March - Honest Weight Food Co-op

Transcription

HONEST WEIGHT FOOD CO-OP
H R
OU
S:
484 CENTRAL AVENUE • ALBANY N.Y.
(518) 482-2667 (482-COOP)
MONDAY – FRIDAY
7:00 – 8:00
SATURDAY 7:00 – 8:00
SUNDAY 9:00 – 7:00
ISSUE #360
MARCH 2010
What’s
the Scoop?
• Fresh food for thought
4
• Remembering Dana Roberts
and Pola Yolles 6, 9
• 2010 budgets OK’d
8
• It’s maple sugaring time! 10
• Meet Jennifer Felitte 13
• You can holler down our
rainbarrel… 14
• Equinox dancing rites 15
• All about rye
16
• How to make your own
greenhouse 20
• Soothing aloe vera
24
NEWS
at a glance
by Nancy Ellegate
The Honest Weight Board of Directors
met on Tuesday, February 2.
Member Suggestions
A member had requested time to discuss suggestions regarding membership meetings, Board member recruitment, and communication.
These included having dates set far
in advance for membership meetings
so people can plan ahead to attend,
tabling in the store prior to meetings
to promote attendance, and posting
Board candidate bios in the store before
elections.
Board members were positive about a
number of the suggestions. In particular, tabling before meetings might work
well.
continued on page 3
PRINTED with SOY INK on RECYCLED PAPER
:
Run???? Run!!!!
Run for the
Co-op board!
Ho hum, it’s the annual “you should
run for the Board” article. You’ve
seen this before, haven’t you? Time
to turn the page? Go on to something interesting? Maybe read the
ads? You don’t need to think about
this, somebody else will do it, someone always does.
Except…
If you’re reading the Coop
Scoop, I guess
it means that
you shop at the
store. I hope it
means that you
are a member, because you are the
people I want to address here. Yes,
you, the quick in-and-out guy, the
one with no time, you work your
hours and be done with it, you do
your share and so forth.
Remember that if there is no
Board there is no membership involvement in running the Co-op.
We become just another variant on
the corporate supermarket, maybe with cooler things to buy. If it’s
a bad Board—and we’ve had those
in the past, as any veteran Co-op
member can tell you—your presence gets marginalized, your resources get spent in the wrong ways.
(“Wrong ways” means not the way
you’d like your resources spent, but
the way the Other Guy, the one who
ran, wants to spend them.)
And it’s a time when we really need the very best Board we can
muster. All recruiting (or fundraising, also) letters argue that “we”
are at a crossroads,
facing
the Abyss or the
Better Choice,
whatever that
may mean to
the organization. But Honest Weight really is at a crossroads,
with some very hard choices to
make in the very near future (during your term on the Board, in fact):
• In less than a year and a half,
we’re outta here. Our lease is up.
We either pay exorbitantly to stay
A Director’s
Chair
continued on page 7
Save the Date
The Annual Co-op membership
meeting will be held Sunday,
April 18 at 6pm, at FUUSA’s
Emerson Community Hall,
405 Washington Ave, Albany.
Behind
the Co-op
Board of Directors
President: John Godfrey
Vice-President: Karen Roth
Treasurer: Kyle Lawrence
Secretary: Lorrie Graham
Committee Liaisons
Bylaws Panel
Carolyn Maroney
Communications
Carolyn Maroney
Facilities
Jim Monsonis
[email protected]
518-794-8601
Finance
Kyle Lawrence
[email protected] 518-522-1201
Governance Review Council
Bruce Huttner
[email protected]
518-458-8922
Membership
Lenore Gensburg, Karen Roth
Personnel
Lorrie Graham
Collective Management Team representative
Cindee Lolik
[email protected]
Governance Review Council
Stu Horn, chair
The Honest Weight Food Co-op (HWFC) is an organization owned and operated by its
members. Its main purposes are to supply high quality natural foods at low cost to both
members and non-members, and to bring people together through cooperative action.
Active HWFC members work three hours per month and receive a discount off
ticketed prices. Please see the Customer Service Desk for more information about
becoming a member.
Honest Weight is currently located at 484 Central Avenue in Albany, New York, a
half-block west of Partridge Street.
How to contact the Co-op… Postal mail – Honest Weight Food Co-op, 484 Central Ave.,
Albany NY 12206 • Phone – 518-482-2667 (482-COOP) • Email – coop@ honestweight.coop
Website – www.honestweight.coop
[email protected]
Collective Management Team
(518-482-3312 + extension)
Operations and administrative
coordinator: Cindee Lolik
Member coordinator: Nate Horwitz
Outreach coordinator: Mariah Dahl
Education coordinator: Jackie Davis
Marketing/merchandising
coordinator: Jennifer Grainer
Finance manager: Alfred Bouchard
IT coordinator: Lexa Juhre
Front end manager: Katie Centanni
Grocery managers: Nancy Reich
Produce manager: Nick Bauer
Bulk manager: Bob Linn
Cheese manager: Gustav Ericson
Wellness manager: Kathleen Boehning
Food service manager: Nicole Bailey
(x116)
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(x113)
(x106)
(x107)
(x101)
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(x119)
(x102)
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(x118)
(x122)
(x108)
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To advertise in
the Coop Scoop…
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Prices for camera-ready ads
are: $25 for our smallest 1-column size; $50 for ¼-page; $90 for
½-page; $130 for a full page —
with several other sizes and prices in between.
One free ad is provided with
ads prepaid for a year. Ready-toprint artwork must be submitted
by the 15th of the month preceding publication.
For more information about
Coop Scoop advertising, contact
Kimberly Morton at kimberly_
[email protected], or (518)
330-3262.
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Articles in the Coop Scoop are
for informational purposes
only and are not intended to
diagnose, advise and/or treat
medical conditions. Contact
your health practitioner.
Coop Scoop
NEWS AT A GLANCE, from page 1
Planning for Future Store
Management
A summary of the work of the Staff
Structure Work Group (SSWG) was discussed. This committee of staff, Collective Management Team members, and
Board members convened last year to
plan for managing a new, much larger store. Various management models
have been discussed and the work of
this group continues.
Store Issues
The problem of shoplifting and confronting shoplifters was discussed. The
standard method of dealing with this
was noted.
Bylaws Panel
The Panel will be asked to review inconsistencies in the use of the term “membership” in the bylaws and to make
recommendations for any needed corrections. These can be presented to
the membership for a vote at the April
membership meeting.
Nutrition
Education
Work continues on the Food and Product Manual. Currently, the section
on meat is being drafted. The Board
agreed to a format change that will improve the clarity of the manual.
The School Food Project is currently
a subcommittee of the Nutrition Education committee. A proposal is being developed to move this effort to the Coop’s new non-profit organization.
Co-op Records
The ad hoc committee on Co-op records has Board meeting minutes and
membership meeting minutes ready to
scan and store on the server. The Board
agreed to expend about $1,000 for this
purpose.
Non-Profit Organization
More Board members are needed for the
non-profit organization that the Co-op
has recently had incorporated.
Meeting Planning
Plans for the April membership meeting were discussed. Committees need to
submit their sections for the Annual Report by March 1. The date for the Board
Retreat for the next Board was set for
July.
Board Officer Change
The Board’s Vice President, Greg Pedrick, has resigned. Board member Karen Roth will assume the duties of this
Note: News at a Glance is a summary
of the meetings of the HWFC Board of
Directors.
Have a great celebration AND support your community!
