselor and holisticchef. He spent four years in China studying Traditional Chinese Medicine at theNanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and has been consulting on dietwith natural foods for more than 20 years.

Meet Your MindThe fundamental nature of our mind is stable, strong and clear—yet these qualitiesbecome obscured by the stress and speed of our lives. Meditation opens and calms themind. This is a basic meditation class for beginners, and for anyone who would like arenewed understanding of the technique. Allan Novick has practiced meditation since1975. He is a meditation instructor at the New York Shambhala Center andNalandabodhi New York. He has been a Coop member for many years and has recentlyretired from his position as a school psychologist.

Agenda Committee MeetingThe Committee reviews pending agenda items and creates theagenda for this month’s General Meeting. Drop by and talk withcommittee members face-to-face between 8 and 8:15 p.m.Before submitting an item, read “How to Develop an Agenda

Item for the General Meeting” and fill out the General Meeting Agenda Item SubmissionForm, both available from the Membership Office or at foodcoop.com. The next GeneralMeeting will be held on Tuesday, December 18, 7 p.m., at MS 51, 350 Fifth Ave.,between Fourth and Fifth Sts.

Food Class:Healthy Hanukkah Treats

Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, is often celebratedwith traditional foods that are fried in oil or rolled in sugar.But not all of the holiday favorites have to be unhealthy. Whynot try something different this holiday season? Chef Mia-

Rut is a food writer, personal chef and advocate for delicious, healthy and sustain-able food. Her writing can be found in Jewcy and The Jew and the Carrot. She iscompleting her first book on Jewish cooking and is a graduate of the NaturalGourmet Institute. Menu includes: baked latkes; homemade organic apple sauce;dairy-free “sour cream”; vegetarian borscht.Materials fee: $4. Food classes are coordinated by Coop member Susan Baldassano.

nov 29thu 4–6 pm

nov 30fri 10 am–12:30 pm

nov 30fri 7 pm

dec 1sat 11 am

dec 1sat 2 pm

dec 1sat 5 pm

dec 2sun 12 pm

dec 2sun 7 pm

dec 4tue 8 pm

dec 6thu 7:30 pm

Susan Baldassano, Coordinator

For more information on these and other events, visit the Coop’s website: foodcoop.comAll events take place at the Park Slope Food Coop unless otherwise noted. Nonmembers are welcome to attend workshops.

Views expressed by the presenter do not necessarily represent the Park Slope Food Coop.

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Film Night: A Matter of Taste:Serving Up Paul LiebrandtA Matter of Taste takes an intimate look inside the world of animmensely talented and driven young chef, Paul Liebrandt. At24, he was awarded three stars by The New York Times for unfor-gettable and hyper modern dishes such as “eel, violets andchocolate,” “espuma of calf brains and foie gras,” and “beer andtruffle soup.” Critic William Grimes likened Paul to “a pianist

who seems to have found a couple of dozen extra keys.” Conversely, Gourmet criticJonathan Gold called Paul’s food “the result of a failed science experiment.” He soonbecame a chef critics loved or loved to hate. The film follows Paul over a decade andreveals his creative process in the kitchen, as well as the extreme hard work, long hours,and dedication it takes to be a culinary artist and have success in the cutthroat world ofhaute cuisine in New York City. Exploring the complicated relationships between food crit-ics, chefs and restaurant owners, the film delves into the life of an uncompromising,thought-provoking, young chef ahead of his time. Editor/producer Amy Foote is a freelanceeditor based in Brooklyn. She has been a member of the Coop for nearly 11 years.To book a Film Night, contact Faye Lederman, [email protected].

Five Element Acupuncture & The Wheel of the Year

Living in harmony with the seasons is the foundation for health and longevity inChinese medicine. This talk will explain the fundamentals of Chinese medicine theoryand the five-element tradition. How can we align ourselves and live in harmony with ourenvironment and the seasons? How can we learn from the virtues and challenges ofeach season? The transition from Fall into Winter gives us an opportunity to sink intoour deepest wisdom, potential, and freedom while letting go of what no longer servesus. There will be a talk, short meditation, discussion, and lots of great suggestionsabout how to enhance your health and well-being during this season. Sarah Chase,MAcOM, and Martha Oatis, MAcOM, are grateful Coop members and licensed acupunc-turists/herbalists practicing in the Five Element tradition of classic Chinese medicine.They will be giving these Coop talks seasonally.

