Volume BB, Number 3 February 15, 2007

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

By Joan Minieri

A t the January 30 Gen-eral Meeting, Coopmembers engaged in

thoughtful discussion abouttwo issues of ongoing con-cern: entrance security and achange in the workslotrequirements. In addition,they approved two adminis-trative agenda items put forthby the General Coordinators.

Sound FinancesThe Financial Report,

available through the Coopoffice and presented by Coopstaff, detailed that the Coopis in sound financial shape. Itincluded an overview ofmembership levels over timeshowing steady, signifi

cant growth until recently.After hearing the report, amember inquired if the Coopcould afford to hire a Shop-ping Coordinator to overseeconditions on the shoppingfloor, to ensure more consis-tent oversight than volunteersquad leaders can provide.

“We need to look at havingpersonnel that is paid so it[shopping at the Coop] doesnot become another level ofhell,” she remarked. Staff sug-gested that since we nowbreak even financially, addinganother staff position at thislevel would not be feasible.By design, we have a verysmall profit margin and addi-

tional staff “would wipe outour profit margin for theyear,” he said.

Produce Affected byCalifornia Storms

Another staff member pro-vided an update on produce.Five days of severe weather inCalifornia are resulting inshortages in navel orangesand lemons. Prices on theseitems have doubled. Thisincludes oranges from Flori-da since there is a greaterdemand for them given thelosses in the California crop.

The Coop, like marketsacross the United States, willnot have avocados or arti-chokes from California for along time and membersshould expect shortages andprice increases in pre-baggedsalads, lettuce and a range ofother fruits and vegetables.One citrus fruit, grapefruit,comes from Texas and Flori-da, so should not be affected.

In addition, staff reportedon Coop efforts to buy localproduce. “We are continuallytrying to be good environ-mental citizens by buyingfood that is not far away,” aGeneral Coordinator said,noting that this has beenCoop policy since the 1970s.

Staff recently met with afarmers’ cooperative fromLancaster, Pennsylvania todiscuss buying organic eggs,beef, poultry and produce

from them. In addition, Coopmembers can now buy grass-fed, organic beef from Natur-al Acres, also located inPennsylvania, replacing theorganic but not grass-fedbeef the Coop has been carry-ing from a supplier in theMidwest.

Impact of Blocking SquadOne Driveway

In the Committee Reportswhich followed, the Coopliaison to Squad One, thefirehouse next door, relayedthat Coop efforts of the last18 months aimed ateliminating the problem ofhaving shoppers block thefirehouse driveway with theircars has made the situation“immensely better.” He citedbetter signage, articles in theGazette and the improved cartreturn system as havingmade an impact.

However, while going fromblockading incidents one totwo times per day to one totwo times per week is animprovement, he said thatthe Squad was recentlyunable to make a call to anelderly woman who had fall-en and broken her hipbecause a shopper was block-ing the firehouse driveway.“He agreed to move,” the rep-resentative reported. “Theydon’t always agree. But hehad left his keys inside the

Next General Meeting on February 27The General Meeting of the Park Slope Food Coop is held on thelast Tuesday of each month.* The next General Meeting will beTuesday, February 27, 7:00 p.m. at the Congregation Beth Elo-him Temple House (Garfield Temple), 274 Garfield Place.

The agenda is in this Gazette and available as a flyer in theentryway of the Coop. For more information about the GM andabout Coop governance, please see the center of this issue.

* Exceptions for November and December will be posted.

C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 2

By Ed Haberle

Is that person unloadingthe onions a concertpianist? Is your cart walker

a slam poet? Does the bagelguy sing opera? There’s onlytwo ways to find out: you canask them, or you can come tothe Coop Variety Show.

On Saturday, March 10, at7:30 p.m., in the Berkeley Car-roll School gymnasium onLincoln Place (between 7th

and 8th Avenues), the ParkSlope Food Coop member-ship’s collective creative ener-gy will be showcased in ourthird annual Adult Coop Vari-ety Show. Organized by thePSFC Fun’Raising Committee,this year’s event will feature

performances by 19 fellowmembers who moonlight asperforming artists — poets,singers, actors, musicians andstorytellers. This is the thirdbiannual Adult Variety show;on alternate years, the Coopsponsors a Children’s VarietyShow. Tickets can be pur-chased at the door for $5, withproceeds supporting the ParkSlope Food Coop.

While in its present formatthe Coop Variety Show hasbeen an annual event for fiveyears, it builds on a tradition ofartists banding together at theCoop that dates back almostas far as the Coop itself.

Martha Siegel, Fun’RaisingCommittee member and

2007 Show Features

19 Community ArtistsJanuary General MeetingExplores Member VacationCredit and Entrance Security

IN THIS ISSUEGM Agenda. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Outside Workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Low Inventories and the Vicissitudes of Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Environmental Committee Report: Solar Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Member Contribution: Syracuse, NY in January . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Coop Hours, Coffeehouse, Puzzle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Coop Calendar, Workslot Needs

Governance Information, Mission Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Community Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Classified Ads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 1 1

Judges Martha Siegel and Tasha Paley (back row, center)listen to a performance by Coop members K.C. Dutcher,Lee Rogan, Eric Kelly and Achara Kelly at the 2007 VarietyShow auditions.

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CoopEventHighlights

Fri, Feb 16

Thu, Mar 1

Fri, Mar 2

Sat, Mar 10

Fri, Mar 16

•The Good Coffeehouse: 8:00 p.m., Blue Moon Ramblers and The Coop Rhythm Masters

•Food Class—Spring Cleaning: 7:30 p.m.

•Film Night: 7:00 p.mContested Streets: Breaking NYC Gridlock

•Adult Variety Show: 7:30 p.m. Berkeley-CarrollSchool

•The Good Coffeehouse: 8:00 p.m., Robert Dick and Ursel Schlicht, and Todd Isler

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

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Coop and seconds matter.”By the time the shoppercame out five minutes later, itwas too late for the Squad tomake the call.

Items for Vote andDiscussion

Members approved byacclamation two proposalsfrom the General Coordina-tors. The first changes the

date of the November Gener-al Meeting to accommodatethe holidays and the secondupdates the banking resolu-tions to allow for new signa-tories on Coop accounts,given recent retirements.

The next two items on theagenda were presented fordiscussion only. The Chairpointed out that it is advis-able for members who wantto make proposals to theGeneral Meeting to first pre-sent their ideas in this way,rather than putting them for-ward immediately for a vote.This allows for a free flow ofideas, and helps the item’sproponent to formulate thebest possible motion andbring it back for a vote.

Member Vacation CreditThe first discussion con-

cerned changing the workslotrequirements to allow foreach member to have onevacation day each year. Mem-bers would do 12 workslotsannually instead of 13. Theitem proponents suggestedthat this 8% reduction inmember labor would notnegatively impact the Coop.It would in fact help ensurethat members would not bestanding around during theirworkshifts.

One proponent, whorecalled shopping at HuntsPoint for produce years agoas a teenage Coop member,stated that it was not that shedid not want to go and do hershift, but that “I don’t want togo to the Coop and not work.”

Members and staff raised anumber of issues and ques-tions, including how a systemlike this would be managed,how it would impact mem-bers—such as those whomanage the General Meetingwho cannot miss their work-slots—and whether or notthe perspective that the Coophas extra labor to spare istrue. One staff memberreported that 2,000 work-slots, most of which occurduring the weekdays, gounfilled. A member com-mented that in his experi-ence, “we can always usemore people outside.”

In another take on the dis-cussion, another membersuggested, “How about somekind of incentive for showingup? If you have stellar atten-dance, you get a day off.” Stillanother commented that it is“a real life issue. People goon vacation.” Another calledfor taking “more of a whole-sale look at how we managethis issue of workshifts.”Near the end of the discus-sion, a member commented,“I wish people would startthinking more of the glue[that holds the Coop togeth-er] than of themselves,” andadopt a “‘what more can Ido’” attitude, rather than ask-ing what the Coop can do forthem.

The proponents expressedappreciation for the discus-sion and said they would goback and consider a proposalfor a vote at some point inthe future.

Entrance SecurityNext, a member raised

problems with entrance secu-rity and some possible solu-tions. She suggested thateach squad assign one per-son to stand across from thedesk “to watch the traffic.”When a member noted, “Thatmight get in the way of peo-ple getting into the Coop,”she replied to laughter,“That’s the idea.”

Other suggestions thatarose in the discussionincluded revamping the card-swiping system, forming asecurity squad, doing morescientific assessment of theissue and installing turn-stiles.

The member who had ear-lier suggested hiring a Shop-ping Coordinator said thatentrance security is theresponsibility of the squadleaders. They need “a trainingprogram and a list of priori-ties,” she put forth. “We can’tbe afraid to have membersstanding around doing noth-ing, but ready to do some-thing,” said another member.“As long as there is clarityabout what they need to beready to do,” he believed thiscould work. The proponent ofthis discussion itemexpressed appreciation forthe spirited discussion.

The meeting ended with aunanimous vote of the Boardof Directors to accept thedecisions of the member-ship, and applause for thesmooth facilitation and par-ticipation all around. ■

2 � February 15, 2007 Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NY

PSFC FEBRUARYGENERAL MEETINGTuesday, February 277:00 p.m.• Congregation Beth Elohim Social Hall

274 Garfield Pl at 8th Ave.• Items will be taken up in the order given.• Times in parentheses are suggestions.

AGENDA:Item #1: Should the Coop install a generatorto use during power outages? (40 minutes) Discussion: "Discuss the pros and cons of installinga back-up generator on the roof in order to provideelectricity during power outages. Given Con Edison'spoor performance in Astoria, on 5th Avenue in ParkSlope, and on our block last year, it makes sense toseriously consider installing a generator. Now thatmany additional apartment buildings are being builton and near 4th avenue, it makes even more sense todiscuss this ASAP. Cost estimates will be available."

—submitted by the General Coordinators

Item #2: “Food Coop Online: Creation of theopportunity for members to shop at FoodCoop ONLINE” (40 minutes) Discussion: I would like to help create onlineshopping for food Coop with members login, order 24hours in advance, paying options, delivery options,packing options, learn from FRESHDIRECT.com. Itwould ease up the shopping @ the store and wouldcreate expansion opportunities as well as additionalpublicity opportunities for food coop

—submitted by Natasha Mashkevich

Future Agenda Information:For information on how to place an Item on the

Agenda, please see the center pages of the Linewaiters'Gazette. The Agenda Committee minutes and the statusof pending agenda items are available in the office andat all GMs.

Thursday,March 1

7:30 p.m.at the Coop

$4 materials feeViews expressed by the presenter do not

necessarily represent the Park Slope Food Coop.