Book any event by April 30th, 2010 and 26% of our fee will be donated to the
Honest Weight Food Co-Op Community Education & Outreach Council, Inc.
Event must be held by August 31st, 2010. Please visit our website for details.
www.advantagesound.com
“The Wedding Specialist”
Community Calendar returns!
The community calendar that was the centerfold of the Coop Scoop for so many
years is back! After a hiatus of several months, it is back online. If you’d like to see
it, from the home page of the Co-op’s web site, float over the “Resources” tab and
then click on “Community Calendar” from the drop down menu. Or you can type
www.hwfc.com/resources_comcalendar.html into your browser. If there is content
you would like to see in the calendar, please send it to [email protected].
March 2010
office for the remaining two months of
the term.
Executive Session
The Board met in executive session at
the end of the meeting.
Minutes
Minutes of all meetings are available
at the Co-op. Minutes of the most recent meeting are posted on the bulletin
board. They are also available on the
Co-op’s website, as password protected
files. Please see the instructions on the
Board Meetings page.
Upcoming Meetings
Currently, Board meetings are held
on the first Tuesday of each month
at 5:45 pm in the Co-op’s Community Room. Dates change on occasion, so
anyone planning to attend a meeting
should confirm date, time, and location.
Guidelines
for Coop Scoop
article submissions
1. You must include your NAME and PHONE
NUMBER on all submissions. Articles without a
name and phone number will NOT be accepted.
Submissions by e-mail are preferred.
2. If you are submitting a typed document, the
deadline is the 10th of the month,
at store closing time.
3. Handwritten copy is NOT accepted
without prior approval.
• 4. If you are submitting on computer disk, the
deadline is the 10th of the month at store closing
time. We can accept Windows/DOS diskettes, or
Mac disks if they are HD 1 .4MB format. (Note
that older Macs cannot produce this format.)
HARD COPY MUST BE SUBMITTED with your
disk! Please call the Editor for further details
about how to type and save your text.
5. Please e-mail your article to both [email protected] and [email protected].
All articles are printed at the discretion of
the Editor and Editorial Board. It is a policy
of the Coop Scoop only to print articles
that have been signed.
Work credit for articles is only available if
pre-approved by the Scoop Editor.
Behind the
Scoop
Editor: Judy Trupin
[email protected]
Production designer:
David Ford
[email protected]
Online calendar editor: Susan Palmer 438-4344
Advertising rep: Kimberly Morton
330-3262
Distributors: Nancy Fisher, Doug O’Conner
Printer: Brigar X-Press
3
by Ruth Ann Smalley
A Report from the
Food For Thought Film Series
Several years ago, a friend and I were
literally stopped in our tracks by a
pile of kale. Rounding a corner at the Troy Farmers Market,
we came to a halt, speechless with admiration, in front
of a mound of the greenest greens we’d ever seen. Luminous with vitality. Who knew chlorophyll could be so awe
inspiring?
I had a similar feeling watching Fresh, the January Food
for Thought documentary film co presented by Honest
Weight and WAMC. In one scene, a group of budding city
gardeners dish up lunch inside a lush greenhouse. The buffet offerings nearly moved me to tears, as they glowed with
that same intense life. The diners’ reactions assured me
that I wasn’t alone in my emotional response to this food.
John Ikerd, Professor Emeritus of Agricultural Economics
at the University of Missouri, sums up the major argument
of Fresh: “It is time,” he says, “to shift to a different paradigm—a different kind of paradigm for the future” when it
comes to growing food. With an emphasis on “maximum
short-run efficiency,” conventional agricultural practices have caused chemical and genetic contamination, loss
and degradation of top soil and, according to the USDA, a
40% decrease in the nutritional quality of produce since
1950.
(above) Urban farm leader Will
Allen, founder of Growing Power in
Milwaukee; (right) Virginia farmer
Joel Salatin works to “heal the land,
heal the food, heal the culture.”
4
Meanwhile, we’ve created what Michael Pollan calls
“animal cities”—vast, inhumane livestock operations with
major waste problems; and “food deserts”—cityscapes
where virtually no fresh, nutritious produce is available for
millions of residents.
Documentaries such as The Future of Food and Food,
Inc. examine the dangers of industrial agriculture. Fresh
takes up where these films leave off. Along with incisive
critiques by people like Michael Pollan, John Ikerd, and
Center for Food Safety director Andrew Kimbrell, Fresh focuses on a number of people who are working to make the
paradigm shift happen. Producer/director Ana Joanes profiles inspiring people—from farmers to grocers—who are
already realizing their vision of broader access to fresh, local food.
Fresh highlights the difference between conventional
chicken farming, where hundreds of chicks are flung from
crates onto the factory floor, and the natural design orientation of Joel Salatin’s Polyface farm. There, Salatin talks
the hens down out of their mobile chicken coops into verdant pastures. Hog farmer Russ Kremer describes his conversion from intensive hog production, complete with high
intensity confinement and associated heavy antibiotic and medication use, to a low density, antibiotic-free,
Prolific author
Michael Pollan, of
pasture-based operation. Will Allen, founder of GrowThe Omnivore’s
ing Power in Milwaukee (Wisc.), shows how to reclaim
Dilemma and In
city lots and convert over six million pounds of city
Defense of Food.
waste into compost, to grow organic vegetables, farm
tilapia, and raise goats.
By showing us these alternative farming practices—along with a cotoperative and a grocer who work
together to provide local food in the midwest—Fresh
also suggests that consumers don’t have to be helpless
in the face of the bad news that comes to us weekly in
the form of food recalls, health alerts, and confusing
nutritional advice. The new paradigm John Ikerd advocates is already being constructed.
Coop Scoop
This idea was echoed
by the panel members
during the after film discussion. Tracy Frisch, cofounder of the Regional Farm and Food Project
and the Troy Farmers
Market, commented on
how much progress had
been made in the public awareness of food issues in the last several
years. Matthew Schueler,
of Capital District Community Gardens, echoed
this. Forty seven organic community gardens
are now available in a
3-county area. In the
low income neighborhoods served by the Veg-
War of the Worlds? No... it’s Industrial Agriculture!
In addition to the resources available at www.freshthemovie.com, panel members suggested several organizations and their websites. These include Food First at www.
foodfirst.org; Community Food Security Coalition at www.
foodsecurity.org; ATTRA, the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service at http://atrancat.org; and SARE,
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education at www.
sare.org.
Meanwhile, happy cows
and chickens...
...on Joel Salatin’s Polyface Farm
gie Mobile, Matthew said, “people recognize and ask for local food.” Sarah Pedinotti, local musician with the band
Railbird, talked about her project to promote understanding of local farmers and their lives. Working with Dream
Big Media, Sarah is creating “Farmony: Music to Your
Taste Buds”—you can view the trailer and find out more at
http://farmony.blogspot.com.
Food For Thought: An Evening of Socially Relevant Cinema
is co-sponsored by Honest Weight and WAMC/Northeast Public
Radio. Along with a documentary film, the monthly event features
food samples from the Co-op and a panel discussion highlighting
social, political, environmental and community issues. Next up:
A Sea Change
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Imagine a World Without Fish
A retired teacher embarks on a quest to find out what’s
happening to the oceans as a result of global warming—and
uncovers a worldwide crisis unknown to most of us. A discussion
with filmmakers Barbara Ettinger and Sven Huseby follows.
Thursday, March 18 at 6 pm
All screenings at The Linda, WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio,
339 Central Ave., Albany. More info and tickets ($6): www.
wamcarts.org/artsched.html, or call 518-465-5233 ext.4.
