Coop Scoop Spring 2015

Issue #406

Spring 2015

Printed with soy ink on recycled paper

In This Issue

Let Your Voice Be Heard —

Strategic Planning at HWFC Page 5

Albany’s Soul Cafe 11 Creative Muscle 13 Springtime Family DIY 18

open every day 8am - 10pm

Honest

Honest Weight is a member-owned and -operated consumer cooperative that is committed to providing the community with affordable, high quality natural foods and products for healthy living. Our mission is to promote more equitable, participatory and ecologically sustainable ways of living. We welcome all who choose to participate in a community which embraces cooperative principles, shares resources, and creates economic fairness in an atmosphere of cooperation and respect for humanity and the earth.

Board of Directors Bill Frye

Vice President

Kelly Carrone

Treasurer

Hilary Yeager

Secretary

Erin Walsh

Honest Weight is located at 100 Watervliet Avenue in Albany, New York.

contact us 100 Watervliet Avenue Albany, NY 12206

www.honestweight.coop

Lily Bartels, Duke Bouchard, and Lexa Juhre make up Honest Weight’s Leadership Team

leadership Team

(518) 482-2667 + ext.

chief financial officer

Duke Bouchard

(x107)

Systems Leader

Lexa Juhre

(x101)

Communications Leader

Lily Bartels

(x116) (x104)

merchandising manager

Sandra Manny

(x120)

Outreach Coordinator

Amy Ellis

(x128)

Bylaws Panel

Bill Frye

Marketing manager

Jennifer Grainer

(x106)

Communications

Roman Kuchera

Education Coordinator

Colie Collen

(x219)

Finance

Hilary Yeager

Front End Manager

Katie Centanni

(x109)

Governance Review Council

Bill Frye

Bulk Manager

Tom Gillespie

(x130)

Membership

Kelly Carrone

interim produce Manager

Brendan Kelly

(x118)

Nutrition & Education

Deborah Dennis

interim Food Service Manager

Michele Youngs

(x108)

Grocery Manager

David Aubé

(x119)

Meat Manager

Nick Bauer

(x113)

Wellness Manager

Kevin Johnston

(x122)

Strategic Planning

Deborah Dennis

Interested in joining a committee?

Contact: board@honestweight.coop

honest weight community initiative

Bill Frye Governance Review Council

want to advertise?

Contact Kim Morton at (518) 330-3262 or kim.a.morton@gmail.com 2

Leif Hartmark, chair The contents of the Coop Scoop are for information purposes only and not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you have read in the Coop Scoop.

Coop Scoop

strategic planning

5

outreach update

6

growing season at the co-op 8

(518) 482-2667 [482-COOP] coop@honestweight.coop

Owner services coordinator Morgaen Hansen

Committee Liaisons

table of

contents

FOOD CO-OP

behind the Co-op President

Weight

Message from the Leadership Team

Spring arrives and most of us breathe a sigh of relief. We welcome it with a spirit ready to free itself from the months-long burden of frigid temperatures, endless rounds of snowstorms and digging out, and a woeful deficit of sunshine. Longer days begin, temperatures inch upward, green things emerge and seek the light. As facile as it might seem, it’s hard not to see in this natural progression a reflection of the Co-op’s own growth and renewal as we move into a new chapter of Honest Weight’s future.

June will mark two years since we opened our new store, and we’re already looking ahead to the summer of 2016, when the Co-op will celebrate its 40th year! Honest Weight has had a remarkable journey over nearly four decades. Who could have imagined in 1976 that a small buying club would eventually grow into a superb market owned by more than 11,000 members and serving the entire Capital Region?

And how do we adapt to this new scale – which we must – while preserving our core values and clarity of purpose? spring 2015

The Honest Weight Board of Directors recently kicked off a strategic planning process with the goal of developing a shared understanding of the organization and creating a vision for where we collectively desire to go in the next several years.