Conflict ResolutionThis 90-minute workshop will help participants: reduce the stress that conflict can cre-ate; learn new techniques for changing responses to conflict from negative to positive;explore and develop individual conflict styles; and improve communication with family,friends and co-workers. We have a vision to change the way mediation and conflict res-olution are incorporated into people’s everyday lives. We believe in the power of com-munication to repair and transform broken relationships. Lisa Kass, Coop member for19 years, and her business partner Michal Bilick, are professional mediators and co-founders of Brooklyn Mediates, an organization that teaches mediation and conflict-res-olution skills throughout the borough.

Safe Food Committee Film Night:Dear Governor Cuomo...Dear Governor Cuomo… (70 min.), written and eirected byJon Bowermaster, documents the convergence of rock and roll,activism, and community on a rainy night in May, when aunique coalition of musicians, scientists and activists gath-ered in Albany, calling for a ban on hydraulic-fracturing. With

the news that Governor Andrew Cuomo might lift the moratorium on fracking in NewYork any day, the event was assembled in less than a month. Two rehearsals in 24hours, and it was show time. Under the musical direction of Natalie Merchant, theevent was filmed by Academy Award–winning documentarian Alex Gibney. The film fea-tures actors Mark Ruffalo and Melissa Leo, environmental biologist Sandra Steingraberand musicians ranging from Dan Zanes, Joan Osborne and Citizen Cope to MedeskiMartin and Wood and The Felice Brothers. Screening followed by a Q&A with CorinneRosen of NY Food & Water Watch, and special guests.



Conflict-Free HolidaysReplace holiday stress with cheer by learning how communication styles (DiSC assess-ment) can resolve conflict and build understanding. Practice key conversation skills toimprove listening and connection, to ensure the only buttons pushed are those on yournew sweater. These skills will help you in all your personal and professional relation-ships and work processes. Facilitator Linda Katz is a communication and conflict man-agement coach, and, a happy holiday survivor and Coop member.

Traditional Japanese MedicineAnd Its Health Benefits

Traditional Japanese Medicine is useful for general health support as well as thetreatment of specific ailments. It is particularly well-suited to addressing the subtleinterface between the physical and psychological in terms of its well-establishedregulatory effect on the nervous, endocrine and circulatory systems. Such effectsare especially powerful in addressing functional imbalances of the digestive andreproductive systems. Nigel Dawes, MA (Cantab.) LAc, is a NYS–licensed acupunc-turist, Kampo herbalist and Shiatsu practitioner trained in Japan and China andpracticing since 1987. Nigel teaches and lectures regularly throughout the U.S.,Europe, Israel and Australia.

dec 7fri 7 pm

dec 8sat 11 am

dec 8sat 2 pm

dec 11tue 7 pm

dec 12-13wed-thu 4–6 pm

dec 15sat 10 am–12:30 pm

dec 15sat 2 pm

dec 15sat 5 pm

PSFC DECEMBER General Meeting

Prospect Concerts

Goodbye to Back Pain

Food Class: Healthy Winter Indian Curries

Film Night

It’s Your Funeral

dec 18

dec 21

dec 22

jan 3

jan 4

jan 5

29-11-29 p1-16_Layout 1 11/28/12 4:14 PM

HELPING AFTER SANDY

EDITOR:

I know that the Coop donates a lotof food that is about to spoil or expireto causes such as CHIPS. I have comeacross information about an organi-zation in Rockaway preparing hotmeals in the wake of Hurricane Sandyand wonder if the Coop is interestedin donating some of that food to theircause. They are also looking forcyclists and kitchen workers, amongother things. Thank you for your con-sideration, and please see below partof the e-mail I received that pertainsto this cause:

Hello Everyone,This is Robyn from Shore Fruit. I

live on Beach 92 St in Rockaway. Ihave been coordinating the hotfood and donation station in frontof the Marina at 59th St. (where Ihave my houseboat). I along withseveral other local Rockaway busi-ness owners and residents, includ-ing Maribel from Caracas, Andrewfrom Rockaway Taco and my part-ner in Shore Fruit, Lillian, havebeen giving out free food every daysince the storm. We want to con-tinue this throughout the winter ina sustainable way. We are settingup a kitchen in Rockaway to pre-pare free hot-food deliveries (witha pay-what-you-can option forpeople who have funds and are notcomfortable receiving free food) topeople in Rockaway on a consis-tent daily basis throughout thewinter. We would like to cover asmuch area as possible throughoutRockaway.