5
Dana Roberts
Dana Roberts, a member of the Honest Weight Food Co-op from the
founding of the Co-op until he moved
out of the area in 1992, died on November 13. He was 74 years old.
Dana had a profound impact on
the Honest Weight Food Co-op. His
influence touched nearly every aspect
of this organization—an impact this
is still felt today, even though he and
his wife, Carol Ann Modena, moved
to Port Townsend (Wash.) almost 20
years ago.
Dana was an early member of the
Co-op’s board of directors. He served
on an early incarnation of the bylaws committee, and was one of the
authors of Honest Weight’s first set
of bylaws. He was involved in creating the Co-op referendum process.
He was also an original member of
the Move Action Group, the committee that started the process of finding
the building that the Co-op operates
from now. But he wasn’t just a committeeman—he was a hands-on guy,
spending years on the Co-op’s Building Maintenance committee. In that
role, he spent many hours patching
the Co-op’s roof. He also, along with
Sid Fleisher, ripped out the old, rotted
walk-in cooler (made from painted
particle board!) that the Quail street
store had, and installed the metal
one that was in use until the Co-op
moved to our current location.
He also was responsible for maintaining the upstairs apartment that
the Co-op rented out above the Quail
Street store. Keeping it in good shape
was of great concern to Dana, as there
was a nonagenarian old-time labor
6
organizer who lived there, and Dana
was concerned that the man keep his
independence for as long as possible.
Dana was, in many ways, a man
ahead of his time. He was an early
advocate for paying attention not just
to the ingredients that go into making
a product, but also the labor practices and corporate activities. He pushed
for Honest Weight to stop carrying
Quaker-brand Rice Cakes because
he didn’t like the company’s ethics.
He also was an early supporter of local producers and was a big booster
of Burt’s Bakery, which was next door
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to the Co-op. He also was an early
advocate of reuse and recycling. An
avid jogger, he was famous for finding things on the side of the road during his runs that he thought would
be useful to the Co-op, and bringing
them back to the store. He and Carol
Anne were urban farmers and composters who had turned the soil in the
back yard of their Madison Avenue
home into rich growing material.
Dana was a purist: He was very
committed to bulk foods and was
against the Co-op’s stocking of packaged goods. He also was against the
hiring of employees, wanting to see
the Co-op entirely run by working
members.
Dana could be outspoken at times,
but was also very kind. He was sociable and erudite—he could expound
about seemingly any subject for at
least 30 minutes.
One thing about Dana though, if it
were up to him, you’d not be reading
this in the Coop Scoop. You’d be reading it in The Springboard, which was
the name Dana preferred back in
1976 for the publication that you are
now holding—or perhaps reading online. He felt that this name, and the
logo that he created to accompany it,
implied “equity, fairness, and out in
the open dealing with a surrounding
circle which stands for us all.”
It’s probably no surprise to anyone
who knew him to hear that Dana got
involved in the Port Townsend Co-op
and local community gardens almost
as soon as he and Carol Anne moved
out there.
Dana is survived by his wife, Carol
Anne Modena, and his son, Duncan
Roberts. –Nate Horwitz
Coop Scoop
RUN FOR THE BOARD!, from page 1
put, or we go… Where? How do
we pay for wherever?
• We’re grown from a glorified
buying club of friends to 6,000
shareholders and a thousand
working members. How can we
sustain any sense of community,
of participatory democracy,
working by consensus? Can we
avoid being run by a small elite
in-group paying lip service to our
principles? Do we spin off new
cooperatives, serving as center for
a network of community minded
smaller operations? Can we
decentralize ourselves?
• As the food supply in America
continues to collapse, more and
more people need the care and
dedication to the consumer’s
health that has always been a
hallmark of Honest Weight. But
how can we make that affordable
to a wider range than we now
serve? How do we live out the
mission that we all committed to
at Orientation?
• Our staff, of necessity, has grown
steadily, and it’s tempting to trust
them to Do The Right Thing.
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A Director’s
Chair
by Jim Monsonis
There are “cooperatives” in the
USA where the formal Board of
the cooperative is so bureaucratic
and hidden that the average
member can’t even find out who
is on the Board. That’s not us. But
how should members and staff
work together to maintain our
healthy store?
So we need four new members on
the Board. The Board meets one
evening a month for four hours or
so, a busy, often humorous, lively
session.
In addition you will probably
serve as liaison from the Board to
one of the committees made up of
members, who actually do much of
the day to day work of administering the Co-op structure. Throw in
some emails, an occasional other
meeting: all together 15–20 hours
a month. Normally a term is three
years, one re-election possible (i.e.,
term limits after six years).
I’m now off after six years, and
while some of it—like all organizational work—is frustrating and
wearing, I guarantee you’ll understand the strengths and weaknesses of Honest Weight, and have a
chance to put your voice into the
mix.
It’s so much more interesting than
any television show; this is a real-
ity show with real people and real
consequences. I can’t say I enjoyed
every moment of it, but I do feel it
was one of the more useful things
I’ve done with my time. I hope I’ve
pushed the Co-op in the direction it
ought to go in. (Who could ask for
anything more?)
Are you an old pro, veteran of every community organization you
ever heard of? We need your experience on a day-to-day basis, not just
a speech at a membership meeting.
Are you new to Honest Weight,
maybe to the area? We need your
new ideas and for you to raise the
questions that are so obvious that
the veterans never ask them.
There are some “sign-up” sheets
at the front desk. Fill one out—we’re
going to go back to posting all these
so that people can see who is interested, talk with them—and maybe
be inspired to do the same.
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March 2010
7
Co-op members OK
budgets for 2010 operations
and Watervliet Avenue
development
by Deborah Trupin
On January 24, Honest Weight Food Co-op members
met to review the budgets for 2010. Both budgets were
passed after discussion. Over 160 HWFC members attended this meeting, well over the 100 required for
quorum.
The HWFC bylaws require that the Board present two
budgets to the membership each year for discussion and
review—the annual operating budget and a capital expenditure budget. Both budgets are prepared by HWFC
staff and Board and sent to members before the annual
budget meeting.
HWFC treasurer Kyle Lawrence and finance manager
Duke Bouchard presented the annual operating budget.
After reviewing the budget, they took questions from assembled members. There were relatively few questions
and the budget passed nearly unanimously.
In most years, the capital expenses budget includes
things that HWFC wants to do to improve its premises,
such as purchasing new equipment. This year, the capital expenses budget is for the development the Co-op’s
new property on Watervliet Avenue.
Duke Bouchard presented the budget for the development of Watervliet Avenue. He explained the work
8
that the Facilities committee has been doing to obtain
financing for the new building. He noted that while
HWFC has qualified for the New Markets Tax Credit,
we have not yet found a lender for this program. Thus,
the committee has simultaneously begun to work on a
scaled-back design for the new store.
Duke explained that the budget for the development
of 100 Watervliet Avenue includes fees for architects and
consultants, and an owner’s representative fee, as well
as for general pre-construction costs. He said that there
would be a later, separate budget for costs associated
with the financing of building construction, equipment,
inventory, etc., for the new store.
He pointed out that if financing comes through in the
near future, the Co-op will proceed with the design already approved by members. Duke emphasized that
members will continue to vote at all important steps in
the process.
There was substantial discussion about this budget.
Some members called for additional member loans and
“building blocks,” while others asked for more explanations in an attempt to understand a somewhat complex
situation.
Eventually, the members cast their ballots. The capital expenses budget also passed by a very large majority, approximately 80%.