Tapping into all of our stakeholder constituencies – working and nonworking members, staff, management, non-member shoppers, vendors, the Board, members of the community – a conversation is being facilitated across the region that asks “Why does Honest Weight matter?” and “How can we best serve our members and the larger community?” Preliminary SWOT sessions were convened with these groups to identify HWFC’s perceived Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. From the Strategic Planning Committee emerged supporting subcommittees to do the work of steering, communicating, and surveying, as well as planning events to bring together large groups in dialogue around these questions.

profile: membership committee

10

Albany’s soul cafe

11

producer profiles

13

food isn’t the only local

14

herbs of springtime

16

springtime family d.i.y.

18

from the suggestion box

21

closing words 22

(Continued on next page.)

3

This is an exciting, invigorating time for the Co-op, and it also comes with its fair share of uncertainty and fear of change. Honest Weight is a living system, and living systems always strive for growth, and for stability within the larger ecosystem. For a values-based organization like ours, that growth must always be in service to our mission, while firmly predicated on fiscal sustainability.

Strategic Planning at HWFC

ting to focus our gaze forward and to advance together into a future where the Co-op remains vitally relevant, an ongoing powerhouse resource to our members and the community at large, and an organization able to nimbly adapt, evolve, and embrace change as we continue on this journey, solidly grounded in the values and mission that set us on our path so many years ago.

We face external and internal challenges requiring will, commitment, alignment and determination to boldly meet and overcome.

As the Co-op’s management, we understand that it is critical that these changes are made cooperatively internally, so that the organization controls its own future from within. Paramount to this vision is a restructuring of our bylaws to provide a more solid foundation on which to support our organization and business at the scale at which we now find ourselves. That process will undoubtedly find us asking ourselves, “Who are we now? What do we want to be? How can we best fortify ourselves to survive and thrive in a time of flux? How do we remain true to our foundational values while responding effectively to shifting realities, both internal and external?”

Bonded & Insured

Call us for info 518-207-0427 www.twentytoes.com Illustration by Meg Sodano, Co-op member since 2013

Cat Sitting in Your Home

How far does HWFC extend past the walls of the store?

local farms and 319 local producers, and we’re also part of the National Cooperative Grocers, which serves over 143 different co-ops all over the country. We’re in a time of increased competition – no longer are we the only natural foods game in town.

However, our history and knowledge base is formidable, and our support of the local economy is felt in hundreds of ways, every day.

When Honest Weight opened as a

So where are we headed?

Does the Co-op matter to you? In what ways?

What does it do for you? How well is HWFC doing things you’d like it to?

Who do you think is served by the Co-op, and how?

The confluence of strategic planning and concurrent bylaws revision will compel us to grapple with these elemental questions, and necessitate some collective soul-searching with the ultimate goal of uniting around a clearly defined, positive vision for the future of the Co-op.

buying club in 1976, it served a small community of like-minded people who wanted, simply, to access more nutritious food. Now, a community of over 11,000 shareholders and 1,300 working owners participate in what’s become a much more complicated conversation.

By this time next year, we will be gearing up for a gala celebration, as Honest Weight reaches the 40-year milestone of our remarkable journey! We’ll be looking backward at our “long strange trip,” honoring our history and the nostalgia it evokes.

At the same time, we are recommit-

We’ve moved to a beautiful new space, created just for us, in a neighborhood that’s residential and industrial, accessible by people zooming down the highway and also by those riding the bus, with a bigger parking lot that still struggles to contain the Sunday rush. We support over 285

4

Coop Scoop

spring 2015

We’ve been moving pretty quickly, pulled in so many directions. How will we propel ourselves toward a more intentional destination, one that can encompass our diverse community of interests?

That’s where Strategic Planning comes in.

On the Strategic Planning Committee, we’re facilitating conversations and helping to map out a plan. By engaging in conversations about all of the questions above, we can lay the groundwork for a better understanding of where we are and where

we want to go, as a community and a collective.

What can you do? You can start having these conversations as well! In the café, at the register, at home and online. With friends and with strangers. Ask them what they think about Honest Weight, what they want from it, and what their needs and ideas are.