RECIPES

• Liver and Gall Bladder Flush

• Dandelion Smoothie

• Red Oak & Endive Salad with creamed-fennel wasabi

vinaigrette

• Vegetable Pave & Arugula Truffle

• Vanilla Millet Pudding

Guest ChefAnnie Kunjappy is a graduate of theInstitute for Health and Culinary Arts. Herapproach to food isdeeply connected toher long-term study of yoga and tradionalChinese healing prac-tices, and integratesthe belief that our bodies needs changeseasonally.

MEMBERS &NON-MEMBERSWELCOME.

Come earlyto ensure a seat.

Spring Cleaning

Menu

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

January General

SaturdayMarch 10, 2007

7:30 p.m.

REVEL IN THE UNMITIGATED TALENT STYLINGS OF: RICHARD ANTONE ✯ ADELE ROLIDER ✯ CHARLES LYNCH ✯ BEV GRANT

PHOENIX SOLEIL ✯ MARA GOODMAN ✯ MARTHA SIEGEL ✯ TRACY FITZ

JOAN STURGIS ✯ MEKKA TIMBERLAKE ✯ DONALD MURK ✯ VINCENT FRISARI

ALAN FRIEND ✯ FELICIA GLUCKSMA ✯ BARRY SIMPSON ✯ FIONA BICKET

TASHA PALEY ✯ SARAH SAFFORD ✯ LEN HEISLER ✯ ERIC KELLEY

DALIENNE MAJORS ✯ JESSIE REISS ✯ LEE ROGAN ✯ ALBERT SOLOMON

GARY SHELTON ✯ K.C. DUTCHER ✯ JOEL BRAMBLE

Admission $10$6 for children under 12 & limited income

Refreshments will be for sale!

at the Berkeley Carroll School181 Lincoln Place between 7th and 8th Aves

PRESENTED BY THE

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Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NY February 15, 2007 � 3

A t 5 p.m. on a Sundayevening, the Coop isjumping, the aisles

packed with shoppers takingthat last chance to stock uptheir carts with provisions forthe coming week. Outside inbright orange rubberizedvests are the stalwart “out-side workers,” so calledbecause they stand (or sit ona bench) outside the Coopdoors, ready and waiting toperform their novel Coopworkslot.

Gerry, a Coop membersince 1992, has been on hisshift for two hours, duringwhich time he estimates thathe’s escorted ten people withtheir carts to their homes orparked cars. An outside work-er since shortly after theworkslot was first introducedtwo years ago, he loves thisassignment. “I like being out-side, talking to people, get-ting the exercise,” he reports.“It’s a great change fromoffice work.”

The weather, balmythrough the December holi-day season, has turned bitter,but this doesn’t daunt Gerryand his three co-workers asthey go about their assignedtask of assisting shoppersexiting the store with theircarts. The assistance provid-ed may involve walking withshoppers to their parked cars,their homes or the subway,and then bringing the cartback to the Coop. It mayinvolve babysitting carts sothat they’re at the ready forshoppers who have gone toretrieve their parked cars, andthen waiting (or assisting,although that’s not required)as shoppers unload theirboxes and bags into cars andtaxis temporarily standingout in front of the Coop.

In addition, the workersswiftly return the cartsindoors, freeing shoppers topromptly drive off, rather thanleaving their cars illegallyparked or their cabs waiting,as they wrestle their cartsback inside. These tasks, per-formed within a pre-definedradius (see map), reduce thenumber of people driving toand blocking the street area infront of the Coop, encouragepeople within the radius notto drive and also lessen theamount of time people spendparked in front if they dodrive, thus alleviating whatwas once a serious problem.

“This workslot was createdto help control traffic in frontof the Coop. People werepulling up, blocking thestreet, tying up traffic andeven blocking the entry to thefire department,” Coordina-tor Debbie Parker explains.“We got complaints from theneighboring firehouse.”

It wasn’t just that somefolks pulled their cars intothe firehouse driveway, butalso that the fire engines,

rushing to a fire, wereblocked by traffic in front ofthe Coop from making a leftturn down Union Street torespond to an emergency.Plus, if returning engine dri-vers found firehouse accessblocked by cars, they onoccasion would pull in frontof the Coop and leave theirvehicles, blocking Coopaccess, sometimes for aslong as twelve hours. Theoutside workslot was devisedto address the traffic prob-lem, as well as provide aneeded service.

“People are so apprecia-tive, they thank you, so it’sreally gratifying,” Gerryreports. “I think it really helpspeople a lot.”

Waiting on line with a fullcart, Andre, a Coop memberfor the last year, reveals, “Weuse them frequently. Today,we’ll be going to the subwayat Grand Army Plaza.”

Ashley, a Coop member foreighteen months, standswith a laden cart after per-forming her workshift. “I stilltry to park as close as possi-ble, but today I’m parked onPresident Street and it defi-nitely makes it easier.”

Henriette, a Coop membersince 2000, reports sadly, “Ilive too far away to use theservice—on the other side ofProspect Park.”

“It’s not part of their job tolift heavy boxes, or stop withthe person at the dry clean-ers, or babysit the cart whilethe shopper runs an errand—those are all no-nos,” saysParker.

And so is stopping for cof-fee, disappearing to make acell phone call or taking anhour to return, but Parkermaintains that theseerrantries, more commonwhen the shift was first intro-duced, are rare now.

Though workers are notrequired to help push the cartor lift groceries, says Coordi-nator Ann Herpel, “Some do,particularly for parents with

strollers and for the elderly.”Says Sunday night shop-

ping squad leader EllenBucun, “This shift is verybusy, and this service is reallyneeded. Right now we havefour people, but at timeswe’ve had as many as sevenpeople and they were all keptquite busy.”

It can take fifteen minutesfor a worker to escort a shop-per to his or her destination,and return with the cart,which makes filling the work-slot tricky, particularly sincethe radius was expanded inMay 2006.

Says Herpel who sched-ules the shift, “It’s challeng-ing to match supply anddemand.”

Originally, three workerswere scheduled per shift, butbusier times required morepeople. “During a weekday at8 a.m., there will be less todo, and in the past, peoplehave complained that theworkers are sitting aroundand doing nothing,” says Her-pel. “But a weekend after-noon or weekday evenings,after school and work, requiremore workers, so we fill inwith makeups and FTOPs.”

Herpel admits that shop-pers complain when they seewaiting workers doing noth-ing. The Coop responded bydevising additional tasks

they can perform during qui-eter times, such as lining upcarts within the store to openthe areas near the exit, aswell as assisting shoppers ingrocery packing. But it’simpossible to totally predictpeople’s shopping habits, toprovide this service, it’s amust to have people there.

“We can live with them sit-ting on a bench because solv-ing the traffic problem wasvital to this community,” Her-pel points out. “If one lessperson blocks Union Street,then the workers have ful-filled their purpose. Our aimis to both provide Coopmembers with enhancedshopping, and to be a betterneighbor.”

At a recent General Meet-ing, Herpel recounts that theCoop liaison with the localfirehouse, reported that thefirefighters have been grati-fied by the changes since thisservice was instituted: thereare fewer cars blocking theirentrance. So at the very least,that serious safety issue hasbeen resolved, restoring the

firemen’s ability to alwaysrespond in a timely manner.

And in full disclosure, Imust reveal that this shopperis a big fan of the service.There it was 6:30 on a Sundayevening. Having completedthe interviews for this article(and my shopping), I exitedthe store with a box-ladencart ready to head up the icysidewalks of Union Street tomy car. Waiting on the out-side in his bright orange vestwas outside worker Eric,ready to accompany me.

“How long have you beendoing this shift?” I asked.

“For fifteen minutes,” hereplied.

“Do you mean that this isthe first time you’re doingthis shift?” I asked. “How doyou like it?”

“Yes, it’s a makeup and Ilike it just fine,” he told me.“Here, let me help you withthat cart.” He wrested thehandle from me and began topush the cart up the hill.

I admit it. I didn’t tell himhe didn’t have to do that. Iwas too grateful. ■

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Outside WorkersBy Alison Levy

PROGRAMS

Friday, February 16 throughSunday, February 18

The following programs will happen within four days ofpublication of this issue. For full ads, please look atthe January 18 or February 1 issues or pick up copies ofthe flyers in the Coop.

Friday, February 16

8:00 The Good Coffeehouse Coop Concert SeriesFeaturing The Blue Moon Ramblers and TheCoop Rhythm Masters at The Society forEthical Culture

Saturday, February 17

2:00 Forgiveness

Sunday, February 18

12:00 Theta Healing

AdultClothing ExchangeHave you noticed that Coop members

are great dressers!

The season is changing, and this is youropportunity to trade gently used and

beautiful clothes that you no longer wear.

A clothing exchange is a communityevent that is ecologically responsible

and fun. Why support the consumermarket and buy, when you can wear

clothes that have already been well loved.

Bring items that you think others might enjoy–and a snackto share.

Saturday, March 109:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

in the meeting room

To bring Clothes…• Do not leave clothing in the Coop before the hours of theexchange.• Bring up to 15 items only• Bring gently used, clean clothing that you are proud to beable to exchange with it's new owner.

(Unchosen clothing will be donated to a local shelter.)

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4 � February 15, 2007 Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NY

Low Inventory and the Vicissitudes of LifeBy Ed Levy

It would seem to be a no-brainer in the digital age.Alison purchases 12 cans

of Pet Guard Fish Chickenand Liver for Tally, her cat,the checkout person scansthem, and a computer pro-gram silently notes thereduction in inventory, even-tually telling the pet foodbuyer how many cases toreorder the following week.The supplier fills the order,and the cans reappear on theshelf. But wait—not so fast!There are literally dozens ofother variables at work.Speaking to the Coop buyersabout anticipating demand,one very quickly realizes whyno computer yet devisedcould have prevented thekind of depleted inventorythat occurred at the Coop afew weeks ago, betweenChristmas and New Year’s.

For that, the computerwould have had to know thatblizzards in the West werestalling the eastward move-ment of produce fromCalifornia; that Christmas andNew Year’s fell on the Coop’susual ordering day, Monday,and our suppliers were closed;that even if buyers wanted tostock up on certain items forthe holiday there was no roomleft in the basement; and that

a higher percentage thanusual of members didn’t showup for their shifts this holidayseason. The computers areprogrammed to account forsurges in buying at particulartimes of the year: increasingthe order of boxed juices inSeptember, when kids returnto school, for example. ButMatt Coffman, ReceivingCoordinator and new Gazetteliaison, explained that while acomputer can be asked toincrease orders at specifictimes of the year by a certainpercentage, it requires institu-tional memory to really getthe ordering right. The pro-gram for computer-generatedincreases only tracks sales forthe previous year, and it can-not, at least currently, accountfor fluctuations in the Coop’smembership. Suppose, forexample, the computer callsfor a 20% increase in boxedjuices. That’s 20% of the mem-bership at the time thatamount was programmed, notof the current membership,which stands around 12,800.

