A Small Piece of Socialism: Tasty and Cheap

In America, the politics are so skewed that words like 'liberal' or 'socialist' are demonized. Even something which might maybe in passing be construed as vaguely left-leaning leaning gets damned as 'pink'. So it is odd that my move to Brooklyn has brought me into something which is as socialist an experience as I've had so far - more so than anything I experienced in a year living in communist China, or in socialist Zimbabwe in the 1980's.

Since January, I have become a member of the Park Slope Food Coop on Union Street. This place is something of an institution in Brooklyn; it was founded in 1973 and is now one of the largest member-run coops in the US. Food coops are fairly common here - friends of mine have talked about them before - and they work something like this: the coop, which looks like a supermarket, is either only open to members or members get special discounts, in return for which they are required to work for no pay. The Park Slope Coop is members-only; they check your ID at the door. They mark up everything they sell by 20%, which means it is significantly cheaper than a normal supermarket. And better yet: the food is really good quality; almost all of it is organic, and a lot of it is sold in bulk (read: minimal packaging).

I have to put in 2.5 hours every four weeks, on a regular shift. I am in receiving, which means I bring stuff out onto the shop floor and pack it onto shelves. This particular shift, I spent most of my time in the produce section. It was actually really enjoyable to pack fresh fruit and vegetables onto the shelves, in the same way that gardening can be enjoyable. Here's me stocking the lettuce:



There are only 20 full-time employees at the coop. Its in an old building next to a fire station, compact space which can get really crowded but there is high turnover, so the food is always fresh. It is strange to go in their and see beautifully coiffed women working the tills, or people who look like - and probably are - graphic designers shouldering bags of beans.