This spring, we’ll be getting together in large groups for events that will require just this kind of thinking and promise to spark meaningful conversations. The Strategic Planning Committee is reaching out to everyone to solicit your opinions, ideas and visions for HWFC. Be pro-active by sharing your ideas and participating in one of these large group events. Take ownership of the Co-op’s direction over the next five years. let your voice

be heard!

5

Outreach Update

by Amy Ellis, Outreach Coordinator Co-op member since 2009

Throughout the weekend, guests enjoyed top-of-the-line food and wine pairings, impressive wine preparation with cooking demonstrations, and wine tasting seminars. Many thanks to our Specialty Foods and Catering Departments, which did a stellar job of impressing the masses with their carefully crafted cheese pairings and desserts. Proceeds support the Albany Barn, Albany Institute of History & Art, Albany Symphony Orchestra, Capital Repertory Theatre and Park Playhouse.

the museum’s education programs for children. And, who could forget Selma! Capital Region residents gathered to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the demonstrations for voting rights in Selma, Alabama, and to call attention to the unfinished struggle to secure the right to vote for all American citizens. Attendees enjoyed a presentation and, of course, the opportunity to enjoy some deliciously prepared foods from the Co-op.

Saratoga Springs was home to the 33rd Annual Northeast

We continue to support community initiatives like Soul Café in both Albany and Troy. Our work in the community brings us out to all sorts of organizations like RPI, Siena College, UAlbany, Sage, St. Rose, CDPHP, St. Peter’s Hospital, Independent Living Centers, Soul Fire Farm, youth centers, public library systems, public and private schools and many, many more!

Organic Farming Association of New York

Conference this winter. This year’s theme was Soil: The Root of the Movement. The Co-op was able to make a contribution of organic rice to feed more than 1,200 attendees.

The conference offers more than 80 workshops on organic agriculture, sustainable living, urban farming and much more. Through the generous donations of farmers and businesses, the conference is able to serve attendees 100% organic meals.

to examine the important historical role played by food co-ops, their pioneering quest for organic foods, and their current efforts to create regional food systems. Additionally, the film shows how co-ops strengthen their communities, enhancing local economies and food security. The film was also screened in our Community Room in February, with a good crowd and some great conversation.

Always at the core of our mission is our Ready, Set, Grow! programming. This winter we had the pleasure of visiting all the first grade students at Thomas O’Brien Academy of Science and Technology (Albany City School District). We prepared healthy snacks with this ambitious group of students. They were eager to help and eat! It’s always rewarding for our team of members when students get excited about healthy food. As the Outreach Coordinator, I feel we have accomplished our goal even if only one student tells Mom or Dad that they want to make the recipe at home.

In January, we proudly sponsored the annual Albany Wine & Dine for the Arts, a three-day food and wine festival to raise money for five local arts organizations!

In February, our Garden Department created a beautiful display for New York in Bloom at the NYS Museum. New York in Bloom is the signature fund-raising event for

Specialty Department Manager Jonathan Milks, Co-op Member since 2014

It’s been an exciting winter for the Outreach team, but we are anxiously awaiting spring, to say the least!

We ended 2014 with another successful year of Food For Thought films at The Linda Theater – a partnership now in its 7th year with WAMC radio. Among them was a movie very close to our hearts: Food For Change. This film tells the story of the cooperative movement in the U.S. through interviews, rare archival footage, and commentary by the filmmaker and social historians. This is the first film 6

Promoting successful homeownership and healthy neighborhoods through:

HOMEOWNERSHIP CENTER

255 Orange St. Albany, NY 12210 518-434-1730 www.ahphome.org

Homebuyer Education Credit Repair Landlord Training Energy Efficiency Down Payment Assistance/Grants Foreclosure Prevention Assistance Thinking about buying a home? Contact us to register for FREE Homebuyer 101 .

Save Energy. For a comprehensive home energy assessment — GreenCapitalRegion.org

Want to do something POSITIVE with your tax return?

Become an investor in the Community Loan Fund. Help your community AND earn interest!

Call us to learn how your friends and neighbors have been supporting local businesses, nonprofits and Co-ops (including the HWFC) for years.