How Many ChocolateMatzos Is Enough?

Buyer Eddie Rosenthalused the example of a popularPassover item, chocolate mat-zos, to illustrate the need for abrain as well as a computer inthe ordering process. Since

the supplier never makesenough chocolate matzos, theCoop has never been able tofill its order. As a result, Eddienever knows what the actualdemand is for this coveteditem. And even if he couldorder enough chocolate mat-zos from a second supplier,there would be no way of pre-dicting how much brand loy-alty exists to the originalsupplier.

This year produce, drygoods, dairy and meat wereall in short supply during theChristmas-New Year’s week.Some members looked at theempty shelves and wereannoyed and angry; othersthought something had hap-pened to the Coop. A few justwent to Whole Foods or theirlocal market. Although, givenall the variables, one depart-ment or another is usuallydealing with an occasionalmiscalculation, this year theshortages hit across theboard.

Janet Schumacherexplained several of the otherfactors contributing to theshortfall. The Christmas andNew Year’s holidays in effectcreated two four-day weeks ina row, shortening the windowfor deliveries; and Coop sup-pliers, whose trucks alreadymake frequent deliveries tothe store because of theCoop’s lack of storage space,were already heavily sched-uled. Many were on vacationthemselves. In addition, thisyear the Coop didn’t do itsusual Sunday evening inven-tory, based on the previousweek, since Sunday wasChristmas Eve. Some buyerstried to anticipate their orders

the week before, but, as LisaHidem, who buys preparedfood and dry goods, pointedout, even if she had wanted toorder enough pasta, for exam-ple, to accommodate thepost-holiday spurt in demand,she couldn’t since the recentexpansion of the dairy case inthe basement took spaceaway from dry goods storage.

The Intricate Basement Dance

Allocation of space in thebasement appears to be akind of chess game or compli-cated folk dance among thebuyers and managers.Everyone “kind of knows” howmuch space is down there,Lisa explained. “You just stakeyour claim and try to hold it.”Could the Coop expand itsstorage area? Theoreticallyyes, but practically no.Because the store is in a resi-dential area, zoning regula-tions prevent it fromexpanding upward. There is ofcourse the option of acquiringadditional storage spacesomewhere nearby, but thatputs the Coop in the trucking

business, creating a level ofcomplexity that none of themangers seem eager for. As aresult of the crowding, eventhough the Coop turns itsentire inventory over in lessthan a week, the tight condi-tions affect the workflow:when extra heavy cream isordered for Thanksgiving, theshelf stockers have to pull adozen U-boats of turkeys outof the cooler to get at it.Around Christmas, theupstairs meeting room ispressed into service for stor-ing chocolate, bakery itemsand calendars. And youthought the shopping floorwas crowded!

Many buyers keep theirown personal notes to remindthem of ordering patterns forparticular times of the year:more soup when it’s cold,more pies for Thanksgiving,more guacamole for SuperBowl Sunday, more potatoesand applesauce for Chanukah.Joe Holtz has a number of for-mulas that he uses to makeordering more accurate. EddieRosenthal always orders morewhite eggs for Passover, sincepeople preparing for that holi-day avoid the brown ones,which have more blood spots.Normally eggs, according toJewish dietary laws, are con-sidered to be neither milk normeat, but eggs with bloodspots are considered to befertilized, and therefore meat,and can’t be used in manydishes prepared for theholiday.

Where Did Everyone Go?Office Coordinator Ann

Herpel confirmed the highrate of absenteeism on holi-day workshifts this year. Shepointed out the threeoptions members have forhandling an anticipatedabsence: 1) Consult the yel-low index cards at the“Switch Board” near thecashiers’ stand for possibletrades; 2) go to the Coop’swebsite (www.foodcoop.com)and arrange a switch onlinewith another member; 3)telephone someone directlywho does the same job. Nostatistics currently exist onhow many people make useof each of these means.

Generally, absenteeismduring the holidays is treatedmore gently than at othertimes. ■

WHAT IS THAT? HOW DO I USE IT?

Food Tours in the CoopIt’s a simple thing, a carrota long tap root that grows below groundand sends up a fountain of ferny leaves above groundthey're common, they're popularand completely taken for granted

the thing is—they’re orangea vibrant, certifiably saturated colorno matter how you eat ithow does orange come out of the blackness of the earth (it’s easier to understand the green leavesgrowing in the warmth and light of the sun)but orange out of black is a powerful and creativeliving assertion: Carrot

When we eat that carrot it becomes usindeed it is becoming of us to eat a carrotwe take that orange living thinginto the mysterious darkness of our bodiesand by holding its vitality we too are carrot

the ordinary, magically orange carrot

don’t let all we have lost blind us toall that lies at our feet before us

come share your favorite way to eat a carrotand I’ll share minewhere else but at the Park Slope Food Coop

Mondays, February 26 (D Week)March 12 (B Week) and March 26 (D Week)

Noon to 1 p.m. and 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.

Wednesdays, February 14 March 14 (B Weeks)

5:00 to 6:00 p.m. and 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Or you can join in any time during a tour.

Artist/Illustrator/CalligrapherNeeded

The Signage Committee needs an illustrator to draw upCoop information and/or announcements on a chalk-board planned for the cashier area. The member-artistwould work free-hand from copy pre-pared by the staff and use graphicguidelines provided by the SignageCommittee. News items would rotateperiodically, generally once every fourweeks. Work can be done on an FTOPbasis, but we need someone who cancommit to work on the project for at leastsix work cycles. Work will take place at the Coop,Monday-Friday. The exact day and time are flexible,though early in the morning availability is a big plus.Please reply only if you have at least six months of Coopmembership and an excellent attendance record. ContactJess Robinson via e-mail at jess_robinson@psfc.coop orvia phone at the Coop’s main number (718) 622-0560.

Cooperation AmongCooperatives

The 4th Street Food Coopat 58 East 4th Street between Bowery and Second Avenue in Manhattan is offering our

members a 5% discount on an ongoing basis.

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Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NY February 15, 2007 � 5Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NY February 15, 2007 � 5

By Marion Stein

From January 26-28, I spent the long weekend,once again, in Syracuse, NY at The Holiday Inn.Are you crazy?, you ask. No, just crazy about

the great organic food we find at the PSFC and thelocal sources thereof. Syracuse in January is wherethe annual NOFA-NY conferenceis held. NOFA-NY, the New Yorkchapter of the Northeast OrganicFarming Association, is a certify-ing organization for organic pro-duce and an educationalorganization as well. It provides acommunity for farmers in theNortheast, where they share knowledge, send repre-sentatives to Albany and Washington to watch andinfluence agricultural laws, and share experiences.The program always includes keynote addresses bypeople well known in the field of organic growing.Although I am not a farmer, I am an “educated con-sumer” and an organic gardener on a rather smallscale. I find this conference of great interest whereI’ve met the most dedicated people.

This year’s conference theme was “Building theFarm Economy Around Local Foods,” indeed a very

timely topic since the new buzz phrase in the worldof food is “food miles.” Richard Pirog, the director ofthe Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture atIowa State University, one of the keynote speakers,told us that those concerned with the sources of ourfood need to know that 19% of the fossil fuels used inthe USA is connected to the food system. Changing

the way food is transported isone way to approach compli-ance with the Kyoto Protocol.This is completely consistentwith buying local or regionalproducts whenever possible.As you may have seen in TheNew York Times on Saturday,

February 3, the Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange (IPCC) has finally acknowledged for the firsttime that global warming is “unequivocal” and thathuman activity is its main driver. Therefore, anythingwe can do to minimize fossil fuel use is good. Inaddition, Michael Pollan stated in his New York TimesMagazine article of January 28 that it is time to “getout of the supermarket” and into the farmers’ marketwhere one finds food harvested nearby and picked atthe peak of nutritional quality. The PSFC is not afarmers’ market, but it is much closer to one than is

the supermarket. Many of the products that we findare grown regionally if not locally.

Here in NY State our farm economy is eminentlyworthy of our support. We also have multiple distri-bution networks to transport these products. AmyHepworth of Hepworth Farms in Milton, NY sells usmost of our IPM (Integrated Pest Management)grown apples and many other products in season.Grindstone Farm in Pulaski, NY supplies us withasparagus in the spring, rainbow chard, kale, blue-berries, shallots, candy onions and white onions,among other produce, throughout the growing sea-son. Dick DeGraff, the owner of Grindstone Farm,said that Allen Zimmerman, our Produce Coordina-tor, is very sensitive to the issue of “food miles” andworks with the farmers to get their product here inthe most efficient way possible. Dick uses a regionaldistributor called “Regional Access” that collectsand distributes products from many different NYState farms and then delivers them in the city.

We may not be concerned with the exact locationwhere our vegetables and fruits originate, but since“local and regional” affect the “food miles,” we are for-tunate that Allen is continually striving to bring usthe best from the closest places he can. You’re doinga great job, Allen! ■

Syracuse, NY in January; Not Your “Island Get-away”

Member Contribution

By Monica Shimamura

I f you average the sun’senergy over a year andover the entire earth, the

earth’s atmosphere receives4.4 x 1016 watts of energyfrom the sun. To put this intotangible perspective, an aver-age electric plant produces100 million watts of energy or108 watts; therefore, youwould need 440 millionpower plants to equal theamount of energy that reach-es the earth’s atmosphere.

With this abundance ofenergy hitting the earth’satmosphere, there would beenough energy to power theworld’s electricity severaltimes over if we could har-ness this energy efficiently.

Using the sun’s energy toproduce electricity is whatwe call “solar energy.” Cur-rently solar energy usagearound the world is less than1% of the total global energyconsumption. However, thetechnology to harness solarenergy has been refined andthe cost of this technologycontinues to go down. With

concerns mounting aboutglobal warming and air pol-lution, and the growing glob-al demand for energy, thefuture of solar energy lookspromising.

Why not use solar energyat the Coop if it’s a renewableand green energy? This ques-tion has arisen time and timeagain. The answer has beenelusive because until nowthere had been no solarassessment performed at theCoop. Recently the Environ-mental Committeeresearched to find out if solarenergy is a viable option forthe Coop. The method thecommittee used to deter-mine if solar energy is a pos-sibility can be applied to yourown personal residence aswell.

The first thing the commit-tee needed to establish washow much sunlight we get onthe Coop’s rooftop. We havealways known that there is asix-story school building onthe south side of the Coopthat creates considerableshade. However, no one hadever measured exactly how

much sunlight hits theCoop’s roof. The committeecontacted several environ-mental energy consultants(you can find them listed inthe yellow pages under “envi-ronmental consultants”) whoprovide free solar energyassessments. We also con-tacted local solar energy non-profits, such as Solar One(www.solar1.org) and BigApple Solar (www.basicsolar.org) for their suggestionsfor a solar energy consultant.