Coop Scoop
Pola Yolles
Pola Yolles, a member of the Honest
Weight Food Co-op since our earliest
days back in the mid-1970s, died on
February 8. She was 80 years old.
Pola and her husband Mark—it’s
almost impossible to write about one
without writing about the other—
joined the Co-op before most people
think of the Co-op as having started.
Nowadays, most people date the Coop’s start to the spring, when the Coop was incorporated. But when Honest Weight actually started is a bit
more nebulous. It started as a buying club, and grew out of some earlier buying clubs. And of course, meetings and purchasing had already
started before incorporation. The Coop’s records indicate that Mark and
Pola joined this Co-op in February of
1976—before the Co-op’s official start
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March 2010
date. The month of this writing marks
the 34th anniversary of their involvement here.
When she and her husband Mark
joined Honest Weight, they were a
bit older than most of the people who
were involved in the Co-op. Mark
would come from work in his tie and
jacket and Pola, too, dressed differently than most of the scruffy younger
people around the Co-op. But they always shared the same commitment to
the kind of organization that the Coop was and the food that it carried.
Mark and Pola lived back then in the
mansion neighborhood, the same
neighborhood that many of the Coop members of that era lived in. And
they continued to live there until fairly recently, with part of their home
on Elm Street serving for a time as a
youth hostel and at other times as an
apartment which was often rented to
fellow Co-op members.
Pola was always a Co-op floor worker. Back in the old days of the Quail
Street store, before the days of the Coop stocking triple-washed spinach,
spinach would come to the store right
from the farm, and it was gritty with
the sandy soil it was grown in. And
washing it was no easy matter, as the
Co-op didn’t have the multiple sinks
we have now. Cleaning it was tedious,
cold, wet work. To make the job more
bearable and have the time go by
faster, produce workers would have
spinach washing races. Pola, with her
white hair and small build, may not
have been the oddsmaker’s pick for
fastest spinach washer …but she was!
In more recent years—the last 15 or
so, that is—Pola was mostly a grocery
stocker. And she kept doing it despite
her recent ill health, last working as a
stocker this past summer.
But Pola was not a member who just
did her store work. She also regularly
came out to Co-op meetings. It’s quite
possible that no one has been to more
general membership meeting for the
Co-op than Pola and Mark. She also
served for a short time on the Board
of Directors, back when that body
would meet mostly at people’s homes.
Pola was a constant presence at the
Honest Weight Food Co-op. She was
quiet much of the time, but she could
be quite passionate. She was memorably outraged by the Co-op’s practice
of lining bulk bins with plastic, which
she was concerned would leach chemicals into the food.
Pola and her husband Mark were
among the members honored at the
Co-op’s membership dinner in November of 2004 for their 25+ years of
Co-op membership. Pola is survived
by Mark, her children and her grandchildren. Space does not allow, but
there is so much more that could be
written about Pola—as deeply as she
is tied into the history of this place.
And as important as the Co-op was
to her, it was just a small part of her
life. She was a woman of great intelligence and compassion who was interested in so many things. She will be
terribly missed. –Nate Horwitz
9
Focus on Co-op Suppliers
by Suzanne Fisher
Adirondack Maple Farm
Bruce and Maureen Roblee, owners of Adirondack
Maple Farm, in Fonda (Montgomery Co.), exemplify the type of local farmers who have reliably provided Honest Weight Food Co-op with quality products for
years. Bruce says that he has been in the maple syrup
business since he was seven years old, growing up on
his family’s dairy farm.
Making maple syrup and, on a smaller scale, harvesting trees for lumber and firewood, have been a lifelong
occupation for Bruce. He supports his farm and family entirely by these efforts, a measure of his success as
a farmer. His wholesale syrup business sells mainly to
Honest Weight, also to a few small shops in the area,
and to suppliers overseas, where his maple products end
up as specialty items on tables in countries like Australia, Japan, Germany and England.
Bruce is quick to point out that maple syruping is not
just a job for him, but a way of life. He spends on average about a half a day in the woods every day, and
the syrup is just part of that. “It intertwines with everything,” he explains.
Honest Weight has been selling syrup from Adiron-
Steps in the sugaring process at Adirondack Maple Farm.
dack Maple Farm since the early 1980s. Bruce delivers
it to Honest Weight himself and has enjoyed a positive
long-term relationship with the Co-op. He points out
that Honest Weight has always paid a fair price for his
products, which has helped him maintain a reasonable
profit.
The Co-op carries Adirondack Maple Farm syrup in
several grades: A medium, A dark, and B. Lately, customers seem to prefer the darker, more strongly flavored
grades. This maple syrup is sold out of large refrigerated containers in the bulk department, so that shop-
10
Coop Scoop
pers can purchase whatever amounts they would like. It
is also available in 8-oz. and 32-oz. glass containers in
the grocery department, next to honey and condiments.
The 32-oz. receptacle is a canning jar, and so can be reused easily.
I spoke with the Roblees in early February, the time
of year that Bruce is tapping each of the 40,000 trees
on the approximately 800 acres from which he collects
sap. He also repairs tubing that carries sap from tree to
tank at this time. He says that he will visit each individual tree about six times during the maple sap season, which generally lasts about six weeks, depending
on the weather.
The actual collection begins sometime in late February when the nights are still cool but the days grow
warmer, causing the sap to flow. After sap is collected,
it is put through a reverse osmosis process that removes
50% to 60% of the water; to only use boiling for concentration would double the price of the syrup. The remaining concentrated sap is boiled down to make maple sugar and a maple syrup that would make everything it
was added to taste delicious. Bruce produces 10,000 to
12,000 gallons of maple syrup a year, depending on the
weather.
The Roblees’ maple syrup has been enjoyed in massive quantities by my family over the years. Besides the
traditional topping for pancakes and cereal, we have
used it as the perfect secret ingredient to enhance many
foods you might not expect, such as tomato sauce, salad
dressing, home-made ice cream, potato salad, all manner of pastries, barbecue sauce and marinade for grilling, and so on.
For customers looking for a locally produced, natural
form of sweetener with a delicate yet delectable flavor,
there is no better choice.
rvices
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You’ll also receive 50% off of any additional men’s grooming services.
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(518) 438-7879
www.austin.edu
855 Central Avenue | Albany, NY 12206
HW-CS0509
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12
Coop Scoop
Co-op Worker Profile
Assistant finance manager Jennifer Felitte came to Albany
via a Phish tour. She offered some new friends a ride home in
her van, and when she dropped them off here, her van broke
down. She stayed. She traded a summer job in Seattle for a
summer sublet, and by the end of the lease had met her future husband, and decided to settle here. That was ten years
ago. She now lives in Colonie with her husband Jamie—a former assistant produce manager at Honest Weight—and their
6-year-old twin daughters Izabella and Caitlyn, and 3-yearold son Miles.
For the past eight years, Jennifer has been an employee of
the Honest Weight Food Co-op. She joined the Co-op and took
her first job, assistant front end manager, at the same time.
After five years in that position, she moved into her current
one.
Jennifer grew up in East Texas and moved to Austin as a
teen. She loves Austin, but doesn’t miss the summer heat.
What she does miss is Barton Springs, a natural spring in the
city of Austin that is open most of the year and maintains a
constant temperature of 68°F. To make up for that, she spends
“almost every waking moment I’m not working” outside during summer here, taking her family camping and hiking, and
cooking outdoors.