255 Orange St., Albany, NY 12210 ◆ 920 Albany St., Schenectady NY 12307 (518) 436-8586 ◆ www.mycommunityloanfund.org

Connecting

socially concerned investors with local micro and social

entrepreneurs since 1985

Growing Season at the Co-op

These “true relationships,” as Linda calls them, “are just plain pleasurable.

I’m buying jade plants from Orlop’s Farm and Greenhouse that are clippings from ten- or twelve-foot jade trees being cultivated by thirdgeneration growers.”

by Cara Benson Co-op member since 2013

Hoo boy, that was an earnest winter. Time to celebrate the buds!

The seeds! The green and growing!

And what better way to do it than to shine some figurative sun on our Plants and Garden Department?!

Orlop’s is just one of the companies Linda works with. Others she mentions include our organic seedling supplier Miller’s Crossing in Hudson and our native plant supplier, Fiddlehead Creek in Hartford, NY.

While we carry indoor plants all year, the full Plants Department really blooms in April and goes through the first frost in fall. I say, BRING IT ON. You may have noticed last year’s amazing abundance filling the outdoor area and the entrance to the store. Six-packs of seedlings started.

Potted gorgeousness. Blooming food.

Bales of straw! Then there are the FedCo seed orders – those little white packets we can ulitize as a way to get our own hands in the dirt. The options are exponential, but that wasn’t always the case. In fact, the Co-op didn’t even carry plants until flowers started “sneaking into Gayle’s pick-up truck” in the mid-1980s.

This all started at our first retail location on Quail Street. As with all good things at Honest Weight, it happened organically. Gayle Anderson, the produce manager at the time, was picking up fresh goods at the cooperative Farmer’s Market in Menands on a weekly basis. The Market was always bursting with local growers and suppliers. Looking around at all the flowers one day, Gayle thought, “that’d be cool.” And so the first marigolds and tomato seedlings were put out on display, on the sidewalk in front of the store.

“It was kind of neat,” Gayle says.

“Suddenly we had an outdoor presence in the neighborhood. Now people were coming inside this crazy place they’d only been walking past.”

Gayle often made buying decisions based on her own needs as a gardener. Whenever she was buying something, she’d get extra for the 8

you’re in the store with any regularity, you’ll come to recognize their faces.

Say hello! Then get a sunflower or perennial six pack to take home.

Something Linda is also developing are the “Who Knew?” signs on the plants. These provide cool bits of info, like which plants are the best air purifiers. And coming soon will be a new “Plant of the Week” feature. Then before we know it, the full growing season will be upon us again!

Both Gayle and Linda are quick to point out that none of this would happen without a committed crew of member-workers, many of whom are master growers themselves. If

Photos by Andrew Franciosa, Co-op member since 2009 store. In addition to co-ordinating the Federation of Cooperatives (FEDCO) seed orders, she became everyone at the HWFC’s garden shopper.

From there it grew. By the time Honest Weight moved to the Central Avenue location, Gayle had to get her own cargo van. “I used to pack that thing,” she says. Rosebushes, potting soils, flats – her husband Syd had to build shelves into the van to carry it all back to the store. It was also around this time that Gayle started making arrangements of cut flowers for sale.

Daffodils, roses, tulips … basically whatever she could get her hands on at Seagroatt’s. “When it comes to flowers,” she says, “you have to pick them out by what looks good.”

At the Watervliet Avenue store, the department has grown again. In addition to putting in the biggest FEDCO order in the country in 2014, HWFC is working so successfully with local growers that we now get much of our goods delivered to our doors.

It’s through these relationships that Honest Weight is able to develop a healthy rhythm with suppliers. With the hiring of Linda Donegan as the new Plants and Garden Department manager (Gayle is still involved part-time), those connections are expanding.

“Gayle built these amazing relationships,” says Linda. “Now I’m able to go out to the greenhouses and farms to get to know our growers even better. This way we can really help each other. If they know we’ll take as much kale or basil as they can get us, for example, they can plan their growing season better.”

Numerous regional growers have benefited immensely from working with HWFC. True to our mission to grow the local economy, we have been and continue to be a tremendous part of the local growing community. So much so, in fact, that we now make up a significant portion of their business.

