| Type | Consumers' cooperative |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1973 |
| Headquarters | New York City, New York, United States |
| Key people |
Officers: Board of Directors: General Coordinators: |
| Products | Organic food, local food |
| Members | approx. 16,000 |
| Website | foodcoop.com |
The Park Slope Food Coop (PSFC) is a food cooperative located in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. It is one of the oldest and largest active food co-ops in the United States. As a food cooperative, one of its goals is to be a "buying agent to its members, not a selling agent to any industry."[1] Non-members are welcome to visit the store, but may not shop.
Formed in 1973, PSFC has grown to include over 15,000 members. The PSFC business model requires each of its adult members to contribute 2 hours and 45 minutes of work every four weeks, and that no member share a household with a non-member. In exchange, active members may shop at the store. The store sells a variety of foods and household goods, mostly environmentally-friendly products, at a 21% markup (Compared to 50-100% at a supermarket). The savings are possible because labor is contributed by its members. PSFC operates as a New York state cooperative corporation.
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PSFC is a cooperative corporation formed under the laws of the State of New York. It is run by a Board of Directors consisting of five persons elected to staggered three-year terms by and from the membership. The longest-serving General Coordinator present at the meeting (usually Joe Holtz) serves as a voting member ex-officio.[2]
The Board of Directors gather monthly to hear the advice of the members at the General Meeting (GM),[3] and generally approve all resolutions passed by the GM. The GM agenda is governed by an Agenda Committee, and the meeting itself is run by a Chair Committee, whose members rotate in service as chairperson and collectively serve as GM parliamentarian.
The day-to-day operations of the PSFC are run by paid employees called coordinators. The senior-ranking coordinators, called General Coordinators, are hired by the General Meeting and approved by the Board of Directors.[4]
The coop has a long history of political action. During the apartheid regime, goods from South Africa were banned; during the Pinochet regime, Chilean grapes were removed; Nestlé products were banned because of the company’s campaign to promote infant formula instead of breastfeeding.[5]
In 2004, the PSFC General Meeting resolved that the coop would boycott Coca-Cola products (including Minute Maid and Odwalla)[6] and has renewed that boycott annually, most recently in November 2010.[7]
In 2008, the PSFC General Meeting resolved that the coop would discontinue selling bottled water [8] and stop providing plastic shopping bags at checkout.[9]
In 2010, the PSFC General Meeting resolved that the coop would boycott Flaum Appetizing Products for violations of labor law.[10] Flaum is a local kosher producer known for hummus sold under its "Mike & Joe's" label.
In 2009, The Jewish Daily Forward[11] and several online blogs[12][13][14] incorrectly stated or implied that the coop was banning or considering a ban on Israeli products in protest of the 2009 Israeli military offensive in Gaza. In actuality, no such proposal had been placed on the agenda of the PSFC General Meeting.[15] The stories were based on two letters-to-the-editor in the February 12, 2009 edition of the PSFC's Linewaiter's Gazette.[16] The Gazette publishes non-discriminatory member submissions regardless of opinion.[17]
The possibility of a referendum on an Israeli boycott was discussed at the July 2011 General Meeting, with no action taken.[18]
In 2010, in response to an announcement by the menswear retailer Barney's New York that they would be opening a location in Brooklyn called Barney's Coop, the PSFC General Meeting considered taking action in light of the company's apparent violation of New York's Cooperative Corporations Law, which restricts the use of the term "coop" to cooperative corporations.[19] The general coordinators informed the state attorney general of the violation and presented a plan for a lawsuit to the July 2010 General Meeting, which rejected the proposal for anticipated costs. A more limited proposal was approved by the August 2010 General Meeting but later overturned on procedural grounds.[20]
All adult members not on childbirth or disability leave must complete a two hour and forty-five minute shift at the coop every four weeks, or thirteen such shifts per year. Members who work on the annual system rather than the quad-weekly system are called "FTOP" Workers, and are not assigned to a specific squad or workslot.
When more than one person in a household shares food or other products bought at the coop, all such household members must be members of the PSFC. This policy ensures that everyone who benefits from PSFC membership shares in the responsibilities of PSFC membership. Members with spouses or roommates unwilling to meet the membership obligations of the PSFC are welcome to work additional shifts at the coop in order to meet the household obligation.
Member households are given 12 shifts of leave (nearly one year) for every new child, whether by birth or adoption. Because childcare is not limited to mothers, the adult members of the household may divide these shifts among themselves at their own discretion. A valid form from a healthcare provider is required.
Members who wish to drop off their children during shopping or while working their shift may do so in the childcare room. Located on the second floor, this facility features food coop members as supervisors of the children. These members have taken training for placement in the childcare room. Members needing to drop off their child while they work their shift have priority over members who have dropped off their child to shop. If the childcare facility is full, the parent or guardian of a shopping member will be called to pick up their child in order to accommodate the child of the working member.
Members over the age of 75 may go on permanent disability leave, no questions asked. Members over the age of 65 with twenty years of active service, or over the age of 60 with thirty years of active service, may officially retire from the workslot requirement and maintain shopping privileges.[21]
In order to discourage no-shows, members who miss shifts without swapping shifts with another member or obtaining prior permission from the squad leader are required to make up two shifts, not one, to remain in good standing. Members who do not make up these indebted shifts by the next scheduled work-slot are suspended and taken off the regular shift schedule to avoid accumulating extra makeups.
Members may receive workslot credit for attending up to two GMs per year, as long as they register in the PSFC office prior to each meeting.
The PSFC was founded in 1973.[22] The organization initially sub-leased space with the Mongoose Community Center. By 1977 the Mongoose was definct and the Coop started renting directly from the landlord."[23]
In 1978, the Coop began renting 782 Union Street with an option to buy upon the expiration of a two-year lease. Expecting to buy, the Coop completed renovations in 1979 and purchased the building in 1980. This was followed in 1988 and 1999 with the purchase of the two buildings immediately to the west, with renovations completed in 1991 and 2001 respectively.[24]
In December 2009, the Coop paid the remaining $707,000 on the mortgage for all three buildings. This pre-payment was made without penalty, as the mortgage holder, National Cooperative Bank, needed assistance after the banking crisis of 2008-2009.[25]
The coop has a Diversity and Equality Committee (whose members receive workslot credit) which proposes programs to enhance membership diversity at the coop.
PSFC's work shift requirement has inspired criticism over the years.[26] The New York Times also recently reported allegations that some members were asking their nannies to cover their work shifts.[27]