Although Jennifer’s college degree is in graphic arts and
communications, and she attended trade school to learn glass
blowing, she is very happy working in finance. “I love numbers,” she says. “They keep my head calm.” She enjoys the social environment at Honest Weight, and loves to work in her
by Hope Perlman
JENNIFER
FELITTE
upstairs office. Although the space is crowded and the environment is sometimes noisy, Jennifer finds it peaceful to concentrate on her tasks, working independently, but surrounded
by people she enjoys. The regular nature of the work appeals
to her. She knows what to expect and how to do it. She finds
her work relaxing, and it allows her to “hit the ground running” when she gets home and takes over care of their children from Jamie.
As for Jennifer’s plans, she would be happy to work at the
Co-op for many years; but she has a dream to start a preschool. She also plans to get back to working on glass in her
free time. She and Jamie are in the process of converting their
garage into a studio for her.
Jennifer is enthusiastic about the Co-op’s upcoming move.
She feels the new building will be a more harmonious space.
Although she’s aware that a move can negatively impact a
business, she is not worried about the future of the Co-op. She
loves that this is a place where people work together towards
a common goal.
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13
It is time to start planning for your
spring and summer garden. This year,
no matter where you live, how large or
small your home is, you can save water by using a rain barrel. In the summer, the typical home uses 40–50%
more water than in the winter. A simple
rain barrel collects and stores rainwater
that comes off your roof and is saved for
later use in your garden. One rain barrel can conserver up to 1,300 gallons of
water each summer.
Besides saving water, this method also
helps keep down pollution. Roof water,
known as storm water runoff, normally
pours off your roof, travels onto paved
surfaces, collecting all sorts of pollutants left by cars, trucks, lawn mowers, etc., and then flows into our storm
drains and into the sewer systems. The
water then goes to a storm water treatment facility for filtering. Unfortunately, this process uses massive amounts of
energy, which creates even more pollution. And not all the pollutants can be
removed from the water before it is returned to the environment.
Your roof will have its own contaminants on it—from the roofing material, to droppings from birds and other animals, to settled air pollutants.
The water from the rain barrel, then,
is not to be used for drinking or washing, but it is safe for watering your flowers, lawn, your house plants, and for
washing your back yard equipment,
bikes, etc. Some people use the water for
the vegetable gardens, too, as they let
the ground around the vegetables act
as a natural filter. See the links below
on how to do this. Some people set up
The Center for Nia and Yoga
Roll
out
the
rain
barrel
to
save
water.
by Paul Tick
their rain barrels so they slowly release
the collected rain water to selected areas of their gardens. Later, in the winter months, the rain barrel is emptied
so that it does not crack from ice that
would otherwise form in it.
Rain barrels cost from $90 to $135,
and come in many sizes and with different features. Some are simply utilitarian and some a bit fancy. They can
be purchased online or at some local
garden supply stores. You can also do a
quick Internet search and learn how to
make your own rain barrel, or use the
resources below. Making your own will
cost only about $20.
Rain barrels are simple and fun gadgets that help the environment and
keep you aware of the many things
you can do around the home to help
the earth. And don’t forget that native plants use less water than non-native and exotic plants, and lawns are
the biggest wasters of water all summer
long. So plan to minimize or get rid of
your lawns, plant native species, and
begin to use your new rain barrel.
Resources
www.cwp.org/Resource_Library/Center_
Docs/Residential/rainbarrelgarden.pdf
www.uri.edu/ce/healthylandscapes/
Rain%20barrel%20bro.pdf
Make your own: www.dnr.state.md.us/
ed/rainbarrel.html
Make your own: www.portlandonline.
com/shared/cfm/image.cfm?id=182095
Make your own (video): www.youtube.
com/watch?v=fn_5HRgiftg&NR=1
Make your own (video): www.youtube.
com/watch?v=fn_5HRgiftg&NR=1
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www.nia-yoga.com • 518-463-5145
388 Kenwood Avenue, Delmar, NY • 689-2244 • www.cihh.net
14
Coop Scoop
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March 2010
Dancing
on the
Equinox!
Come celebrate the Spring Equinox on Friday,
March 19 in Emerson Hall of the Albany Unitarian church (FUUSA), 405 Washington Avenue. Festivities start at 6 pm with a potluck dinner, followed by a
community dance at around 7:30. HWFC members and
non-members are all invited to attend—just like the Coop store itself!
The celebration is multi-purpose: Mark the onset of
spring, eat great food, hang out with nice folks, join in
simple celebratory dances from many cultures.
Part of my reason for organizing a dance event is reconnect to the old traditions of community dancing as
something everyone always did, because it was a social
activity: fun, easy and celebratory. It’s a way to bring
people of all ages together in an evening of simple joyous dances that anyone can do, whether they’ve ever
danced or not.
The user-friendly dances come from such cultures as
Ireland (OK, it is March!), Turkey, France, Africa, Russia, Mexico, Israel, Korea and the U.S.A. Unlike most
contra and folk dance events, these dances all can be
done successfully even if you have “two right feet.”
The wonderful live music will be played by Tame Rutabaga—an open band with some core members playing fiddle, flute, guitar, etc.—and you, too, can join the
band. I’ll be calling the dances.
For the potluck, please bring a vegetarian preparation; and we encourage you to bring your own dishes and utensils. The suggested donation will be $5 for
adults and $1 for children (under age 5 free).
Member workers are needed to help with the potluck,
and with room set-up and clean-up. Contact Nate at
482-2667 ext.104, or [email protected]. For more
information about the dance, call me at 482-9255.
We hope to make this an annual event, like we did
in the 1980s, when we had an annual potluck (the best
potlucks I’ve ever attended) and community dance
at the former St. Patrick’s Church on Central Avenue.
These were some of the most joyous events I’ve ever been
involved with.
Somehow, two decades have quickly passed since our
last dance. So, let’s get the party started again!
–Paul Rosenberg
15
A Pocketful of Rye
by Louise Frazier
The Swiss used to fill their deep pockets
with roasted rye grains for nourishment
when going to the mountains or to work
for the day—remember the nursery
rhyme? Try it as an easy rye snack—
teens like it! Rinse whole rye berries in a
sieve, drain, and spread on a metal jellyroll or baking pan and bake at 300°
(until dry and crunchy).
Rye is the strongest grain, having high, powerful form and holding
stance. Its forming power relates to the
spine, strengthening the process of uprightness and posture. Rye helps with
breathing and in speech, developing a
full-sounding voice. Potassium-rich rye
stimulates and supports the liver—good
for timid people. Rye is especially important for teens as it grows and ripens
in all four seasons, offering the fullness
of the earth with its streaming cosmic
forces. Rye requires strong digestive ac-
tivity, which is strengthening for the
whole organism. No wonder the Swiss
Guards were long regarded as paragons
of health and strength!
Some complementary seasonings for
rye are fennel seeds, rosemary, tarragon, thyme and mustard.
To cook rye—rinse in sieve, toast in
pot, cook using 3 parts water to 1 part
rye—use at least 1 cup, as the more
grain, the better it cooks. Add bay leaf
and heat on medium until pot starts to
bubble, then cook on low for 30 minutes—add 1 tsp rosemary or thyme
with ½ tsp salt per cup of rye after cooking. Let stand 6–8 hours off heat—overnight or all day—best kept warm when
pot is put in an insulated (grain) box
or wrapped in terry cloth towels or covered with a down pillow. (Hard well water may require more cooking time.)