We are beginning this project asof this Wednesday. If you would

like to donate time, materials,ingredients or funds to this effort,at the moment our needs list is:produce, meat, grains and beansfor making soup; cutting boards,knives and pots for prepping andcooking; rain gear for delivery per-sons; insulated bags for delivery;volunteers with bikes; volunteerswho are comfortable working inkitchen; generators with fuel; orfunds to purchase these items.

If you would like to donate oneof these items, please contact oursupplies coordinator Josephine at917-806-8618 in order to makesure we space out donations, andreceive only what we can use.

If people would like to volunteerto cook, prep and deliver they cancontact me (Robyn) directly via e-mail or phone 646-691-8013.

And, the way that people canmake funds donations is: tax-deductible donations can be sentto Rockaway Beach Club, 291Grand St., Brooklyn, NY 11211.Make check out to RockawayWaterfront Alliance (501C3).Make sure to write on the memo“Rockaway Rescue Alliance SandyDonations.”

Jack Pliskin

WHY THE COOP SHOULDSTOP PROVIDING FREEPLASTIC BAGS

EDITOR:RE: Environmental Committee

Report: Linewaiters’ Gazette, November1, 2012. Do away with all plasticbags, unlikely, but do away with“free” plastic bags, absolutely. Con-

sider this proposal. Plastic bagsshould continue to be made avail-able, but for purchase and not for“free.” Upon entering the Coop,shoppers would have the option ofbuying a 10-pack or 20-pack supplyof plastic bags. Hopefully, this willresult in the shoppers using fewerbags, and using the bags they’vealready purchased again and again.Further, to encourage the use ofcloth bags the price for the clothbags should be around the same asthe plastic, with this bonus—whenthe shopper checks out they wouldget an amount deducted from thebill for each cloth bag. This wouldapply to all cloth bags, whethernewly purchased or bags the shop-per brings from home. The rebateshould be attractive enough toencourage use of the cloth bags,maybe 25 cents, per bag; the rebatewould be offset by the moneycharged for the plastic bags.

I do not think it is possible to total-ly eliminate plastic bags becauseplastic-bag packaging will still be nec-essary for tea, spices, dried fruits, etc.,but the approach suggested hereshould be tried and could greatlyreduce the amount of plastic bagsending up in the waste stream.

Another plastic item provided freein the Coop are the disposable plasticdrinking cups available from dis-pensers in all bathrooms. The plasticcups are expensive and polluting; use

of these cups must be and can betotally eliminated. A water fountain isa cheaper, more convenient andhygienic way to provide drinkingwater, and end the use of “free” plasticcups. A first step toward eliminatingplastic cups went unrecognized whena water fountain was installed outsidethe Membership Office; at that time,cups should have been removed fromeverywhere on the second floor.Unfortunately this was not done—butit should be done immediately. Next,and as soon as possible, a water foun-tain should be provided on the shop-ping floor; it is a long overdue.

Tony Marchese

CALIFORNIA’S PROP. 37

EDITOR:In your next issue of the Linewaiters’

Gazette could you please publish thecompanies that opposed Prop. 37 inCalifornia. I think people should beaware of it and maybe the Coop couldfind other suppliers. Here is a link toan article by Natural News: www.natu-r a l n e w s . c o m / 0 3 7 8 7 3 _ P r o p o s i -tion_37_election_results_GMO_labeling.html.

Thank you,Ruth Marchese

LAMENT FOR A LOST SOCKI miss you terribly, Polka Dot,The sock I loved much more than a lot.So does your lovely, heartsick mate,The one and only, peerless Kate.We saw you last as you were rotating,Contentedly circumnavigatingThe final cycle of our washing machine,Looking remarkably fit and clean.We think about you all the time,With every step we take and climb,Both Kate and I as well as others,The shoes that were your loving brothers.Come back, come back, and end the woesWe feel in our hearts and in our toes.Have you wound up on another’s foot Or worse, are you and life kaput?Our loss will never cease to be shocking,Dear Polka Dot, beloved stocking

Leon Freilich



We welcome letters from members. Submissiondeadlines appear in the Coop Calendar. All let-ters will be printed if they conform to the pub-lished guidelines. We will not knowingly publisharticles which are racist, sexist or otherwise dis-criminatory

The maximum length for letters is 500words. Letters must include your name andphone number and be typed or very legiblyhandwritten. Editors will reject letters that areillegible or too long.

