A New Year’s Resolution for an Uncertain Future

A strong progressive value system informs the merchandising:
The co-op members believe that it’s healthier for us, and for the planet, to
eat locally, organically, without too many GMOs or additives (and we recently
passed a Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions, or BDS, resolution). We bring our own
bags.

All this is easy to mock, and I’m not above having fun at the
expense of small woke subcultures. Early on, I shared a laugh and an eye roll with
a fellow member after our promotional post on our local Thanksgiving turkey
offer—a charming photo of turkeys frolicking on their upstate farm—was met with
ire by a vegetarian member. And of course, neighbors, including myself, can be annoying
in far less well-meaning ways; we are all bossy, intrusive, meddling,
forgetful. But the co-op is worth it.

Much of the food sold at the co-op is local, an important
food security measure in a country increasingly reliant on long
and vulnerable supply chains. For us, that means food grown or raised in Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, upstate New York, Vermont, and even on a nearby roof in Brooklyn. This,
and the fact that the co-op is run for the community rather than to make a
profit, makes me feel a little safer in case of a crisis. It sets a good
example, too—we all need to strengthen such communal, voluntaristic institutions
so our society will be more prepared if the commercial and governmental sectors
break down.