Reheat rye before serving, add-
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Ronald L. Stram, MD, Medical Director
Healing Happens at the Center
16
Coop Scoop
Are you
inspired by the
ing more water as needed. A delicious
and simple one pot dish can be made
by adding vegetables* to the cooked,
standing rye when preparing the meal.
Add seasonal chopped vegetables. Cook
until they are done and rye berries puff
up, with some starting to burst—20 to
30 minutes.
Rye and rice are a tasty combination! Mix the cooked rye, after its standing time, with newly cooking rice when
preparing the meal. Rye and rice are
nice served simply as a grain or can be
used in the one pot dish. Toss in selection of vegetables to cook with the rye
and rice, as above.
Use rye in stuffing, for Thanksgiving especially tasty with the old favorites parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.
Cook rye the evening before, allow to
stand and the following morning fold
in minced onions with choice of coarsely grated carrots, celeriac, and or rutabaga. Season and stuff!
Try rye berry Ruben: put a layer of
sauerkraut between 2 layers of cooked
rye berries, top with a Swiss-type cheese
or tofu slices sprinkled with allspice
work of D r.
and tamari and bake until heated, but
not too hot!
C hristiane
Note: Rye may contain ergot, a fungus
that looks like a grain berry, but
is black. Put rye on a light-colored
surface and discard any ergot—
or submerge in water to float and
remove ergot.
* Vegetable suggestions: cauliflower
flowerettes with minced onion and
chopped fennel bulb in season,
or fennel seeds, to aid digestion.
One can replace fennel bulb with
celery slices or chopped celeriac—
parsnip slices, too—add dried thyme
leaves for flavor. Leek slices are
also tasty with rye. Mix cooked rye
with the vegetables and seasonings,
and cook until vegetables are fork
tender. Vegetables can be sautéed
or simmered before folding into the
rye. Top each serving with optional
tamari roasted nuts, seeds or tofu
cubes—or a dollop of yogurt.
Source: Simple & Good Whole Grain
Complementary Cookery. All rights reserved
by Louise Frazier 2/1/10.
Northrup?
Helping
make the
health- wealth connection
“Team Northrup is a specific,
practical, business and personal
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for
individuals who believe in the
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seek an exciting new path of
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! !
continued on page 18
March 2010
17
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* ADD/ADHD
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Neurofeedback uses sensitive electronic instruments to measure brainwave
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For more information contact Cindy Perlin, LCSW at (518) 439-6431
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18
Coop Scoop
Q. Potent Gypsy Porage Soup was Glorious. Please give it
many re-runs!
A. Ok we will bring it back again.
Q. I would like gluten free classes.
A. We will be doing a weekly gluten free demo and will hold some
classes in the future.
Q. Again, only dairy soups, and last week too. What’s up?
A. We try to provide a variety. Sorry about the oversight. We’ll be
more diligent.
Q. I wrote to you earlier abut the soups (beans and greens
especially) being too beany. Today I am eating beans,
greens… Bravo! and thank you very much—it is
excellent.
A. We’re glad you’re glad. Thanks for the positive feedback.
Q. Chocolate chip blueberry muffins aren’t a very good
combination. Sorry.
A. We try to satisfy a variety of tastes.
Q. Can we please get the cloth reusable bags back. That way
we can hopefully use less plastic and not contribute to the
Great Pacific Plastic Island.
A. The cloth bags were out of stock and are back now. Thanks for
your environmental concerns.
Q. I really like your baked goods but many times I have
found clumps of flour in the scones. The corn bread is
yucky.
A. We sincerely apologize. We will work on making sure we mix
our baked goods thoroughly.
Suggestion
Box
Q. In Bulk Dept., when a sale label is put on, it goes over the
ingredients. This isn’t helpful for folks with allergies.
A. Thanks for bringing this up—for now you can help us publicize
the fact that we flip the ingredients list over, so it can be read
with the lid open.
Q. Can we please get more desserts that are sweetened
without sugar, and possibly gluten-free as well?
A. We will work to find more sugar-free and gluten-free desserts.
Q. Please consider carrying rice milk powder.
A. Our distributor no longer carries the packaged brand of rice
milk powder and we’ve not found a bulk rice milk powder.
We’ll continue to search. Let us know if you find an alternative
brand.
Q. Could we carry a smaller container (less than 100 oz.) of
Ecos Laundry Detergent?
A. We do not have space right now. In our new store we will
probably be able to fit it in.
Q. Any progress on the cookbook that was to be out last fall?
A. We are making progress and are still accepting recipe
contributions. Send recipes to Lorrie Graham via email:
[email protected].
Nourish your mind AND your body
The First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany
supports the Honest Weight Food Co-op
and its building expansion plans!
First Unitarian Universalist
Society of Albany
405 Washington Ave., Albany NY, 12206
518-463-7135
www.albanyuu.org
Sundays: —Mindfulness Meditation at 9:00 a.m.—Service at 10:00 a.m.—Religious Education for youth at 10:00 a.m.
March 2010
19
Building a Green House
by Julie Harrell
A few years ago, I started working in the garden shop of
the Co-op. To support our newfound fresh homegrown
veggie addiction, I built a greenhouse out of …guess what?
Cattle panels, of course. We first used them to enclose the
poopers (aka the llamas and the goat), then for garden
trellises and finally for a shed, and now they are an 8-foot
by 12-foot long greenhouse.
Here’s our item breakdown
• 3 – 16' x 5' cattle panels
• 2 – 2" x 12" x 10' rough cut planks
• 2 – 2" x 12" x 8' rough cut planks
• 6 – 6-ft. metal stakes
• 4 – 2" x 4"s
• 20 foam pipe insulators
• greenhouse plastic roll
• greenhouse plastic stripping
• greenhouse plastic repair tape
• 12 – 99¢ clamps
• hay bailing twine
• ½-inch staples
• long screws for base
Tools
• good staple gun
• electric drill
• sharp box cutters for plastic
• small hand saw
• stake pounder
20
Here’s how it all came together
First, I took apart our old cattle panel shed which was
housing the lawn mower, hay bales for the poopers, and a
few chairs. That took an entire day but provided me with
much needed posts and three full size cattle panels. At
approximately $20 to $27 per panel, cattle panels are by
far the cheapest strongest option for the really low budget
greenhouse/shed/fence builder.
Then, I drove down to the local rough cut lumber yard
and bought two 2" x 12" x 10's, and two 2" x 8' very thick
heavy rough cut pine planks to use as a base for the greenhouse. After screwing these together with the drill, I then
attached four 2x4s (resized to fit) to the top of the base to
ensure a solid backing for the strips and plastic.
Next I formed the cattle panels into a shape that would
work for the hoop house. I tied them off with left over hay
bale twine, and a few pieces of rope at the top, overlapping the panels to add strength, then somehow managed
to get them into the frame of pine planks. Took a whole
day. I then pounded four metal stakes inside the shed, as
opposed to outside like my garden trestles, and began to
pad them up. We had a stack of unused insulators in the
basement, so I brought them up and padded up all places on the posts and panels using copious amounts of duct
tape and insulating until I was out of foam. What people
may not realize, as I don’t see anyone else doing this online, is that cattle panels have little burrs that can catch
and tear greenhouse plastic—so insulating them is the safest way to ensure the long life of your greenhouse.
Please note, home gardeners: Using good plastic is the
only way to build a solid greenhouse. A good product could
be had from Griffins, and lucky for me they have a warehouse in Latham. I bought a roll of plastic, enough for four
greenhouses and the best price by far I’d seen anywhere,
along with the plastic stripping (you have to staple the
plastic onto it) and some repair tape, also useful for building the greenhouse. It really sticks.