After much searchingthroughout the New York Citymetropolitan area we foundJeff Perlman from BrightPower, who is a Coop mem-ber. Jeff conducted a solarassessment for the Coop. Heclimbed onto our roof to per-form a shade study using aSolar Pathfinder, which mea-sures the available sunlightthroughout the year. Thismeasurement allowed us todetermine how much energywe can extract from the sun.

Just imagine if the Coopinstalled solar panels on ourroof. We would be generatingenough electricity to power atypical New York City house-hold. The payback period forinstalling solar panels wouldbe 11.4 years and after those11.4 years, the electricity pro-duced by the panels would befree. Don’t you think thiswould be a great idea? Isn’t italso nice to know that theelectricity generated from thesolar panels is not pollutingour air or water and does notharm plants or animal life?The Coop would also be con-tributing less toward globalwarming because electricitygenerated by solar energydoes not produce carbon diox-ide (CO2), a greenhouse gas.

Now, let’s take a look at

the results from Bright Pow-er’s solar feasibility study.The report explained thatthere are two types of solarenergy systems to consider: asolar electric photovoltaic(PV) system or a solar waterheating system. Since theCoop obtains much of its hotwater and heating fromrecovered heat from therefrigeration system, there isnot much need for a solarwater heating system. Never-theless, according to BrightPower’s measurements, theCoop’s roof receives enoughsunlight to install a 12 x 34foot PV system, which wouldproduce approximately 4,400kilowatt-hours (kWhs) annu-ally. At the current utility costof $0.17 per kWh, that’s about$748 worth of electricity forone year, equal to an averageNYC residence.

The Coop uses 920,000kWhs of energy per year —180 times the energy used bythe average home in Brook-lyn, due to the enormous

amount of refrigeration used.If solar panels were installed,the 4,400 kWhs of energywould be a very small portionof the Coop’s needs.However, it is not an insignifi-cant amount of energy.

The cost of the PV isapproximately $35,000, butthis would be offset by a staterebate as well as federal taxcredits. Once the rebate andtax credits were utilized, thetotal cost up front to theCoop would be $8,500.

The benefits of solar energyare numerous. From the obvi-ous environmental benefits,such as reduction in CO2, aglobal warming gas, to thenot-so-obvious benefits ofplacing less stress on theenergy grid during the sum-mer peak time energy use,solar energy is a great alterna-tive to conventional energy.The Environmental Commit-tee leaves the question up tothe Coop community. Do youthink it’s worth investing insolar energy at the Coop? ■Solar Pathfinder

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Environmental Committee Report: Solar Energy

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6 � February 15, 2007 Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NY

Puzzle CornerContributions from members are welcome.Please sign your entries. Answer is on page 14.

Cryptogram Topic: CleanersThe code used on the list below is a simple lettersubstitution. That is, if “G” stands for “M” in oneword, it will be the same throughout the list.

N Q B M O K U X W

K O X K A H K

F U L O P Q

O P P U L Q O

G O L B O K B Q J

S X O K K T X A K

X Z P U L U Q X

P A M T D E ' K U Q X

K U O T

K U G B K N M A F

H M O L U

The Linewaiters’ Gazette is published biweekly bythe Park Slope Food Coop, Inc., 782 Union Street,Brooklyn, New York 11215.

Opinions expressed here may be solely the viewsof the writer. The Gazette will not knowingly publisharticles that are racist, sexist, or otherwisediscriminatory.

The Gazette welcomes Coop-related articles, andletters from members.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

All submissions MUST include author’s name andphone number and conform to the followingguidelines. Editors will reject letters and articlesthat are illegible or too long. Submission deadlinesappear in the Coop Calendar opposite.

Letters: Maximum 500 words. All letters will beprinted if they conform to the guidelines above.The Anonymity and Fairness policies appear onthe letters page in most issues.

Voluntary Articles: Maximum 750 words.

Submissions on Paper: Typed or very legiblyhandwritten and placed in the wallpocket labeled"Editor" on the second floor at the base of the ramp.

Submissions on Disk & by Email: We welcomedigital submissions. Drop disks in the wallpocketdescribed above. The email address forsubmissions is GazetteSubmissions@psfc.coop.Receipt of your submissions will be acknowledgedon the deadline day.

Classified & Display Ads: Ads may only be placedby and on behalf of Coop members. Classified adsare 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 asubmission form (available in a wallpocket on thefirst floor near the elevator). Classified ads may beup to 315 characters and spaces. Display ads mustbe camera-ready and business card size (2"x3.5").

Recipes: We welcome original recipes frommembers. Recipes must be signed by the creator.

Subscriptions: The Gazette is available free tomembers in the store. Subscriptions are available bymail at $23 per year to cover the cost of postage (atFirst Class rates because our volume is low).

Printed by: Prompt Printing Press, Camden, NJ.

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–Friday

8:00 a.m. to 10:00* p.m.Saturday

6:00 a.m. to 10:00* p.m.Sunday

6:00 a.m. to 7:30* p.m.*Shoppers must be on a checkout line

15 minutes after closing time.

Childcare Hours:Monday through Saturday

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

8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Telephone:718-622-0560

Web address:www.foodcoop.com

This Issue Prepared By:

Coordinating Editors: Stephanie GoldenErik Lewis

Editors (development): Erik LewisJoan Minieri

Reporters: Ed HaberleAlison LevyEd Levy

Art Director (development): Eva Schicker

Illustrators: Lynn BernsteinEthan PettitDeborah Tint

Photographers: Rod Morrison

Traffic Manager: Barbara Knight

Classified Ads Prep: Heather Cottrell

Text Converters: Diana QuickAndrew Rathbun

Proofreader: Margaret Benton

Thumbnails: Saeri Yoo Park

Preproduction: Helena Boskovic

Photoshop: Terrance Carney

Art Director (production): Joe Banish

Desktop Publishing: Jennifer RauchNamik MinterMichael Walters

Editor (production): Louise Spain

Final Proofreader: Janet Mackin

Post Production: Becky Cassidy

Index: Len Neufeld

A monthly musical fundraising partnership ofthe Park Slope Food Coop

and the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture

53 Prospect Park West [at 2nd Street] • $10 • 8:00 p.m. [doors open at 7:45]Performers are Park Slope Food Coop members and receive Coop workslot credit.

Booking: Bev Grant, 718-230-4999

Friday

Mar. 168:00 p.m.

Robert Dick and Ursel Schlicht Robert Dick on flutes and Ursel Schlicht at the piano are two virtuosi whose talent for stretching their instruments and mindsallows them to paint with more colors and textures than flute andpiano have any right to expect. A common pairing in classicalmusic, flute-piano duos are rare in improvised music. But as theyroam the territory between jazz, new music, and world music, Dick and Schlicht field a host of unusual sonics and techniques sostartling that they open new panoramas. At times you may wonderjust what you're hearing.

Todd IslerLong time coop member and drummer/percussionist Todd Islerbrings his unique brand of world jazz to the series. He’ll be pre-senting works from the upcoming CD, “Soul Drums”.

Todd Isler–Drums/Percussion, Stefan Bauer–Vibes, Adam Kolker–Saxes, Marco Panacia–Acoustic Bass

07-02/15 p 01-07 2/14/07 11:07 PM Page 6

Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NY February 15, 2007 � 7

Gazette Ad PrepThursday, A and C weeks, 10:00 to 11:15a.m.Are you available to work two shorter shiftstwice per 4-week cycle? One member needed tohelp prepare classified submissions to theLinewaiters’ Gazette. Work slot requires legiblehandwriting, attention to detail, comfort work-ing with computers, and reliable attendance. Asix-month commitment is required. ContactRocco Arrigo at 718-622-0560 or rocco_arri-go@psfc.coop if interested. The first day towork will be Thursday, February 22.

Kitchen CleaningWednesday, 9:00 to 11:00 a.m.Deep clean all three kitchens in the Coop: child-

care, meeting room, staff room. You will workindependently to clean countertops, cabinets,drawers, kitchen equipment, sinks, and refrigera-tors. Must be reliable as you are the only personcoming to do this job on your day.

Orientation CommitteeWe have no openings at the moment, but there arealso no members trained and ready to step inwhen a vacancy occurs. We are looking for ener-getic people with a teaching or training back-ground who can work Sunday afternoon, Mondayor Wednesday evening, or Wednesday morning.Orienters lead sessions every six weeks, and on theweek midway between sessions you must be avail-able as backup for emergency coverage. Workslotcredit will be given for training sessions. An annual

meeting of the Orientation Committee is part ofthe work requirement. We are especially interestedin members who speak fluent Spanish or Russian.For more information, contact the MembershipOffice or write to karen_mancuso@psfc.coop.

Refrigerator CleaningMonday or Wednesday mornings, 9:00 to 11:00 a.m.

This position requires a desire to do physicalwork, enjoy cleaning, and organize refrigerators.You will thoroughly clean the refrigerator,removing all movable parts and cleaning them,label food items, and discard old or out-of-dateproducts. .

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. Some restrictions to this program do apply. Please see

below for details.

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

workslot-credit program two times per calendaryear.

• 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.

• Childcare can be provided at GMs:Please notify an Office Coordinator in the Membership

Office at least one week prior to the meeting date.

• 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.

• Is it FTOP or a Make-up?It depends on your work status at the time of the

meeting.

• Consider making a report…...to your Squad after you attend the meeting.

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.We seek to maximize participation at everylevel, from policy making to running thestore. We welcome all who respect thesevalues.

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Our Governing Structure From our inception in 1973 to the present, the openmonthly General Meetings have been at the center of theCoop’s decision-making process. Since the Coop incor-porated in 1977, we have been legally required to have aBoard of Directors. The Coop continued the tradition ofGeneral Meetings by requiring the Board to have openmeetings and to receive the advice of the members atGeneral Meetings. The Board of Directors, which isrequired to act legally and responsibly, has approvedalmost every General Meeting decision at the end ofevery General Meeting. Board members are elected atthe Annual Meeting in June. Copies of the Coop’s bylawsare available at the Coop Community Corner and atevery General Meeting.

Next Meeting: Tuesday, February 27, 7:00 p.m.The General Meeting is held on the last Tuesday of eachmonth.

Location The temple house of Congregation Beth Elohim (GarfieldTemple), 274 Garfield Place.

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 in the rack nearthe Coop Community Corner bulletin board and atGeneral Meetings. Instructions and helpful informationon how to submit an item appear on the submissionform. The Agenda Committee meets on the first Tuesdayof each month to plan the agenda for the GM held on thelast Tuesday of the month. If you have a question, pleasecall Linda Wheeler in the office.