Coop Scoop

spring 2015

9

Albany’s Soul Cafe

Profile: Membership Committee

by Greta Dahl Hansing

by Cara Benson

Co-op member since 2010

Co-op member since 2013

The Membership Committee meets monthly to

deal with all things membership.

Whether it’s updating the Membership Manual to provide the most accurate information, or researching possibilities for an “hours bank” that members can apply to in emergencies, we’re always working on things that could matter to our member-workers, who are the backbone of

remember that time when you were sick and your neighbor brought you some homemade chicken noodle soup? Or when you watched as your mom sat on the front porch with the neighbors, all day, playing bridge and drinking lemonade? How about the smell of homemade blueberry pie cooling on a windowsill in your neighborhood? Me neither.

an ice cream social? Yes, we like the idea, too!)

Is this how communities used to be?

With this question in mind, Albany Soul Cafe has come together in an effort to reunite diverse communities in the Capital District over delicious Photo by Randall Collura, Co-op member since and nutritious food, all donated by called “One World, Everybody Eats” local farmers, shops, and volunteers (oneworldeverybodyeats.org). who share this same dream.

Nationwide, the concept has spread like wildfire, and we are a part of the essentially, we’re creating a trend. restaurant environment with no prices

In the meantime, feel free to reach out to us through our Board Liaison Kelly Carrone at kellyhwfc@gmail.com.

on the menu. We wish to create a space where local people can come together to discuss common interests, imagine community service projects, and have fun.

the Honest Weight Food Co-op.

We’ll have news on these developments coming soon, including proposals for warm weather events. (How about

Not on email? Stop by the service desk and leave a message.

We want to hear from you!

Though Albany Soul Cafe is not meant to make a profit, we do not have a 501(c) and aren’t tax-exempt. We are just people who donate our time to create meaningful nutritious meals for those in our community. These meals have been very successful; the last dinner nearly ran out of seating, hosting about 120 people. “We have been able to feed a lot of our neighbors some very delicious food,” Susan Fowler said.

Pay-what-you-can community cafes like ours are spreading nationwide. Believe it or not, Jon Bon Jovi’s wife started the first community cafe almost ten years ago in Salt Lake City,

10

Coop Scoop

Volunteers from all around the Capital District donate their time to prepare, cook and serve these community dinners. Businesses like Honest Weight donate vegetables, Justine Denison of Denison Farms has been a faithful supporter, and Roxbury Farm and Rebekah Rice at Nine Mile Farm are also generous with their veggies. One of the original volunteers, Susan Fowler, cultivates a “friendship garden” with her young students, who donated garlic for our recent pizza dinner. Local chefs and cooks have included Matt Schueler of Capital Roots, the chef at Troy’s Jose Malone’s restaurant, Christine Snyder from the Daughters of Sarah Senior Community, and Chris Faraci from Carmen’s Cafe.

In January, chef Chris Faraci donated his time, with Dan McBain and Oliver Holocek as his sous chefs.

They made amazing Cuban food

and gourmet pizza. On April 27 we’ll feature specialities of Burma.

Vegetarian options are always available.

We are so grateful to Linda O’Malley from Oakwood Soul Cafe, who inspired us with monthly Troy community dinners held at the Oakwood Community Center since 2013.

Westminster Church is kind enough to donate space for this event.

Thank you, Rev. Frances Wattman Rosenau, for being one of our biggest supporters in making this happen.

Another special thank you to Kristin Leigh Southworth, office assistant at Westminster Presbyterian Church, for her help and patience with helping us figure out the security code and providing a key each month.

The suggested donation is $5 for adults, and $3 for children. All proceeds go to support our next meal. Several businesses and farmers donate what they can, but invariably it has been necessary to have some backup funds—especially in the

producer profiles

colder months when local produce isn’t as plentiful. Nevertheless, if you do not have $5, for whatever reason— maybe your budget is too tight this month, or you had to buy snow tires, or perhaps you lost your job—we will not turn you away. That is not what good community members would do.