Back to the greenhouse. In an almost anti-climactic moment I unrolled a little plastic, threw it over the top of the
greenhouse and nailed the plastic onto the 2x4 base. Done
deal. Added a strip to the front and back for “walls,” using
those great 99¢ clamps you can buy at Home Depot and
taping a board to the bottom of each for weight, and presto
framo, we have a very hot greenhouse. Whew!
Now, as we move quickly into March, I am planning to
plant my seeds. The greenhouse is on its third year, and
the plastic is holding strong. I fill up a big black feed bucket with llama poop and dirt, to add heat to the greenhouse.
I place straw on the floor to keep down the weeds. Already
I can feel the warmth radiating when I step into the greenhouse, and soon, little shoots of green will be popping up
from my seedlings. I wonder if the praying mantis babies
survived in there from last summer? I wonder what number of little insect creatures will hatch inside the warmth
there…
Please contact me if you too would like to build a cattle
panel greenhouse – www.cherryplainfarmblogspot.com.
Coop Scoop
Aqua Chi
With Anthony & Karen Segretto. Saturdays, 1:30 to 5 pm in the Co-op
Community Room
MARCH AT THE CO-OP
All services, workshops, and classes offered at
HWFC are free and open to the public.
Free 20 minute sessions. The Aqua Chi is a detoxifying footbath that soothes your aching feet and legs, while detoxifying your body through the large pores of the feet. The electrical unit (which is, of course, safe while in contact with
the water) stimulates ionization through the water, which connects with your body’s electrical field to stimulate detoxification of the liver, joints, gall bladder, kidneys, bladder, urinary tract, and lymphatic system, removing cellular
debris, heavy metals, tobacco, blood clot material, and yeast. One session per person per month, please.
Astrology
With Petrita Hernandez-Rojas. Mondays, March 1 & 15, from 9 to 11 am
in the Co-op Community Room
This is a course for beginners, how to prepare the natal chart. Learn the signs, planets, houses, aspects and an outline on interpretation.
Blood Pressure /
Body Fat Testing
With Jeff Grayson Miller. Mondays, 10:30 am to 12:30 pm by the Service Desk.
Fitness Consultations in addition to blood pressure and body fat testing available.
Chair Massage
With Ed Thomas. Tuesdays, from 2 to 5 pm, in the Co-op Community Room
Ed Thomas is a New York state-licensed massage therapist, a graduate of the Bancroft School of Massage and a former member of the state Licensing Massage Board. He offers 15 minute personalized sessions. Please sign up for only
one session.
With Paul Jensen. Fridays, from 2 to 5 pm, in the Co-op Community Room
Individualized 10-min. sessions. Paul Jensen is a New York State Licensed Massage Therapist and the founder/owner
of Excellence through Exercise. Please sign up for only one session.
With Karden Rabin. Tuesday, March 16, from 5 to 8 pm in the Co-op Community Room
A licensed practitioner of therapeutic bodywork, Karden offers a unique and personalized experience to each and
every client. Trained at the Finger Lakes School of Massage and Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, Karden uses a
combination of integrative massage techniques to address your specific needs. Sessions are 15 minutes.
Energy Medicine
With Ruth Ann Smalley. Sundays, March 7 & 27, from 1 to 4:30 pm
Energy Medicine offers a range of simple, effective practices for self-help and wellness. In half hour individual consultations, Ruth Ann will work with you to find a personalized set of energy tools – such as stretches, meridian tracing or tapping, or acupressure holding points—to help you balance your energetic system. Ruth Ann is a certified
Donna Eden Energy Medicine Practitioner.
Energy Mirrors
With Michele Keleher. Wednesdays, from 9 am to Noon in the Co-op Community Room
Michele is a physical therapist with over 40 years of experience in CranioSacral, manual lymphatic drainage and
the Energy Mirrors treatment protocols. One or more of these treatment processes may benefit attendees who suffer
from chronic pain or one of the many degenerative conditions. Clients may sign up for a 30 minute consultation session in their area of interest.
Get Your Knives Sharpened
While You Shop!
With Vince Manti & Derek Burns. Tuesdays, February 2 & 16, from 5 to 7 pm
outside the Co-op Community Room
Due to the overwhelming popularity of this service, please bring in no more than five knives at a time. (No serrated
blades, please!)
March 2010
21
Healing Touch
MARCH AT THE CO-OP
With Richard Sahr. Mondays, March 1 & 15, from 11 am to 2 pm
continued from page 21
Healing Touch is a relaxing, nurturing energy therapy that has the potential to benefit many ailments. It is thought to reduce stress, calm anxiety
and depression, decrease pain, enhance recovery from surgery, and complements care for neck and back problems.
Richard is working toward certification and presently sees clients at his home. He also works with patients at Albany
Medical Center through the Department of Healing Touch. He offers one hour sessions, one per person, please.
Knit & Stitch
With Beverly Petit, Virginia Boyle-Traver & Beth Diedrich. Every Friday, from 12 to 2 pm
For knitters, crocheters, quilters, and sewers of any skill level, and people who would like to learn different techniques. Bring a needlework question or problem, bring your current project for a relaxed time of shared work, or just
stop by to see what we’re all about. Beginners are welcome!
Math Tutoring: Drop-in Sessions
With Pablo Paiewonsky & Ingrid Arlt. Fridays, from 5:15 to 8 pm in the Co-op Community Room
Free math tutoring while you shop for all ages and skill levels. Homework help, identification and remediation of
specific difficulties, suggestions of strategies for use at home. Bring any current math assignments or tests to the session, or bring in your practical day-to-day questions. No appointment necessary.
Oasis Avenue Cooperative:
Intentional Community Meeting
With Karen & Anthony Segretto. Saturdays, from 6 to 7:30 pm in the Co-op Community Room
Oasis Avenue Cooperative is in the process of developing a start-up group for phase I of the Community Development/Pre-Construction Process. This cooperative is open to raw vegans, vegans, vegetarians, and macrobiotics because of the tremendous benefits available from living
with others sharing these same lifestyles. Oasis intends
to construct using green architectural methods, solar
power, wind power, and various other eco-friendly techniques for construction and sustainability. The main
hall will house a wellness center, dining room, and topfloor greenhouse for growing wheatgrass and sprouts.
Homes will be constructed in a community orientation
on a large parcel of land, ideally in a rural location.
Reflexology
With Daniel Kunuria. Mondays, from 2 to 5 pm in
the Co-op Community Room.
Reflexology has helped close to a million people live
happy, healthy lives, gloriously free of pain and discomfort. Simple, safe (no side effects), time tested methods of rubbing, pressing, pulling and massaging away
illness provide blessed relief. It also helps to prevent
and cure all kinds of diseases (arthritis, back pain,
cough, cold, asthma, carpal tunnel syndrome) and
helps with weight loss, restful sleep and much more.
With Laura Lee Ross. Wednesdays, March 10, 24 &
31, from 4:15 to 7:30 pm in the Co-op Community
Room.
20 minute spot reflexology sessions can revitalize and
relax weary soles. Laura Lee Ross, Certified Reflexology
Practitioner through the Laura Norman School of Reflexology, has practiced this form of treatment for over
10 years. She offers free 15 min. sessions. One session
per person, please.
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Coop Scoop
Reiki
With Eric Hillenbrand. Sundays, March 21 & 28, from 9 am to 1 pm
MARCH AT THE CO-OP
Dr. Usui is the father of the modern universal healing system known as
Reiki (Rei – meaning universal and Ki – meaning life force). Reiki is used to
work on the soul, mental, and emotional bodies which in turn work on the physical body for your greatest well-being.