Meeting FormatWarm Up (7:00 p.m.)• Meet the Coordinators• Enjoy some Coop snacks• Submit Open Forum items• Explore meeting literature

Open Forum (7:15 p.m.)Open Forum is a time for members to bring brief itemsto the General Meeting. If an item is more than brief, itcan be submitted to the Agenda Committee as an itemfor a future GM.

Reports (7:30 p.m.)• Financial Report• Coordinators’ Report• Committee Reports

Agenda (8:00 p.m.)• The agenda is posted at the Coop Community Corner

and may also appear elsewhere in this issue.

Wrap Up (9:30-9:45) (unless there is a vote to extend the meeting)• Meeting evaluation• Board of Directors vote• Announcements, etc.

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. Some restrictions to this program do apply. Please see

below for details.

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

workslot-credit program two times per calendaryear.

• 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.

• Childcare can be provided at GMs:Please notify an Office Coordinator in the Membership

Office at least one week prior to the meeting date.

• 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.

• Is it FTOP or a Make-up?It depends on your work status at the time of the

meeting.

• Consider making a report…...to your Squad after you attend the meeting.

New Member OrientationsMonday & Wednesday evenings: . . 7:30 p.m.Wednesday mornings: . . . . . . . . . . 10:00 a.m.Sunday afternoons: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:00 p.m.

Be sure to be here promptly—or early—as webegin on time! The orientation takes about twohours. Please don't bring small children.

Gazette Deadlines

LETTERS & VOLUNTARY ARTICLES:Mar 1 issue: 7:00 p.m., Mon, Feb 19Mar 15 issue: 7:00 p.m., Mon, Mar 5

CLASSIFIED ADS DEADLINE:Mar 1 issue: 10:00 p.m., Wed, Feb 21Mar 15 issue: 10:00 p.m., Wed, Mar 7

General Meeting

TUE, FEB 27GENERAL MEETING: 7:00 p.m.The agenda appears in this issue and isavailable as a flyer in the entryway.

TUE, MAR 6AGENDA SUBMISSIONS: 8:00 p.m. Submissions will be considered for the March 27 GM.

The Coop on Cable TVInside the Park Slope Food Coop

FRIDAYS 1:00 p.m. with a replay at 9:00 p.m. Channels: 56 (TimeWarner), 67 (CableVision).

If specific programming is available at presstime, it will appear on the Community Calendarpage overleaf.

C O O P CA L E N D A RA l l A b o u t t h e

G e n e r a l M e e t i n g

07-02/15 p 01-07 2/14/07 11:07 PM Page 7

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Community calendar listings are free. Please submit your listings in 50 words or less by mail, themailslot in the entry vestibule, or GazetteSubmissions@psfc.coop. Submission deadlines are thesame as for classified ads. Please refer to the Coop Calendar in the center of this issue.*Denotes a Coop member.

SAT, FEB 17

PEOPLES' VOICE CAFE: Love &War; Bruce Markow. Workmen'sCircle, 45 E 33 St, Manh, 8 p.m.Admission: $12, more if youchoose, less if you can't. Members$9, (212) 787-3903 www.peo-plesvoicecafe.org

22nd ANNUAL NEW YORK SWORDDANCE FESTIVAL, February 17-18,2007. Twelve sword teams travel toNew York for an exciting weekendof performances in public spacesaround the city. For more informa-tion, contact: ellenco@yahoo.com,(718) 208-8321, or go to www.half-moonsword.org

SUN, FEB 18

ASIAN AMERICAN WOMENARTISTS ALLIANCE. Home RoomPhase II Exhibition OpeningReception and Lunar New YearCelebration. 1-6 p.m. Celebratethe year of the Pig with a New Yeardumpling workshop, 1-6 p.m.Dumpling eating contest, 3 p.m.Lion Dance, 4 p.m. Admission $5.AAWAA Gallery, 136 15 St. Bklyn.info@aawaa.org (718) 788-6170.

FRI, FEB 23

ASIAN AMERICAN WOMENARTISTS ALLIANCE MOVIESERIES. Vietnam Symphony. TomZubrycki, 52 min. In 1965, as theVietnam War intensified andHanoi faced the threat of massiveUS bombing, students and teach-ers from the National Conservato-ry of Music were forced to flee thecity. With the help of villagers, theybuilt an entire campus under-ground. Here, as the war ragedaround them, they lived, studiedand played music for five years.info@aawaa.org 718-788-6170.

SAT, FEB 24

ASIAN AMERICAN WOMENARTISTS ALLIANCE MOVIESERIES. Between Two Worlds: TheHmong Shaman in America. TaggartSiegel & Dwight Conquergood. 30min. This classic film documentsthe Hmong refugees who havebeen transplanted from their agrar-ian mountain villages in northernLaos to cities in the U.S. Often liv-ing in high-rise tenements, theybring their ancient shamanic ritu-als and ceremonies to urban Amer-ica. In such unlikely settings,trance-like healing and animalofferings are practiced as they wereback home. info@aawaa.org 718-788-6170.

SAT, FEB 24

RAW PIZZA PARTY! Enjoy deli-cious food and a fun live demon-stration on how to make your ownraw pizza at home! Celebrate withgreat music, a full juice bar, and anabundant buffet of RAW pizza,spaghetti, chocolate and youngcoconuts! Children Welcome.Visit www.rawpizzaparty.com ordetails and tickets!

PEOPLE'S VOICE CAFE: Rick &Andy; Lavendar Light GospelChoir. At The Workmen's Circle, 45E 33 St, Manh; Wheelchair-acces-sible. For info call (212) 787-3903or see www.peoplesvoicecafe.org.Suggested donation: $12 gener-al/$9 members/more if youchoose, less if you can't/no oneturned away.

SUN, FEB 25

ZEEMEEUWSIC II: Sunday con-certs at the Old Stone House. RobMosher’s Band-Storytime, dectet:jazz, classical, original. Pro-grammed by *Martha Siegel. JJByrne Park, 5th Av btw 3rd/4th Sts.2:00 p.m. $10.

FRI, MAR 2

ASIAN AMERICAN WOMENARTISTS ALLIANCE MOVIE SERIES.The Living Tree. Flora Moon. 26 min.Flora Moon was born in Indiana ofparents who had fled Red China.Because of her family’s efforts toavoid scrutiny during the Cold Warera of the 1950’s they tried hard toblend in with their surroundingsand little mention was made athome of their Chinese past.info@aawaa.org 718-788-6170.

SAT, MAR 3

ASIAN AMERICAN WOMENARTISTS ALLIANCE MOVIESERIES. To Live is Better than To Die.AIDs in China. Weijun Chen, 60min. This is a heartbreaking storyfrom Wenlou, a small village incentral China, where 60% of thevillagers are infected with HIV.info@aawaa.org 718-788-6170.

SUN, MAR 4

ZEEMEEUWSIC II: Sunday concertsat the Old Stone House. SchubertOctet, chamber music with strings& winds. Programmed by *MarthaSiegel. JJ Byrne Park, 5th Av btw3rd/4th Sts. 2:00 p.m. $10.

MON, MAR 5

KRAV MAGA—ISRAELI MARTIALARTS 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. A SelfDefense Class Sponsored by:Hadassah Brooklyn Region YoungWomen/Young Leaders. Donation:$20, or $18 if pre-paid beforeMarch 1. Hadassah House, 50 W.58 Street, NY 10019. Pre-registra-tion required. RSVP to (718) 382-6454 or Brooklyn@hadassah.org.www.brooklyn.hadassah.org

FRI, MAR 9

ASIAN AMERICAN WOMENARTISTS ALLIANCE MOVIESERIES. Chinese animation nightfor neighborhood children andadults. Admission is free.info@aawaa.org 718-788-6170.

SAT, MAR 10

ASIAN AMERICAN WOMENARTISTS ALLIANCE MOVIESERIES. And Thereafter. A Korean“War Bride” in an Alien Land.Hosup Lee. 56 min. A portrayal ofthe fortitude of an immigrant “warbride” in America. Seventy-six-year-old Young-Ja Wike is one ofthe 10,000 Korean women whomarried American G.I.s. after thewar. For them marriage was theonly escape from the crushingpoverty of post-war Korea.info@aawaa.org 718-788-6170.

SAT, MAR 18

Asian American Women ArtistsAllianceMovie Series. And Thereafter. AKorean “War Bride” in an Alien Land.Hosup Lee. 56 min. A portrayal ofthe fortitude of an immigrant “warbride” in America. Seventy-six-year-old Young-Ja Wike is one ofthe 10,000 Korean women whomarried American G.I.s. after thewar. For them marriage was theonly escape from the crushingpoverty of post-war Korea.info@aawaa.org 718-788-6170.

FRI, MAR 16

ASIAN AMERICAN WOMENARTISTS ALLIANCE MOVIESERIES. Malalai, Policewoman ofKandahar. Polly Hyman. 42 min. Inthe dangerous, male-orientedworld of Kandahar, home to drugsmugglers and terrorists, a police-woman, Malalai Kakar is blazingthe way for women. Unhindered byher heavy burka, this mother of sixis chasing wife-beaters, murderersand thieves across Afghanistan.info@aawaa.org 718-788-6170.

SAT, MAR 17

ASIAN AMERICAN WOMENARTISTS ALLIANCE MOVIESERIES. The Worlds of Mei Lanfang.Mei-Juin Chen, 57 min. The true storyof Mei Lanfang, China’s greatestopera star; a husband and fatherwhose world wide fame came fromthe portrayal of women. His fasci-nating life was the basis for the fea-ture film Farewell My Concubine.info@aawaa.org 718-788-6170.

DWA FANM, "Women's Rights" inHaitian Creole, is a human rightsorganization committed toempowering all women and girls.DWA FANM invites you to TheVagina Monologues with EveEnsler and surprise guests. Sat,March 17, 8 p.m. To purchase tick-ets call (718) 730-4027.

A documentary film made by Cicala Filmworks and co-produced by local bike and pedestrian advocacygroup Transportation Alternatives that dares to ask“how do we solve the problem of NYC traffic?”Contested Streets features new footage of reclaimedstreets in London, Paris and Copenhagen and inter-views with New York savvy notables such as Ken Jackson, Mike Wallace, Bob Kiley,Majora Carter, Kathryn Wylde, Enrique Peñalosa,James Howard Kunstler and many more.

Stefan Schaefer (Director/Producer/Editor, Cicala Film-works) has written, directed and produced documentaries, TV com-mercials and promotional videos for clients such as theGuggenheim Museum, The New York Yankees, and theNew York City Department of Education. In May 2005 hecompleted the feature film Confess, his debut as awriter/director. Recent awards include: Best Screenwriter atthe Hamptons Film Festival, Grand Prize in DigitalFilmmaking from Panasonic and Apple, the New YorkFoundation for the Arts Fellowship in Screenwriting, andselection to attend the Talent Campus at the BerlinInternational Film Festival.