No, good community members open the door for you and welcome you into their kitchen for some homemade blueberry pie.

x’s to o’s bakery X’s to O’s Vegan Bakery in Troy has the distinction of being the only totally vegan bakery in the Capital Region. It is the creation of Sarah Preston, who began developing delicious vegan treats just for herself, her friends and her family. Eventually she had to move her operation out of her tiny kitchen.

Albany Soul Cafe meets on the fourth Monday of each month from 6-8pm (note: this is not always the last Monday of each month) at Westminster Presbyterian Church located at 262 State Street, Albany, NY.

X’s to O’s specializes in canoe boats (reminiscent of Twinkies but so much better for you!), brownies, cookies,

asgaard farm & dairy Formerly the home of the artist Rockwell Kent, Asgaard Farm and Dairy is now operated by David Brunner and Rhonda Butler. Located just outside the Adirondack village of Ausable Forks, the farm produces meat, poultry, vegetables, cheeses and other dairy products. The pigs and poultry are pastured; the cattle are grass fed.

Organic grains are grown as supplemental feed for the animals.

FORT ORANGE GENERAL STORE A neighborhood shop carrying curated home goods, accessories, kitchen wares, cards, natural apothecary, and more. We hold a

special place for handmade goods created by independent artists, makers and companies from nearby and across the country.

visit: write: view: ring:

2 9 6 DEL AWA RE AV E. A LBA N Y, N Y 12 2 0 9 FORTOR A NGEGENER A L@ GM A IL .C OM FORTOR A NGEGENER A L S TORE.C OM + 01 (518) 7 2 9 -3 7 0 3

follow us for regular updates: SHOP HO URS: TUES -S AT: 11 - 8 / SUN: 12- 6

Biologic Dentistry For your Family • Nutrition and prevention focused dental care • Safe mercury removal • Metal-free implants • Bio-compatible restorations • Whole-body orthodontics

Accepting new patients

Vegetarian & Vegan Friendly Special gluten-free menu

Elemental HAPPY HOUR 4 - 6:30 pm Frozen & Gourmet Agave Fruity Margaritas

“EL PATIO” is OPEN

Please call to learn how we can help you 518-371-5113 B. PRESSER, D.D.S., LLC 56 Clifton Country Road, Ste 102 • Clifton Park NY Mercury Free • Health Centered Family Dental Care

Voted “Best One-Location Mexican”

photos by Andrew Franciosa Co-op member since 2009

hawthorne valley farm Hawthorne Valley Farm was born in 1972 when a group of pioneering educators, farmers, and artisans purchased the Curtis Vincent Farm in Harlemville, New York. Their mission was to create a place that offered children from urban centers a handson experience of what it means to be stewards of the land. Forty-three years later, Hawthorne Valley is a vibrant, 400-acre working farm with a variety of diverse enterprises, including a Waldorf school, environmental and social

by Pat Sahr Co-op member since 2005

cakes, and many gluten-free treats.

At the store in Troy, one can also get grab-and-go lunch items, freshly made smoothies, and espresso drinks.

All products are 100% vegan, they are egg-free, dairy-free, cholesterol free, and contain no trans-fats, high fructose sweeteners or artificial colorings. Sarah says she also strives to use the best organic and local ingredients available. Everything is baked from scratch, with love.

A herd of 44 milking goats regularly browses in the woods surrounding the farm. The milk from these goats goes into the making of Farmstead Goat Cheeses and is also the key ingredient in the farm’s award-winning goat milk caramels and goat milk soap.

The products of Asgaard Farm and Dairy can be found seasonally at farmers markets in Keene, Lake Placid and Saranac Lake, and can be acquired through the farm’s CSA. research branches, a place-based learning center, a natural foods store, bakery, creamery and lacto-fermentation cellar.

The farm is Certified Organic and follows principles of biodynamic agriculture. At Honest Weight, shoppers will find the Hawthorne Valley label on whole milk yogurt and on lactofermented vegetables, which contain significant amounts of vitamin C, digestive enzymes, and lactobacillus bacteria (similar to the bacteria found in probiotic supplements).