You may submit on paper, typed or very legi-bly handwritten, or via email to [email protected] or on disk.

AnonymityUnattributed letters will not be published

unless the Gazette knows the identity of thewriter, and therefore must be signed when sub-mitted (giving phone number). Such letters willbe published only where a reason is given to theeditor as to why public identification of thewriter would impose an unfair burden of embar-rassment or difficulty. Such letters must relateto Coop issues and avoid any non-constructive,non-cooperative language.

FairnessIn order to provide fair, comprehensive, fac-

tual coverage:1. The Gazette will not publish hearsay—that

is, allegations not based on the author's first-hand observation.

2. Nor will we publish accusations that arenot specific or are not substantiated by factualassertions.

3. Copies of submissions that make substan-tive accusations against specific individuals willbe given to those persons to enable them towrite a response, and both submissions andresponse will be published simultaneously. Thismeans that the original submission may notappear until the issue after the one for which itwas submitted.

The above applies to both articles and letters.The only exceptions will be articles by Gazettereporters which will be required to include theresponse within the article itself.

RespectLetters must not be personally derogatory or

insulting, even when strongly criticizing an indi-vidual member's actions. Letter writers mustrefer to other people with respect, refrain fromcalling someone by a nickname that the personnever uses himself or herself, and refrain fromcomparing other people to odious figures likeHitler or Idi Amin.

LETTERS POLICY

PSFC Construction Committee Needs Another Welder

The PSFC Construction Committee has an opening for anadditional welder. The job includes picking up a variety ofitems in need of repair (u-boats, hollywood carts, streetcarts, conveyor stands, loading-zone signs, etc.) in yourown vehicle, taking them to your own shop, repairing

them and returning them to the Coop, and,of course, reporting your hours to GeneralCoordinator Mike Eakin, or his backup. TheCoop reimburses for supplies and excess

electric-demand charges.

E-mail: [email protected]

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BDS TOPICS:

PALESTINIANAGRICULTURE UNDERISRAELI OCCUPATION

COOP MEMBERS:Background. Palestine (1948–1967

referred to as the West Bank) wasthe largest agricultural producer (offood) for the Hashemite Kingdom ofJordan.

Palestine Occupied by Israel in 1967.After the Six-Day War, Israel occu-pied the West Bank, the Gaza Stripand East Jerusalem. Three hundredthousand Palestinians fled or wereexpelled by Israeli forces and notallowed to return to their homesand land. Israeli policy was guidedby the “Allon Plan” in administeringthe Occupied Palestinian Territories(OPT): “maximum territory for Israelwith the minimum of Arabs.”

The Jordan Valley, 28.5 percent ofthe West Bank was the key area tar-geted by Israel: a richly fertile areafor agriculture, holding one-third ofthe West Bank underground waterreserves.

Disintegration of the Palestinian Agri-cultural Economy: 1967–1993• The share of agriculture in grossdomestic product fell from 34 per-cent in l967 to 13 percent in 1993.• Israel placed tax restrictions onPalestinian produce going to Israel,while flooding the Palestinian marketswith cheaper subsidized products.• Israel cut off all links between theWest Bank and the rest of the world,allowing some agricultural goods toJordan.• Between l967 and 1992, Israel con-fiscated more than 50 percent of theWest Bank. (675,000 acres) for stateland, closed military areas or illegalsettlement areas.• Water: Israel allocated to thePalestinian areas only one-third ofwater resources available: only one-fifth of the water allocated to illegalsettlers.• Taxes: Palestinians were forced topay 16–48 percent of their incometo the Israeli tax authority.Palestinian Agriculture Under the 1993Oslo Accords• Israel kept control of land, waterand borders. The Jordan Valleycame under complete Israeli mili-tary control.• Palestinian Authority could tradewith countries other than Jordan onspecific goods agreed upon withIsrael.

• Israel formalized a closure policybanning the movement of labor,products and capital between theWest Bank and Gaza, including “with-in” and “between” areas: 443 closuredays (1994–1999) equivalent to 90unemployment days yearly.• Territorial fragmentation: Israelbuilds settlements that cut throughthe territorial contiguity of theWest Bank.• The Palestinian Authority: only 1percent of the annual budget and 4percent of the development budgetis invested in agriculture.Impact of Occupation on PalestinianAgriculture• Illegal settlements, outposts,bypass roads, military bases andthe Separation Wall prevent olivefarmers from reaching their groves.• UN: settlers vandalized over 7,500olive trees (first six month of 2012).• According to the AppliedResearch Institute of Jerusalem,Israel has uprooted 1.2 mill ionPalestinian olive trees since l967.• In 2010, agriculture accounted for6 percent of gross domestic product.