Dani Simons (Communications and Development Director,Transportation Alternatives) has worked for several non-profits on bicycling and urban transportation issues. She hasa Master’s of Environmental Science from the Yale School ofForestry. She is currently in charge of development andcommunications for Transportation Alternatives where shemanages a membership program for over 5,000 members;helps coordinate Bike Month NYC; runs three annual biketours and a host of other small events throughout the year.Dani is also the managing editor ofTransportation Alternatives Magazine.

A discussion with Stefan and Dani will follow the screening.

FREENon-members

welcome

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

Friday, March 2 • 7:00 p.m. at the Coop

8 � February 15, 2007 Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NY

Save these Dates!The Fun'Raising Committee has plenty of events for youand your friends, Coop members or not. Display ads foreach will appear in the Gazette as each event approaches.

Saturday, March 10............Adult Variety Show

Saturday, April 21 ..............Earth Day World Beat Fiesta

Saturday, May 19 ...............Game Night

07-02/15 p 08-12 2/14/07 11:37 PM Page 8

GM FOODSTO THE EDITOR:

While I share Steve Kastenbaum’sobjections to strident warnings onfood (letter to editor, Dec 21, 2006), Ithink that GM foods deserve specialtreatment. Here are some reasons why:

theoretical problems: The processof inserting foreign genes is crude andinexact, yielding unpredictable andunstable results, and damaging theentire genome of the organism. Geneticmaterial itself is very stable and notcompletely destroyed by digestion;thus random bits of spliced or dam-aged genetic material could be incor-porated into gut bacteria genomes.

safety studies: Independent stud-ies have not been encouraged orfunded, but the few conducted haveshown reproductive problems, highrates of mortality, and organ damagein test animals.

containment: GM contaminationof conventional crops and relatedwild species is a problem worldwide,and once enough contaminationoccurs, it is irreversible. (A fact whichthe biotech industry wants to use toits advantage, creating a fait accom-pli before regulation can be enacted.)

regulation: GM foods are consid-ered by the FDA to be equivalent tocorresponding non-GM foods and soare not subject to any special regula-tion or testing before being put on themarket. However, many countriesaround the world are banning orrestricting cultivation, or requiringlabeling, of GMOs. The extent of therestriction is inversely proportional tothe influence of the biotech industryon government. The US is the mostbackward country in the world in thisregard.

dubious utility: GMOs are beingdeveloped not to meet real needs, butto further short-term corporate inter-ests. They have led to impoverishmentand even suicide of small third worldfarmers, increased pesticide and herbi-cide use, and have created herbicideresistant weeds. “Terminator” technolo-gy can cause sterility not just in the GMproducts, but, because these plantsproduce sterile pollen, in other relatedplants as well. GE pest resistancerapidly becomes obsolete as pestsevolve, or others pests occupy theirniche. Furthermore, marker-assistedbreeding, a sort of super fast and effi-cient form of conventional breeding, isan effective and safe alternative.

corporate misconduct : Thebiotech industry is conducting aworldwide campaign of misinforma-tion, and sometimes coercion, direct-ed at governments and citizens ofdeveloped and undeveloped nationsusing phony science, shadow “publicinterest” organizations, influencepeddling, bribes, false claims to thirdworld farmers, and punitive lawsuitsagainst American farmers.

Unfortunately, space considera-tions prohibit me from backing up myarguments with more facts.. Here are afew web-based resources: http://www.gmwatch.org (currently offline, willreturn soon), http://www.ucsusa.org,h t t p : / / w w w. g l o b a l i s s u e s . o r g ,h t t p : / / w w w . n e t l i n k . d e / g e n ,http://www.organicconsumers.org. Iespecially recommend GM Watch’sweekly newsletter for those who wantto keep abreast of developments, and

to broaden their knowledge of theissue in general.

If “the jury is still out on geneticallymodified foods,” it is only because ofa concerted effort by the biotechindustry to suppress necessaryresearch and to manipulate publicopinion. If the term “WARNING” isconfrontational, I see it as directednot towards Coop shoppers, buttowards the biotech industry — astance that I applaud.

Katherine Bryski

CYBER DANTE

Does anybody give a damnAbout the sewer stuff in spam?The offers to make you very rich inYour very own erectile kitchen;The chance to invest in real estate On a parcel smaller than a crate;Low mortgage rates you can afford,Negotiable on a Monopoly board;Enlarge or shrink that pesky part Transforming it to state-of-the-art;An inch in addition or subtraction,You’re promised, will multiply your

action,Dividing your sagging doubts by half And turning tears into a laugh.Just who’s the target of these

spamsThat come with exotic names

meaning “Scams”?Such offers make outlandish

promisesAssuming a lack of doubting

thomases.They’re pills that turn out to be

poisonous,From canny con men laying ploys

on us.And yet it thrills me to the quickConsigning them to hell with a click.Give my regards—this is no bunk—To your fellow merchants of e-junk,And clue in Dante and Virgil, his tutor,

They’re better off without a computer.

Leon Freilich

SOCIALIST COOP?TO THE EDITOR:

Re: “Googling Ourselves” byBarbara Ensor, I must respond byfirst recounting that the first time Iheard the word “Nazi” in connectionwith the PSFC was from a very well-known and high-ranking director insustainable agriculture, a womanvery dedicated to the cause. I unfor-tunately understand the disparagingcomparison to a fascist state. I havenow been a member for 2 1/2 years,and I, too, began on the wrong footby getting told I had 2 make-ups todo before I even started. Even better,though, was that the young zealotwho informed me of it, proudly toldme that the Food Coop was socialist,not capitalist. He was, I’m afraid, inerror in this regard. The main tenet ofsocialism—”to each according totheir needs, from each according totheir means”—is a beautiful philoso-phy. I support its premise. It can onlywork, however, if it is voluntary. Associalism was tragically and fatallydistorted and defamed by the Sovietsystem of Communism, which soughtto impose a dictatorship of the prole-tariat to force the sharing of goodsand services, so too, the PSFC makesthe same fatal error. My friend in sus-tainable agriculture informed me thatmost coops allow those who want towork to do so, at reduced prices, and

those who want to pay extra and sup-port the sustainable agriculturemovement ( to each according totheir needs) that way are allowed todo so (from each according to theirmeans). Forced cooperation not onlyis not socialism; it is not sustainable.

Sincerely,Peter Loffredo

SHOPPERS’ RIGHTSLETTER TO THE EDITOR,

Should a shopper be required toinvoke the power of the court toestablish the right to obtain a print-out of available electronic benefittransaction balance?

Tuesday, January 23, 2007 a cashierinstructed shopper to use the tele-phone to obtain available electronicbenefit transaction tossing the elec-tronic benefit transaction machineprint out in the garbage bin shoutingfor security. Please post shoppingpublished letter on internet and inthe entry area near the schedules.

Respectfully,Deena Kristi Hays

???DEAR EDITORZ:

I see now for the first time in my lifewhy letters are addressed to “DearEditor.” You guyz are important andyou have a lot of power. And’ againmany thanks for printing both my let-ters when one of them was lost or mis-placed, as well as for now printing acorrection for the January 18th letter.

Unfortunately that correction isagain wrong. Are you using somepetty and pedantic interpretation ofthe word “header” to prevent yourselffrom getting this right? Or are youdiscombobulated by the difficulty incommunicating between the fourTeams, or by the retirement of SeniorManager Linda Wheeler, who used tocoordinate all of the Gazette’s affairs?Whatever is your position, or if thisold man is using his words a littlewrong according to your provincialdefinitions (and I do confess thatwhat I wrote was confusing), here iswhat I meant by the “header” for myJanuary 18th letter:

“A letter to the Gazette, 2007-01-08, for Issue of 2007-01-18, Albert B.Solomon, No. 12058, 718-768-9079 orhobces@yahoo.com. Please do notremove phone number and/or EMailaddress from letter. Please render*_____* as italics. Please try, if possi-ble, to render the ligature “˛” (“o” and“e” joined) as in “HomœpathicVisionary” correctly, not as a blankspace as in the December 7th issue.Please respect my spelling of Co-Oprather than coop.

Thanxkzs ———- :) ———— AS.”I do want the readers to know what

these headers look like, so pleaseprint it now. Thanks!

Two instances of cowardice: I wasall ready to fry Martha Siegel of theFun-Raising Committee for allowingpeople to skip the auditions if theyhad performed in previous shows. Itseemed a perfect example of the club-biness that needs to be replaced byfairness and transparency in our so-much bigger and better Co-Op. Butthen she wrote me such a sweet mes-sage—and she would now allow me toaudition even though I had oversleptfor the previous one—that I becamethe opposite of a tiger and thankedher profusely for allowing me to try

again. Even though there were onlyopenings for four or five performersbecause everyone else had performedlast year! But ah, you see what needcan do! Tune in here next issue to seewhether I will be in the March 10thAdult Talent Show, 7:30 Saturday atthe Berkeley-Carroll School.

And look at this: Before I read a letteron the same subject in the February 1stGazette, I had written an Open Forumquestion about what happens when adisabled person needs someone toshop for them. The reply to the letterrevealed that we already have exactlywhat I had outlined in the question: Away for a disabled person to have some-one who is not a member shop forthem. It is called, according to the letter,“the Authorized Shopper program.” Wellblow me down and call me a hairbrush!

Sincerely,Albert B. Solomo

LETTERS POLICY

We welcome letters from members.Submission deadlines appear in theCoop Calendar. All letters will beprinted if they conform to the pub-lished guidelines. We will not know-ingly publish articles which are racist,sexist or otherwise discriminatory

The maximum length for letters is500 words. Letters must include yourname and phone number and betyped or very legibly handwritten. Edi-tors will reject letters that are illegibleor too long.

You may submit on paper, typed orvery legibly handwritten, or via emailto GazetteSubmissions@psfc.coop oron disk. Disks are returned through anenvelope at the back of the Gazettesubmissions box.

AnonymityUnattributed letters will not be

published unless the Gazette knowsthe identity of the writer, and there-fore must be signed when submitted(giving phone number). Such letterswill be published only where a reasonis given to the editor as to why publicidentification of the writer wouldimpose an unfair burden of embar-rassment or difficulty. Such lettersmust relate to Coop issues and avoidany non-constructive, non-coopera-tive language.

FairnessIn order to provide fair, comprehen-sive, factual coverage:

1. The Gazette will not publishhearsay—that is, allegations notbased on the author's first-handobservation.

2. Nor will we publish accusationsthat are not specific or are not sub-stantiated by factual assertions.

3. Copies of submissions that makesubstantive accusations against specif-ic individuals will be given to those per-sons to enable them to write aresponse, and both submissions andresponse will be published simultane-ously. This means that the original sub-mission may not appear until the issueafter the one for which it was submitted.