Eric is a Reiki Master Teacher who has been practicing for 7 years.
With Dennis Ryan. Tuesdays, from 12 to 2 pm in the Co-op Community Room
Dennis is a Reiki Master and Teacher with more than 5 years experience as a Reiki practitioner. Reiki is a Japanese
word representing Universal Life Energy. It is based on the belief that when spiritual energy is channeled through a
Reiki practitioner, the patient’s spirit is healed, which in turn heals the physical body. Sessions are 15 minutes.
With Jeanne Marie Rimlinger. Thursdays, from 11 am to 2 pm in the Co-op Community Room
Jeanne-Marie is a Level II Reiki practitioner trained in the Usui System of Reiki. “Reiki” means “universal life energy”. The Usui System of Reiki is not massage but rather a hands-on approach where the practitioner’s hands are gently
rested on prescribed areas of the body to facilitate healing using the universal life energy. The goal and frequent outcome from a Reiki session is an overall sense of peace and healing for the recipient. Jeanne-Marie offers 15–20 minute
Reiki sessions.
Reiki & Tarot
With Cynthia Reed. Thursdays, from 9 to 11:00 am in the Co-op Community Room
In this introductory, 35 minute session, we will do a short Tarot layout that acts as an intuitive guide to understanding
the energy blocks that are causing physical discomfort and stress. The layouts in this session will focus only on physical, mental and spiritual blockages, not on general divination. With the insight provided by the subconscious via the
cards, we will then move directly to a Reiki treatment. Cynthia Reed is a Usui Reiki Level III practitioner. She has been
using the Tarot for 40 years and has been incorporating it into her Reiki practice for the past two years. Ms. Reed has a
background in horticultural therapy and herbalism which augments her Reiki work.
Stressful Moments…
Surviving and Thriving
With Terry Quigley. Monday, March 8 from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm, and Tuesday, March 23 from 5 to 7 pm
Using Brain Gym® movements and the wellness tools of therapeutic grade essential oils and good nutrition to reduce
stress, enhance memory, and create and maintain a healthy, productive lifestyle.
Support Group
With Lois Gundrum. Mondays, March 8 & 22 from 1 to 2 pm the Co-op Community Room
This is a support group for those of us who are undergoing a transition in employment. Have you lost or quit your job?
Have you retired and feel lost? Wisdom has it that this can be a valuable time in our lives …an opportunity to live
more in sync with what our hearts would like to do. If you would like to explore your journey with the support, encouragement, and feedback of others in the same situation, come to this group. We don’t have to do this alone! Lois Gundrum is a former earth science teacher and textbook editor. She also has a background in urban forestry. She writes
poetry and enjoys photography, walking and hiking.
Traditional Music Jam
Led by Fritz Stafford & Jennifer Stafford. Sundays, from 4:30 to 7 pm in the Co-op Community Room
This round robin-type jam is open to acoustic musicians playing traditional instruments including fiddle, guitar, mandolin, banjo, concertina, flute, pennywhistle, accordion, bouzouki, light percussion instruments, etc. We play from the
Fiddler’s Fakebook, Portland Books, New England Fiddler’s Repertoire, Barnes Books, Waltz Books, and others. Musicians of all skill levels are welcome! This is a supportive community of musicians and we are glad to play tunes at different speeds to accommodate everyone’s comfort level.
Vegetarian Cooking
With Sam Andriano. March 30 from 5 to 8 pm in the Community Room
Sam will discuss styles and best ways to prepare vegetarian cuisine. Learn techniques and tricks, ask questions and
develop your creativity. Sam will also entice your taste buds with a dish or two that he will prepare. Former chef/coowner of Antipasto’s Restaurant, Sam has been cooking healthy and vegetarian for over 20 years. His dishes will inspire you to experiment at home and help us stay healthy (15 people maximum).
March 2010
23
Focus on Herbs
by Lynne Latella
One of the few non-narcotic drugs that
started a war, aloe vera can be found
in many kitchens as a burn remedy because it can sooth and heal wounds.
Alexander the Great sent his army to
seize an island near Somalia to obtain
the plant just because he heard it could
heal his soldiers’ wounds.
Related to garlic, lilies and tulips, aloe has been referenced in ancient Egyptian documents as a remedy for skin problems and infections.
In fact, it was so highly regarded that
it was often found in the tombs of pharaohs. The Greeks recommended it for
hair loss, ulcers, hemorrhoids and constipation. Carried from Spain to other
parts of the world by traders, it was introduced into Ayurvedic medicine as a
remedy for worms, menstrual pain and
skin problems.
The healing properties of aloe were
first recognized in the United States in
the 1930s when a woman’s x-ray burns
were healed with the gel from the leaves
of the aloe plant. Subsequent studies
have shown that aloe can heal first and
second degree burns, relieve sunburn
and eczema and significantly minimize rashes caused by poison ivy. Some
studies indicate that aloe has been successfully used to lower blood sugar and
cholesterol, fight yeast infections and
eliminate infections.
“Yo Ba” Chi Gong (12:30 to 1 pm) &
Ba Gua Zhang (1 to 1:30 pm)
With Tim Stottard. Saturdays, from 12:30 to 1:30 pm in the Co-op
Community Room
Cleopatra used to make her skin
shine by massaging aloe vera into it.
Indeed, it is used today in many cosmetic preparations, including lotions,
shampoo and soap. However, aloe is
most effective by using the fresh gel directly from the plant’s leaves.
In commercial products, aloe is more
potent in liquid form. The more viscous preparations contain a thickening
agent.
Side effects from internal ingestion
of aloe vera include cramps and diarrhea. With any health issues, a physician should be consulted before taking
this herb internally.
Besides live plants, some of the aloe
vera products offered by the Co-op are
the following:
• Skin Gels – Aubrey Aloe, Aloe Life,
Organix South, Nee Leaf and Aloe
Gel, Mill Creek Aloe and Lily of the
Desert
• Aloe Juices – Aloe Life, Aloe Force,
Lily of the Desert, Nature’s Way,
George’s Aloe. Many of these blend
aloe with other herbs to help with
specific health issues.
• Soap – Kiss My Face (one of the soap
choices contains aloe.)
• Capsules containing aloe can be
special ordered.
MARCH AT THE CO-OP
All services, workshops, and classes offered
at HWFC are free and open to the public.
continued from page 23
Join Unchatwa (aka Tim Stoddard) on a gentle journey for health and vitality. An eclectic fusion of Pasha (gentle heart) Yoga and Ba Gau Zhang (8 palm change) circle walking with kidney
cleansing Chi Gung to cleanse the blood, tonify the kidneys, and energize the body, mind and spirit. Class size is
limited to 6–8 people on a first come first serve basis.
Yoga
With Daniel Navilia. Tuesdays, from 10 to Noon in the Co-op Community Room
If you have ever been interested in learning more about yoga, come to the Community Room and learn some yoga
postures, or just drop by and Daniel will be happy to answer any questions you might have about yoga. Daniel Navilia is a certified Yoga and Meditation instructor.
Statements, representations or recommendations made by or conduct of the presenter represent the views and opinions of the presenter only. They do not
represent the viewpoint, endorsement or position of the Honest Weight Food Co-op, its Board of Directors or its employees. Honest Weight Food Co-op disclaims any responsibility or liability for the statements, representations or recommendations and/or conduct of any presenter.
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Coop Scoop