Ol ive Oi l Sector : Fair Trade andOrganic Olive Oil, an Inspiring Develop-ment. Nasser Abufarha (Palestinianborn, residing in Madison) foundedthe Palestine Fair Trade Associationand Canaan Fair Trade. They exportcerti f ied fair trade and organicPalestinian olive oil to America andEurope. PSFC sells the EqualExchange brand.

Sources: Leila Farsakh, DiaaHadid, Dalia Haatuqa, Reuters

Mary BuchwaldBrooklyn For Peace

PSFC members for BDSwww.psfcbds.wordpress.com

THE GAZETTE AND BDS DEAR GAZETTE EDITORIALTEAMS:

If the Gazette is going to continueto publish submissions relating tothe Israel/Palestinian/Arab conflictand the BDS movement, then I rec-ommend that the teams meet andagree upon clear and consistentguidelines. These should include:

1. a) exact definitions for whatcrosses the boundaries from legiti-mate discussion to any form of hatespeech or racism.

2. b) standards for conductingfact-checking and evaluation ofsources.

3. c) minimum qualificationsand background knowledge foranyone tasked with making theabove judgments.

This is a rather large demand tomake of a volunteer staff of a foodcoop newspaper. It is much simplerto declare a moratorium on all sub-missions related the subject.

The Gazette’s purpose should beto build and strengthen our com-munity and inform us about theissues that relate to our store, ourfood supply and our common pur-pose. Yet, the newsletter has beenallowed to become a vehicle ofsmall group of Coop members forthe promotion of anti-Israel propa-ganda. In March, the Coop commu-nity was given the opportunity toweigh in on the question of BDS.The BDS proposal obtained thesupport of less than 4 percent of themembership. The membership hasoverwhelmingly rejected the discus-sion. It is of no relevance, appropri-ateness or benefit to the Park SlopeFood Coop community.

These anti-Israel letters are harm-ful to the community. They containdistortions, misrepresentations andfalse statements. The letters aredesigned to instill hatred; the con-tent is at times anti-Semitic. Noamount of vehement denials by theauthors can negate the perniciouseffect of these letters upon my seg-ment of the Coop community. We arebeing attacked at the heart of ournational and religious identity.

Gazette editors have on multipleoccasions refused to publish con-tent they deemed inappropriate.Discretion is not censorship. Thereis no shortage of other media forthe expression of anti-Israel views.After nearly four years of acrimonysurrounding these letters, there isnothing new to be said or accom-plished at the Coop. Let’s institutethe moratorium and allow healingto begin.

Barbara MazorEditor ’s Note: It is the policy of theLinewaiters’ Gazette to publish all let-ters unedited so long as they adhere to theFairness, Anonymity and Respect policiesfound in the Gazette Letters guidelinesand the Coop’s Mission Statement.

10,000 IN LINE FORISRAELI CITIZENSHIP

TO THE EDITOR:Will you 10,000 Palestinian

Jerusalemites in that accursed lineplease go home? The line outside theMinistry of the Interior where you areapplying for (I can barely choke outthe words) Israeli citizenship?

What can the Zionist gangster

regime offer you anyway that we hereat the BDS Citizenship RelocationBureau can’t? Nothing except civilrights and regularly scheduled elec-tions. Even though “…negligence ofArab and Islamic support for thesteadfastness of Palestinian citizenscertainly has implications for thespread of this phenomenon,” and lipservice by the PA and Hamas “…iswhat led to the growing number ofthose seeking Israeli citizenship tomaintain their civil rights,”* it’ll beonly that much more painful to loseit all since Israhell is on the brink ofcollapse and has been since 1947.

Here in the BDS CitizenshipRelocation Bureau, your anguishserves a higher purpose: to make usfeel better about ourselves. It’s avery simple equation to under-stand: You are victims, we get it onvideotape, BDS looks heroic. It’sl ike a collector’s edition Xboxvideogame: endless cycles of may-hem at a safe distance and BDSactivists here in the Coop walk awayuntouched. It sure beats standing inline, or trying to work for actualpeace. And why would we try?

