When it comes to the Park Slope Food Coop, unbelievers are everywhere. They say that there are too many rules, which are too stridently enforced. They complain about crowded aisles and long lines. They resent having to work 2 1/2 hours once a month. They even go so far as to call the Coop a cult that only crazy people would join.
We admit it. There is some truth to these complaints about the members-only Coop.
So why is it still our favorite place to buy groceries in Brooklyn?
Our #1 reason is the produce. As opposed to a pitiful 30-feet of shrink-wrapped out-of season fruits and vegetables at our local market, the Coop abounds with incredibly fresh, mostly organic, and frequently local produce. Here is where we come to discover new fruits and veggies, like sapodillas, cactus pears, and cherimoyas.
The website's weekly produce list, complete with prices, allows you to plan ahead. And those prices are awesome. As opposed to an average 40% markup at "regular" supermarkets, and 60% markup at health food stores, Coop prices are only 21% over wholesale. This week, organic potatoes are $0.92/pound, arugula is $0.96/bunch and even Israeli persimmons are only $0.68 apiece.
After the produce, we head straight for the cheese case. Bought in bulk and repackaged, the gourmet cheeses are actually affordable. You don't feel sheepish buying a snack-sized 2.5 ounces of garrootxa for $1.76. Our cheese platters have never been more diverse.
With just 6000 square feet, the Coop doesn't have everything. But it is a great place to buy the basics and specialty foods, like D'artagnan sausages, truffle butter, and Amish stewing chickens. We first found our favorite Ludomar dark milk chocolate, flavored with black pepper and sesame, amongst the 5000 products on Coop shelves.
It's true, we could shop at Fairway or Whole Foods with less hassle. But lacking a car, the coop is far more convenient. Combine that convenience with significantly lower prices and strong community values, and the Coop is worth a little hassle and the ire of the unbelievers.
All photos by Nina Callaway
Copyright © 2007 Apartment Therapy
Okay, I'm partially influenced by my ex boyfriend in this opinion who is *huge* into food co-ops, but I just do not feel like people who are upset about the policies of the co-op have a right to complain. Its a co-op! Working there is the whole point of a an actual co-operative, unlike other organic/hippie grocery stores that use the name co-op in some fashion. If you don't want to or don't have time to work there, then don't join! I would love to get at some of that produce myself, but I already have two jobs, alas, I can't commit the time. It would be nice if they had a deal like Harvest in Boston where members could just pay extra money to get a discount, but I love that the Park Slope co-op has stayed true to their roots despite the neighborhood around them becoming really posh. Oh and lastly I'd like to add, that the bike ride from my apartment in Prospect Heights to Fairway is not that long and rather pleasant, so if you live in the slope area and can't get down with the co-op and still want some persimmons, get out your bicyclette! And look out for me with the yellow messenger bag getting greedy with the asparagus!
view FromTheFuture's profile
Count me in as one of the fans: I truly love it. The time commitment can be really hard for those with regular job hours (I freelance) and there are definitely rules to abide by, but once you're past it you're in an amazing place to shop, particularly if you enjoy food and care about where it comes from.
I no longer live in Park Slope and can easily get to Fairway or any other supermarket, but I continue to be a member because the quality and prices there are really hard to beat.
view budino's profile
Count me out. The Grand Army Plaza farmers' market is right up the road, and at Fairway (or Associated, right around the corner) I can get in and out in under two hours on a weeknight. Sorry, I just don't have the time, regardless of how I feel about the the store.
view BrooklynEric's profile
I love being a member of the food co-op, and I actually really love doing my workslot. I stock shelves for 2.5 hours every four weeks and it is so rewarding; I learn about products I didn't know of before, I am putting things on the shelves that my fellow members will take home and enjoy, and because it is active, the time goes quickly. I like the other members on my squad and we have gotten to know about each other and our families.
There have been tremendous discussions about the Food Co-op in many places (such as a memorable one on Park Slope Parents Yahoo group), but I've never understood why some people who are not members seem to care so much about the rules and work - if you are not interested, don't join.
The produce is definitely one of the best things about the co-op and so is the cheese, but I'm going to add in that the dairy is also great. Organic milk at the grocery store is nearly $5, but at the co-op it is only $3.13. Butter is also well-priced and there is such a delightful array of the regular domestic butters and some fascinating European ones.
view phoneill's profile
Count me out too. After being a member, waiting over 30 minutes to buy milk and butter, and then waiting 45 minutes to have someone come downstairs to fix the broken register that was stuck mid-transaction (tying up my membership number), I realized that for me, I would rather spend a little more to not put up with the inconveniences. I agree, the prices are wonderful, the produce is gorgeous, but you can never get all your shopping done there, and the policy that my new husband would have been required to join as well and work a shift sealed the deal on my cancelling my membership.
I am all about Fairway. Equally stunning produce, fair prices, and excellent house-brand products.
view NyKittyNy's profile
I'm a huge fan. I live in Crown Heights, and without a car (and on a limited budget) Fairway is just out of the question. The Coop, which is a 15 minute walk each direction, requires me to slow down my day a little, remember where my food comes from and the work that goes into it.
I love that I can ask just about anyone there if they know where to find something, since everyone is part of the system and a virtual employee.
though the workslots are sometimes inconvenient, I enjoy seeing the same people very month on my shift and hearing what they've been up to and about their families. We also have a system of sorts-- certain people on the shift are responsible for gathering others to help when it comes time to mop the produce aisle or sweep under the bulk containers. It really feels like a community, and I like that.
As for the food, I'm completely spoiled with the quality of it, and I don't need to worry whether or not it comes from a socially responsible source. Yes, the rules are a pain, but that's what happens when you join a group like that. (remember that this is a system that includes 12,000 worker-members, it needs to be relatively consistent in how it enforces its rules, esp when it doesn't actually need that many people to sustain itself)
view Eliza's profile
the real problem is that there need to be a -lot- more coops in the city. even in brooklyn, it's hard for a lot of folks in the borough to get to the ps coop, especially often enough that it would make sense to join. (that is, often enough for shopping trips. it's easy to get there once a month). so whether the bureaucracy is a problem or not is moot.
view oofs's profile
I LOVE the idea of this place and the produce sounds fantastic but some people obviously have had a horrible experience of working here:
http://www.chow.com/stories/10133
I can't believe that people actually expect others to believe them when they say they don't have time to work 2.75 hours every four weeks - what a load of rubbish!!!
However, the running of the coop does seem to be chaotic if nothing else - they are open 5200 hours per year (taken from their shop opening times which are longer than the office opening times) and have 13,000 members - which would give them 464,750 man hours per year - thats 89 people working at any one time - even if you take into account people off sick etc thats far more people than you'd ever find working in a standard grocery store at any one time - what are they all doing if its so badly run??
view Violetsrose's profile
I think it’s still our favorite place to buy groceries because of the habit. And anyway, lets face it, even if we are trying to look for a Health Food Store, you can’t really find something like this in Brooklyn. No matter where we would buy from we would still find something that we don’t like about it!
view timada's profile