The above applies to both articlesand letters. The only exceptions willbe articles by Gazette reporters whichwill be required to include theresponse within the article itself.

Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NY February 15, 2007 � 9

07-02/15 p 08-12 2/14/07 11:37 PM Page 9

10 � February 15, 2007 Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NY

Answer to Puzzle on page 6Citrasolv, Salsuds, Bon Ami, Ammonia, Fantastik, GlassPlus, Lemon Oil, Murphy's Oil Soap, Softscrub, Drano

ADVERTISE ON THE WEBIf your ad would benefit from broader exposure, trythe Coop's web page, www.foodcoop.com. The ads areFREE.

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

To Submit Classified or Display Ads:Ads may be placed on behalf of Coop members only. Classified ads are prepaid at $15 per inser-

tion, business card ads at $30. (Ads in the “Merchandise–Non-commercial” category are free.) Allads must be written on a submission form. Classified ads may be up to 315 characters and spaces.Display ads must be camera-ready and business card size (2" x 3.5" horizontal).

Submission forms are available in a wallpocket near the elevator.

CLASSES/GROUPS

RELATIONSHIP SUPPORT GROUP. Asafe, open, co-ed forum to improve com-munication; deepen self-understanding;reduce isolation; and explore how youcan have more rewarding relationships.Led by an experienced psychotherapist.To learn more, call Gary Singer, LCSW, at718-783-1561.

FOR EXERCISE PHOBICS. Scared ofYoga? Hate exercise? Small class form-ing for people who think they are too stiff,too large, too unfit to do yoga. Gentle,caring teacher. Make 2007 your healthyyear. Call Mina 917-881-9855.

COMMERCIAL SPACE

PROFESSIONAL OFFICES available.Ideal for massage therapist, acupunctur-ist, psychotherapist, etc. Be part of aholistic center, either in a beautiful Sohosection or in an excellent Brooklynneighborhood. Doctor will introduce allpatients to you. For information call212-505-5055.

BEAUTIFUL OFFICE SPACE availableone block from Coop. Suitable for body-work or acupuncture. Includes consultroom, 2 treatments rooms, waiting areaand bathroom. Available Wed. & Fri. eve.& all day Sat. & Sun. Call 718-398-5284and speak with Sally.

MERCHANDISE

TEMPUR-PEDIC MATTRESSES, NECKpillows, comfort products & accessories.Mattress comes with a 20-year guarantee& a 3-month trial period. The ultimate incomfort & pressure relief. Truly willimprove the quality of your sleep. CallJanet at Patrick Mackin Custom Furni-ture—a T-P dealer for 10 yrs,718-237-2592.

MERCHANDISE-NONCOMMERCIAL

ONE QUEEN SIZE SOFA BED and awedge portion of a sectional sofa. Bothpieces are from the same sectional.Come pick it up and its yours! Elizabethor Bob 718-284-7794.

PETS

NEVER HAD CATS BEFORE? Want to tryit? Going overseas and need a lovinghome for 2 sweet & affectionate 3yr oldbrother and sister. Wonderful company.Small fee requested but will contributesome supplies and food initially. Con-tract Victoria at tojonapier@mind-spring.com or call 917-569-6970.

COME TO AN ADOPT-A-THON! Dogs,Cats, Puppies and Kittens! Saturday Feb.17th 450 67th St. between 4th and 5thaves. at the Salem Church. Rain or Shine!R train to Bay Ridge Avenue stop (Brook-lyn Bound). Adoption Fee and IDrequired.

SERVICES

TOP HAT MOVERS, INC., 145 Park Place,Bklyn. Licensed and Insured Moving Co.moves you stress-free. Full line of boxes& packing materials avail. Free estimates718-965-0214. D.O.T. #T-12302. Reliable,courteous, excellent references & alwayson time. Credit cards accepted. MemberBetter Business Bureau.

MADISON AVENUE HAIRSTYLIST inPark Slope one block from coop-byappointment only. Please call Maggie at718-783-2154 at a charge of $50.

PAINTING-PLASTERING+PAPERHANG-ING-Over 25 years experience doing thefinest prep + finish work in BrownstoneBrooklyn. An entire house or one room.Reliable, clean and reasonably priced.Fred Becker - 718-853-0750.

ATTORNEY landlord/tenant, estate plan-ning & LGBT law. Free phone consulta-tion. Know your rights. Protect yourfamily. 14 yrs experience. Long-timeCoop member. Personal, prompt service.Melissa Cook, Esq., 16 7th Ave,718-638-4457, 917-363-0586. Melis-sacesquire@aol.com. Discount for Coopmembers.

ATTORNEY-EXPERIENCED PersonalInjury Trial Lawyer representing injuredbicyclists & other accident victims. Limit-ed caseload to insure maximum com-pensation. Member of the NYSTLA &ATLA. No recovery, no fee. Free consult.Manhattan office. Park Slope resident.Long time PSFC member. Adam D.White 212-577-9710

COMPUTER HELP-CALL NY GEEKGIRLS. Setup & file transfer; hardware &software issues; data recovery; viruses &pop-ups; networking; printer/file sharing;training; backups. Home or business.Mac and PC. Onsite or pickup/drop off.References, reasonable rates. LongtimeCoop member. 347-351-3031 orinfo@nygeekgirls.com

NEED AN ELECTRICIAN CALL ARTCABRERA, celebrating 35 yrs in the elec-trical construction industry. No job toolarge or small specializing in troubleshooting, 220 wiring, fans, lights, total orpartial renovations. Expert in Brown-stone renovations. Serving Park Slopesince 1972, original coop member, P.S.resident. 718-965-0327

CONSTRUCTION AND REMODELINGCONSULTATIONS. All types of renova-tions and repairs. Kitchens/ bathrooms,floors/staircases, plumbing/electricity.All types of carpentry. Creative problemsolving. 25 yrs experience. References. Call Sam Bonsignore 718-788-4568.

CERTIFIED TAX SPECIALIST. 12 yrs.experience in all aspects of individualFederal and State income taxes. Fastaccurate and secure while you wait. Rea-sonable price. Free electronic filing. ForAppointment leave a message at718-743-7830. I will return your call ASAP.

EXPRESS MOVES. One flat price for theentire move! No deceptive hourly esti-mates! Careful, experienced mover.Everything quilt padded. No extra chargefor wardrobes and packing tape. Special-ist in walkups. Thousands of satisfiedcustomers. Great Coop references.718-670-7071

SERVICES-HEALTH

HOLISTIC DENTISTRY in Brooklyn (Mid-wood) & Manhattan (Soho). Dr. StephenR. Goldberg provides family dental careutilizing non-mercury fillings, acupunc-ture, homeopathy, temporo-mandibular(TM) joint therapy & much more. For ano-obligation free initial oral examina-tion, call 212-505-5055. Please bring X-rays.

HOLISTIC PHYSICIAN with over 12 yearsexperience using natural methods totreat a wide range of conditions includ-ing allergies, digestive disorders,endocrine conditions, female problems,depression, fatigue and cardiovascularproblems. Insurance reimbursable.Medicare accepted. Margie Ordene, MD258-7882.

HOLISTIC OPTOMETRY: Most eye doc-tors treat patients symptomatically byprescribing ever-increasing prescrip-tions. We try to find the source of yourvision problem. Some of the symptomsthat can be treated include headaches,eye fatigue, computer discomfort, learn-ing disabilities. Convenient Park Slopelocation. Dr. Jerry Wintrob, 718-789-2020.holisticeyecare.com

HOLISTIC DOCTOR in Naturopathystimulates body’s natural ability to healchronic conditions, allergy, skin, muscle,cancer support with homeopathy, physi-cal & chelation therapies, bioenergeticacupuncture, lab tests, hair analysis &more. Research Director. 20 years exp. AsFeatured in Allure Magazine. Dr. Gilman212-505-1010

ACUPUNCTURE, HERBS, CUPPINGTHERAPY. Specializing in Meridian diag-nosis and treatment. Grand Army Plazalocation. Insurance reimbursable. CallSteven Guidi, LAC for appointment at718-789-8020

MINDBODY MEDICINE & PSYCHIATRY.Find lasting relief from the chronic stressin your life. Feel the freedom of more lov-ing relationships and satisfying work.There is a solution to your difficulties!Please call Albert Speranza, MD718-570-7701 or visit www.parkwellness-center.com

CRANIOSACRAL THERAPY FORINFANTS, Nervous system trauma, TMJ,Auto-accident trauma, musculoskeletaldiscomfort, and general balancing, avail-able in Brooklyn. Advanced practitioner.Elizabeth D. Poole, Ph.D., LMT718-707-1009.

START 2007 HEALTHY with YOGA. Buffyour body, soothe your soul. KripaluYoga with gentle, experienced teacher.Individual and group classes in conve-nient Park Slope studio. New semesterbeginning. Call Mina 917-881-9855.

ALL OF LIFE IS CHANGE. I can help youmanage change so it doesn’t manageyou. And as a Dating Coach as well as aNYS Licensed Psychotherapist, I can alsohelp you either find and build a satisfyingrelationship, or help you end one andmove on. Call Charley Wininger718-783-3222. See www.therelationship-shop.com

TIRED? STRESSED? UNFOCUSED? Xan-thohumol is the answer! All nat ext fromhops-for metabolic stress- 21st centurymaster molecule -google the compoundthen go to : mybionovix.com/holis-tichealthsolutions for more info. Theonly absorbable form. It will change yourlife. Call for info 917-515-8821

WHAT’S FOR FREE

FREE INITIAL ORAL EXAM in holisticdental office for all Coop members. X-rays are strictly minimized so bring yourown. Dr. Goldberg’s non-mercury officesin Soho or in Midwood section of Brook-lyn. For info please call 718-339-5066 or212-505-5055.

FREE TICKETS for concerts for true clas-sical music lovers only. Lincoln Ct.,Carnegie, etc., on short notice some-times. 10-20 concerts available each year.S10/yr management fee. For more info,call: 212-802-7456.

TIRED? STRESSED? UNFOCUSED? Onenight can change your life! Invest in yourhealth-your future. Real people-realresults! Only absorbable Xanthohumolexisting. We invite you to meet the scien-tist who patented it. Free Samples. FirstNYC event- Thurs March 8 6:30 PM atMarriott call for info or to reserve917-515-8821

07-02/15 p 08-12 2/14/07 11:37 PM Page 10

Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NY February 15, 2007 � 11

2007 Park Slope Adult Variety Show

Features 19 Community Artists

Coop Job Opening:

Receiving/StockingCoordinatorDescription:The Coop is hiring a Receiving/Stocking Coordinator towork weekends and evenings. The weekend and eveningReceiving/Stocking Coordinators have a lot of responsi-bility overseeing the smooth functioning of the storeand supporting the squads. They work with theReceiving squads, keeping the store well-stocked andorderly and maintaining the quality of the produce. Atthe end of the evening, they set up the receiving areasto prepare for the following early morning deliveries.