The U.S. is too much fuss and bother to boycott because we’dhave to give back our favorite cof-feeshops to the Mohawk, theShawnee and the Iroquois Confed-eration. China sells great plasticknickknacks for cheap so we givethem a pass on Tibet. And Turkey istoo politically sensitive to boycottbecause, while under article 301 ofthe penal code they criminalize dis-cussion of the millions of Armeni-ans slaughtered in a land grab, theydo bad-mouth Israel.

Anyway, BDS affords you all therights you need: the right to victim-hood and immortalization on ourblogs, and the right to eternal con-flict, which make for great pho-tographs at a PSFC GeneralMeeting. There can be no greaterfreedom than that. BDS lives forev-er, and through it, you live forever.It’s like the Marine Corps that way,and we generals salute you from ourarmchairs.

So in order for BDS to succeed,Palestinians must remain victim-ized. We repeat, victimized. Yourresourcefulness equals treason toour movement. So please get out ofline, and march back where youbelong. And stay there until we’reready for you.

*www.alquds.co.uk/index.asp?fname=today\19qpt954.htm&arc=data\2012\10\10-19\19qpt954.htm

Jesse Rosenfeld

29-11-29 p1-16_Layout 1 11/28/12 4:14 PM



ecokvetch

✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ EXCIT ING WORKSLOT OPPORTUNITIES ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮

Plastics RecyclingBalerSaturday and Sunday, 12:30 to 3:15 p.m.Baler will work as a member of theEnviron-mental Issues PlasticRecycling Committee. Work includesoperating the baler machine in theReceiving area—NO OPEN-TOEDFOOTWEAR SHOULD BE WORNWHILE WORKING IN THIS AREA.Worker must be able work withReceiving Staff to coordinate the useof the baler and shared workspace, andmust be able to follow detailed safetyinstructions. Some strength and liftingrequired. Training will take place onfirst scheduled shift. You will need to contact Cynthia Pennycooke,Membership Coordinator, via phoneMon–Fri 8 a.m.–12:30 p.m. in theMembership Office, or e-mail [email protected] priorto being assigned to this shift.

Bathroom CleaningTuesday, 12 to 2 p.m.Work with a partner to deep clean theCoop’s bathrooms. Tasks includescrubbing floor tiles, cleaning toilets,mopping floors and stocking thebathrooms. You will work with onlynatural cleaning products. This job isperfect for members who like to cleanand are conscientious about doing athorough job.

Laundry and ToyCleaningFriday and Saturday, 8:30 to 10:30 p.m.This workslot has two responsibili-ties. You will load laundry into dryer,fold it and redistribute it around theCoop. While the laundry is washing/drying, you will clean toys in the child-care room. You will be working with apartner on thesetasks. Please contactAnnette or Jana inthe MembershipOffice for furtherinformation.

Store EquipmentCleaningMonday, 6 to 8 a.m.The Coop is looking for members toclean the checkout area of the store.It entails cleaning the scales at eachcheckout and vacuuming around thebase of the checkout station as wellas sweeping and occasionally mop-ping. You will work under the supervi-sion of a staff person.

Vitamin WorkerThursday, 6 to 8:45 p.m.On this special shift, you will beworking with the ReceivingCoordinator tocheck-in vita-min orders,organize vita-min area inthe basementand on theshopping floor.You will labelproducts and shelves, and relatedtasks. If interested, contact theMembership Office.

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To Submit Classified or Display Ads:

Ads may be placed on behalf of Coop members only. Clas-sified ads are prepaid at $15 per insertion, display ads at $30.(Classified ads in the “Merchandise–Non-commercial” cate-gory are free.) All ads must be written on a submission form.Classified ads may be up to 315 characters and spaces. Dis-play ads must be camera-ready and business card size (2" x3.5" horizontal).

Submission forms are available in a wallpocket near theelevator in the entrance lobby.


ADVERTISE ON THE WEB

If your ad would benefit from broader exposure, try theCoop's web page, www.foodcoop.com. The ads are FREE.

BED & BREAKFASTTHE HOUSE ON 3rd ST. B&B -

serving the Slope for over 20 yrs.

Parlor floor-thru apt. sleeps 5 in

comfort & privacy, queen bed,

bath, double living room, kitch-

enette, outdoor deck. Visit our web

site at houseon3st.com. Click our

FB link or call Jane at 718-788-

7171. Ask about bargains for last

minute bookings. Let us host you!

