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Honest Slate
One for the Books:
November 2020
Membership Committee Launches Pilot Reading Group
by Carol Ostrow and Erin Donahue
Keep your community spirit stoked this winter with a new HWFC book group conceived and hosted by the Membership Committee (MC)!
•Debut title: Grocery Story by Jon Steinman •Anyone can participate: Shoppers, Owners/MOs, Staff
In his 2019 book, Grocery Story: The Promise of Food Co-ops in the Age of Grocery Giants, author Jon Steinman analyzes the current structure of the food retail sector, its domination by corporate giants, and how co-ops serve as an alternative that can enhance local food-based economies and provide greater food access for all. “For me,” Steinman writes in the opening pages of Grocery Story, “reimagining our food system means becoming aware of when and how we react to the challenges— to the actions of big food [industry giants that dominate our food systems]. It’s about first retracing our path prior to charting a course of action. It’s about asking whether or not we’ve given ourselves sufficient time to consider that the health of a tree or plant is almost entirely in the care and attention we bring to its roots.” Steinman visited Honest Weight in April 2019 during a months-long book tour. “I re-
ally care about my local food system and the food system abroad,” Steinman, of Nelson, British Columbia, said during the visit. “The conversation became about getting local food into people’s kitchens.” This choice struck the Membership Committee as “substantive and pertinent enough to kick off the series,” said committee chair Cara Benson. With logistics pending, the committee is announcing plans now so that readers can plan ahead. Committee member Stephen Winters is currently in contact with the Albany Public Library to research possibilities for additional availability of copies locally. Where can I locate this book? •Six copies of Grocery Story are currently on order for Honest Weight and instructions for borrowing copies will be announced later this fall.
Will you be answering yes to one of our daily COVID-19 questions or do you have questions? Have you:
• Experienced any COVID-19 symptoms in the past 14 days? • Tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 14 days? • Been in close contact with anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or has symptoms of COVID-19 within the last 14 days? • Traveled to a state in the past 14 days that is subject to NYS’s post-travel quarantine order?
If the answer to any of these questions is
yes:
• Contact your medical provider and/or contact your county health department, or call NYS’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-888-364-3065 • Staff: Notify your supervisor and our Benefits Administrator Mary Lou Nolan-Gilham at MaryLou@honestweight.coop • Member-Owners: Notify your department that you are scheduled to invest time in and Yevette Buddeau, our Member-Owner Coordinator, at memberservices@honestweight.coop.
•The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza https://www.bhny.com/ open Monday–Saturday: 10–5, Sunday: 12–5 • 518-489-4761 BHNY will offer copies at 20% off for HWFC community members. •Online ordering is available from New Society Publishers’ website with various options: https://newsociety.com/books/g/grocery-story Available in print, digital, and audiobook formats: •Paperback $19.99 •PDF $13.00 •EPUB $13.00 •Audiobook $31.99 How will this project work? • MC will facilitate bimonthly book discussions via Zoom sessions, with plans to announce a kickoff date by December • Simply interested? You need not be a Member-Owner to join the discussion; anyone can read and participate! • Circulate it forward! Readers who purchase a copy are encouraged to share with friends • It’s not complicated! “There’s no pressure to study in depth,” Cara stated. “Even if you just read one chapter, engagement with the book is the goal.” While the committee is still configuring the process, the plan is to convene every other month, discussing a new book each time. Additionally, MC is open to other committees offering suggestions and/or co-sponsoring discussions. If you have a book title in mind to suggest, contact the Membership Committee at MembershipComm@honestweight.coop.
Honest Weight Food Co-op • 100 Watervliet Ave. Albany, NY 12206 • 518-482-2667 • https://www.honestweight.coop/ • honestslate@honestweight.coop