We are looking for a candidate who wants a permanentweekend/evening schedule. The ideal candidate willhave been working on a Receiving workslot for theCoop. Because fewer paid staff work evenings andweekends, it is essential that the candidate be a reliableand responsible self-starter who enjoys working withour diverse member-workers. You must be an excellentteam player, as you will be sharing the work with one toseveral other Receiving Coordinators. You must haveexcellent communication and organizational skills,patience, the ability to prioritize the work, and toremain calm under pressure. This is a high energy jobfor a fit candidate, and you must be able to lift and towork on your feet for hours. The job will include work inthe walk-in coolers and freezer.

Hours: 25+ hours per week, schedule—to bedetermined—will be primarily weekendswith some evening work.

Wages: $21.05/hour with at least an annual cost-of-living adjustment effective every February.

Benefits: • Health and Personal time• Vacation–three weeks/year increasingin the 4th, 7th & 10th years• health insurance• pension plan(no payroll deductions for benefits)

Application & Hiring Process:Please provide a cover letter with your resumé as soonas you can. Mail your letter and resumé or drop it inthe mail slot in the entryway of the Coop. Please stateyour availability.

All applicants will receive a response. Please do not call the office.

If you applied previously to another Coop job offeringand remain interested, please reapply.

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

Prerequisite: Minimum of six months’ membership in the Park SlopeFood Coop.

Applicants who have not previously worked a Coopshift in Receiving should arrange to work in Receiving.

We are seeking an applicant pool that reflects the

diversity of the Coop's membership.

Committee member andCoop member since 1973,has been a driving force inorganizing events that giveCoop members a chance toshare their words, songs andperformance skills. Martha isa local cello teacher and anaccomplished professionalcellist who toured interna-tionally for 20 years withArgentinean singer Suni Paz.She was part of a group ofCoop members and musi-cians who started the now-legendary Coop MusicFestivals in the mid 1980s.

Modeled loosely after PeteSeeger’s Clearwater Festivals,the concerts, held at PS 321,drew over 1,000 attendees tosee performances run simul-taneously on five stages.Including children’s concertsand a community dinner, theannual event raised $3,000 to$4,000 annually for the Coopand drew people from acrossBrooklyn to see and hearlocal community talent.

Coordinating such anevent was a huge undertak-ing, and after four years, theCoop Music Festivals went onpermanent hiatus. For athree-year period in the1990s, Martha and othersorganized and performed inan annual Chamber Musicfestival at the Brooklyn Con-sortium, before it closed forrenovation.

The idea of a variety showthat brought together per-forming artists who work in arange of mediums followed.The Coop Variety Showevolved from Fun’RaisingCommittee members’ desireto break down barriersbetween performers andaudiences, to open up thestage to a range of perform-ing artists and to provide anopen venue where memberscan gather, share and beenriched by the multitudeand range of talents we shareas a community.

Breaking it into two annualevents—one year for childrenand, on alternate years, onefor adults—creates a com-fortable and unique venue forchildren of the Coop to show-case their talents in a child-friendly atmosphere, while atthe same time the adult show

gives the grown-ups theirshare of the spotlight.

Today, the Coop VarietyShow is a rare opportunity towitness community artists,many of whom perform forthe simple joy and energy ofreaching out to a live audi-ence. While the Fun’RaisingCommittee does not turnaway anyone who wants toperform, all performers mustaudition once beforehand.

A brief visit to the audi-tions on January 28 capturedthe range and breadth of thework being offered: CharlesLynch’s beautiful poems oftraveling off the beaten pathin Haiti; slam poet PhoenixSoliel’s powerfully craftedtales of love and hope; song-writer Gary Shelton’s beauti-ful odes to the season ofwinter; and singer and guitarplayer K.C. Dutcher — whoadmits to only playing for ayear, and never before a liveaudience—effortlessly deliv-ering heartfelt music as if he’sbeen playing for decades.

These newcomers will joinpast Variety Show performersand Coop members likeRichard Antone, a monolo-gist who has performed inover 20 plays; Donald Murk,singer of American, French,Irish and Scottish songs andballads, who has performedwith institutions like theBronx Opera, the Bronx Sym-phony and the Village LightOpera Group; Vincent Frisari(who in his other life is theCoop’s aforementionedBagel Man, bringing bagelsin daily from Terrace Bagels),who sings opera; FeliciaGlucksman, a singer who hasperformed her own one-woman shows; Barry Simp-son, who will tell a storyabout his sister teachingphysically challenged chil-dren; and Jessie Reiss, singer,who is studying at the Brook-lyn Conservatory of Musicand is a former member ofthe Barry Harris Jazz Ensem-ble. Other veteran Coop per-formers include singersAdele Rolider, Bev Grant,Mara Goodman, Mekka Tim-berlake, Alan Friend, LenHeisler and Eric Kelley;musicians Martha Siegel andFiona Bicket, and dancerDalienne Majors.

Of the 19 people in the

overall lineup (the Fun’Rais-ing Committee keeps the listof performers to 19, with fouron a waiting list), some havebeen widely published andperformed nationally andinternationally; for others,this will be their first oppor-tunity to share their craft witha live audience.

A tentative lineup for the2007 Adult Variety Show onMarch 10 is as follows:

1. Richard Antone, actor2. Adele Rolider, singer3. Charles Lynch, poet4. Bev Grant, singer5. Phoenix Soleil, poet6. Mara Goodman, singer7. Martha Siegel, classical music8. Mekka Timberlake, singer9. Donald Murk, singer (accom-

panied by Fiona Bicket, piano)10. Vincent Frisari, opera singer,

(accompanied by MaxineFeldman, pianist)

11. Alan Friend (accompanied bythe Chelsea String Band)

12. Felicia Glucksman, singer(accompanied by Fiona Bicket,piano)

13. Barry Simpson, storyteller14. Fiona Bicket, pianist15. Tasha Paley, actor16. Len Heisler and Eric Kelley17. Dalienne Majors, dancer18. Jessie Reiss, singer

(accompanied by Fiona Bicket,piano)

19. Lee Rogan, singer

Waiting List

20. Albert Solomon, singer-comedian

21. Gary Shelton, singer/song-writer

22. K.C. Dutcher, singer/song-writer

23. Joel Bramble, singer

The annual Coop VarietyShow is just one of a range ofactivities the Fun’RaisingCommittee sponsors throughthe year to raise funds andbuild community for theCoop and its members. Otherannual events include aPoker Night, a Game Nightand Pub Night. A SpokenWord event, free and open tothe public, is organized eachwinter at the Old StoneHouse on Fifth Avenue. Tolearn of upcoming eventsplease check the Events Cal-endar on the Coop website:www.foodcoop.com. ■

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

Photos at right: Singer Gary Shelton (top), singer Matta Timberlake (middle), and poetPhoenix Soleil (bottom) audition for the Park Slope Adult Variety Show, which takes placeon Saturday, March 10.

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12 � February 15, 2007 Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NY

Public Speakingfor Everyone

Do your speeches drive results?Whether you give business presentations… speak out for a cause… or talk to your civic organization, this hands-on coaching workshop will help you clarify yourmessage, organize your thoughts and find the most powerfulway to deliver them.

Learn how to:❍ Find and develop your best speakingstyle❍ Outline and write a speech❍ Prepare to deliver it flawlessly❍ Handle Q&A and media interviews

All are welcome. No prior public speaking experience is needed. Wear comfortable clothes, and bring a notebook and pen.

Jezra Kaye is a professional speechwriter and presentation skills coach who works with busi-ness and non-profit leaders. She is active in Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, which is fightingthe 17-skyscraper Atlantic Yards Complex, and has been a PSFC member since 1981.

Sunday, February 2512:00 p.m. at the Coop

FREENon-members welcome

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

WITH JEZRA KAYE

PHO

TO

BY

JHA

ZEL

HA

NK

IN

FREENon-members welcome

W I T H A L B E R T S P E R A N Z A , M D

MINDBODY MEDICINELasting Relief for Chronic Stress

Tuesday, February 277:30 p.m. at the Coop

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

Dr. Albert Speranza is a Coop member since 2004. He is a board cer-tified psychiatrist who has been practicing MindBody Medicine andPsychiatry since 1993.

➥Do you ever feel that your lifewould be wonderful if only youdid not have to deal with a par-ticular problem which doesn'tseem to get better?

➥Did you know that chronic stressresulting from such difficultiescauses detrimental health effects?

➥Do you believe that you justhave to put up with this problem?

The truth is: No one has to suffer with chronic stress.

There is a solution to your problem. Your MindBody holds thesolution.

Join us to find out how you can find relief. There will be apresentation, open discussion and a guided meditation. Bringan open mind and open heart.

Enjoying Difficult People—Including Yourself

An Introduction to Compassionate, Nonviolent Communication

WITH DIAN KILLIAN

❤ How do you respond to "difficult" people and situations?

❤ How do you ensure that your own needs are met in waysyou don't regret later?

Learn how to enjoy greater connection and understanding ineven the most trying situations.

This workshop is based on the skills of NonviolentCommunication (sm) as developed by Marshall

Rosenberg, Ph.D. NonviolentCommunication is used aroundthe world by couples, families,schools, and organizations tocreate shared understanding,resolve conflicts, and discoverstrategies that address every-one's needs.

Dian Killian, Ph.D., is a member of the Food Coop, co-author ofConnecting across Differences, A Guide to Compassionate, NonviolentCommunication and a graduate of the NVC North American LeadershipTraining program. She is founder and Director of Brooklyn NonviolentCommunication (www.BrooklynNVC.org) which specializes in sharing NVCwith those involved with education, the arts and social change.

Sunday, March 18 0 p12

FREENon-members welcome

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

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

FREENon members Welcome

Saturday, February 24

2:00 p.m. at the Coop

with Carolyn Meiselbach Circles of Circles of Joy

Carolyn Meiselbach Circles is a long-time member of the PSFC. She is an indoor environmental consultant, a health and nutrition coach and a practitioner and teacher of EFT.

What is it? Where is it? How can I get it? It’s all there; inside you!Come and learn specialized eastern secrets to discovering what it is that may be blocking you from your own power, strength and joy. You will be taught Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), which shows you how to reduce or eliminate your own bad feelings, emotional blockages and past traumas. In addition, you will learn how to relieve your physical pain, food cravings, addictions or phobias.

Non-religious and non-intrusive.

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