COMMERCIAL SPACE

PROFESSIONAL OFFICES avail-

able for Health Practitioners; e.g.

Nutritionist, Medical Doctor, Psy-

chotherapist, Massage Ther-apist,

Podiatrist, Dentist, Reiki, Shiatsu,

etc. Be part of an Holistic center in

SOHO. Doctor will introduce all

patients. Non-medical spaces also

available. For information, please

call 212-505-5055.

MERCHANDISERoller Blades Crossfire Size 9.

Brand new $175 new asking $100.

Call Donnie 718-768-1797.

MERCHANDISE WANTED

SELL IRIS RECORDS your

CDs/LPs/DVDs! Appointments

day/night at your home. We pay

cash and do the heavy lifting.We

also appraise collections for

estates/divorces. Email Stephen at

[email protected] or call 609-

468-0885 for more information.

SERVICESATTORNEY—Personal Injury

Emphasis—34 years experience in

all aspects of injury law. Individual

attention provided for entire case.

Free phone or office consulta-

tions. Prompt, courteous commu-

nications. 23-year Park Slope Food

Coop member; Park Slope resi-

dent; downtown Brooklyn office.

Tom Guccione, 718-596-4184, also

at www.tguccionelaw.com.

PAINTING & WALLPAPERING- 25

yrs exp. doing the finest prep + fin-

ish work. One room or an entire

house. Free estimates + full insur-

ance coverage. Call Fred Becker @

718-853-0750.

MADISON AVENUE HAIRCUTTER

is right around the corner from the

food Co-op, so if you would like a

really good haircut at a decent

price, please call Maggie at 718-

783-2154, I charge $60.00.

EXPRESS MOVES. One flat price

for the entire move! No deceptive

hourly estimates! Careful, experi-

enced mover. Everything quilt

padded. No extra charge for

wardrobes and packing tape. Spe-

cialist in walkups. Thousands of

satisfied customers. Great Coop

references. 718-670-7071.

SERVICES HEALTH

HOLISTIC DOCTOR in Naturopathy

stimulates body’s natural ability to

heal chronic conditions, allergy,

skin, muscle, cancer support with

homeopathy, physical & chelation

therapies, bioenergetic acupunc-

ture, lab tests, hair analysis & more.

Research Director. 20 years exp. As

Featured in Allure Magazine. Dr.

Gilman 212-505-1010.

HOLISTIC DENTISTRY in Manhat-

tan (SOHO). Dr. Stephen R. Gold-

berg provides comprehensive

family dental care using non-mer-

cury fillings, crowns, dentures,

thorough cleanings, non-surgical

gum treatments with minimal X-

rays. For a free initial exam in a

nutrition-oriented practice and for

insurance information, please call

212-505-5055.

WHAT’S FOR FREEFREE Subaru outback wagon

hatch cover 1998. Call Donnie 718-

768-1797.

CLASSIFIEDS

Crossword AnswersB S A J A R H E E H A WO A R E S E R O M A I N ES S S S S S S A L L U D E SS H O O T O L N E YY A N N D U A D E T A T

G R R R R R R R R R R RA C S E Y C K E A S I L YM A T I N E E P H O E B E SI N A D A Y L U A U E S TG O B B L E G O B B L EA N S E A B C S U K E S

S I T A R F R O N TB A R L I N E A H O O O O OI D E A T E D W O N L T RZ Z Z Z Z Z L E D S E E

Looking for

something new?Check out the Coop’s

products blog.

The place to go for the latest information on our current

product inventory.

You can connect to the blog via the Coop’s websitewww.foodcoop.com

PHO

TO B

Y KE

VIN

RYA

N

Classified advertising in the Linewaiters’ Gazette is available only to Coop members. Publication does not imply endorsement by the Coop.

29-11-29 p1-16_Layout 1 11/28/12 4:14 PM


NEED A WORK SHIFT?

[email protected] . 208 . 4778

Our store is now open! Come visit us at 18 Putnam Ave. At this time, PSFC members will receive FTOP credit in exchange for working with Greene Hill. To receive credit, you should be a PSFC member for at least one year and have an excellent attendance record. Join Greene Hill and you can shop at both stores!

DO YOU LIKE DESIGNING FLYERS? HOW ARE YOU AT

MARKETING? DO YOU LIKE SOCIAL NETWORKING?

ARE YOU A WEB DEVELOPER? CAN YOU WRITE PHP?

DO YOU KNOW HOW TO USE WORDPRESS? DO YOU LIKE

TABLING AT EVENTS? DO YOU LIKE RESEARCHING FOOD? DO YOU NEED FTOP CREDIT? DO YOU LIKE

COMMUNITY, EATING GOOD FOOD, AND FUN? COME

HANG OUT WITH THE BUSHWICK FOOD COOP

AND GET WORK CREDIT! A BUYING CLUB AND CSA ARE SATIATING US WHILE WE WORK TOWARDS MAKING THE DREAM OF HAVING OUR OWN STOREFRONT A REALITY. WE ARE REALLY INVESTED IN OUR COLLECTIVE GOAL OF BRINGING AFFORDABLE, LOCAL AND ORGANIC FOOD TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF BUSHWICK. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP, PLEASE EMAIL US AT [email protected].

LEFFERTS FARMFOOD COOPERATIVEWe are a newly-formed group made up of residents from Flatbush, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens and Crown Heights, working to develop a new medium-sized food cooperative in the area.

JOIN US: www.meetup.com/plgfoodcoop

WE NEED YOUR HELP!There’s no question Brooklyn needs more food cooperatives, but it’s not simple. Food co-ops are businesses and development projects created for and by the community.

JOIN OUR PLANNING GROUPIn order to make this happen, we need YOU! Why? Because as a member, you have experience with food co-ops. And as a worker/community member, you have experience we need—from organizational development, branding/messaging, finance/accounting, fundraising, to real estate development and community outreach. Even people you know or the groups you belong to are a valuable asset to the process!

GET INVOLVEDPSFC members will receive FTOP credit in exchange for their participation. Join our MeetUp group at www.meetup.com/plgfoodcoop or contact [email protected] for more information.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Community calendar listings are free. Please submit your event listing in 50 words or less to [email protected]. Submission deadlines are the same as for classified ads. Please refer to the Coop Calendar in the center of this issue. An asterisk (*) denotes a Coop member.

THU, NOV 29

6:30 p.m. Don DeLillo, Nicole

Krauss, and Rick Moody invite you

to the Archipelago Books Benefit

Auction, at Gasser Grunert

Gallery: 524 W. 19th Street. Sup-

port international literature in

translation and bid on items,

including Met Opera tickets,

signed first editions, restaurant

gift certificates, etc. For more info

and tickets ($25 in advance, $35 at

the door): www.archipelagob-

ooks2012auction.tumblr.com.

SUN, DEC 2

5-9 p.m. The Palestine Children’s

Relief Fund (pcrf) and Brooklyn

For Peace presents “Brooklyn

Cares,” a Benefit Buffet Dinner to

support the new Pediatric Oncol-

ogy Clinic at Al Hussein Hospital

in Beit Jala. Performances: Simon

Shaheen on the oud and violin,

Debke dancers, Raffle. Join us:

pcrf.net.

SAT, DEC 8

8 p.m. Peoples’ Voice Cafe

Hanukah Celebration with Robin

Greenstein & Cecelia Kirtland.

Tickets are $18, $10 for members.

Nobody will be turned away. Peo-

ples’ Voice Cafe at the Communi-

ty Church of NYUU, 40 East 35th

St. NY NY www.peoplesvoice-

cafe.org.

SUN, DEC 9

4 p.m. BPL Chamber players pre-

sent Adela Peña, Harumi Rhodes,

violins Ah Ling Neu, viola Rober-

ta Cooper, cello Peter Weitzner,

double bass; Admission is free;

Dr. S. Stevan Dweck Center for

Contemporary Culture at the

Central Library 10 Grand Army

Plaza, Bklyn NY.

11 a.m. “Nurturing Small Busi-

nesses, Nurturing Communities”

with Jessie Lee, director of Small

Bussiness Services for the Church

Ave. Merchant and Business Asso-

ciation. She will discuss how big

banks notoriously overlook the

small enterprises, which are vital

for strong communities.Brooklyn

Society for Ethical Culture. 53

PPW. www.bsec.org.

FRI, DEC 14

7:30 p.m. (Also Saturday 12/15)

Baghdad Monologues, an origi-

nal play that features stories of

the Iraq war from the point of

view of three women: a Sunni

Iraqi, an African American and a

white southerner Tickets $12

Brooklyn Society for Ethical Cul-

ture: 53 PPW. www.bsec.org.


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