Serving

Tues - Sun menus online at

465 Madison Ave. Albany

ellocomexicancafe.com

(between Lark and the Park)

436-1855

spring 2015

13

Meet a Local Artist

SG: I think that artists are the great dispellers of the myth of capitalism, you know, the idea that we all need competition and that our end goal is to amass endless amounts of wealth.

Artists seem to be content to just get by so long as they can do what they are passionate about.

by Shanna Goldman Co-op member since 2013

IM: Yeah, every young person needs a little bit of art; if you can entertain yourself, you have more choices.

When I was young, all I really needed was a pen and paper. Sure, I had video games and I bought cool sneakers: I liked stuff. But I could spend a lot of time by myself. I think it helped me make the decision not to earn money just to spend money.

If everyone had a bit more creative muscle…

Ira Marcks in his Troy studio

Ira Marcks believes that art is the key to choosing your own adventure.

I actually just finished a book that I can’t tell you about yet…

SG: So you draw cartoons, you’re a… what exactly do you do?

SG: So mysterious! Well congratulations, I know that that can be grueling work.

IM: Actually I’m a writer and illustra-

IM: It can get really lonely, and all

tor, but folks know me best for my work drawing cartoons and giving workshops on cartoon making. I like to write stories and find different ways to present them… a cartoon, a video, a performance.

encompassing. Teaching classes helps me stay sane, to stay connected to people and outside of my head. Otherwise it could be very depressing.

SG: Where do you teach?

IM: In my studio, at the Art Center, and in schools. Also, through small grants, I’m able to do workshops at public libraries and museums.

SG: But creativity has become so professionalized..

IM: You’re not even an artist anymore, you’re a creative entrepreneuer. And with programs being cut from schools because of funding, nobody is getting to build an art practice. That’s why the workshops I do are so important to me. Its about making it accessible and its also about building community. A lot of times, we do what I call a Comic Jam, where we build a comic together.

I throw out a title and we go around the circle, each person taking a turn, filling in a panel. It’s great - people have to riff off each other, and if someone creates a really far out idea, they all have to work together to figure out how to bring it back in and make it work as part of a larger piece. So they practice building a community that incorporates everyone.

SG: Do you have a background in teaching? What is your degree in?

SG: Community building through collective storytelling. I think the work you do could be so useful for some of the special needs kids I work with.

IM: Absolutely. A teacher had me come into her classroom to do a workshop with her students. They had been reading pretty intense books around sexual abuse, homelessness, bullying. We’re still doing a comic jam, but instead of using a silly title like,“Monster Pajama Party,” I would use something like “Escape from the Invisible Prison.” It was easier for the students to put it down on paper and share it that way, and then they were able to open up and talk about it with each other.

SG: That’s amazing. Its so inspiring how much you are able to do with comics! How can people reach out to you if they want to hire you or find out the next time you are holding a comic jam?

IM: Thank you! They can visit my website at www.iramarcks.com.

IM: No; I went to college for graphic design, but by the time I graduated I was back to comics, thinking I would just piece it together. I’m lucky that I can teach, because that provides most of my income. I rarely get paid for art. 



    

14

Coop Scoop

    

  



 





Herbs of Springtime

with a strong old world tradition of cooking with nettles in the spring.

by Mary Theresa Julien Co-op member since 2011

This is a particularly welcome spring. Cuddled in the sun’s warm, golden blanket, the earth bursts into song and flower, and our spirits soar. The days are now warmer, and a proliferation of bright green spreads across the landscape.

After a long winter with cabin fever and a comfort food diet, our bodies tend to be a bit sluggish.

Spring is a natural time for us to reboot. Our diets, especially through the cold winter, can be top-heavy with sugars and fats. Now is the perfect time for a little spring cleaning for our bodies. Bitter herbs can play an important role in this process. Many nutritionists, herbalists and health experts believe that a deficiency in bitter substances in our diet contributes to diabetes as well as digestive, inflammatory and immune-related illnesses.

Maria Treben, a leading authority on medicinal herbs, recommends 16

I go out on spring mornings and collect just enough for a nettle and goat cheese omelet. Add lots of cracked pepper and some sea salt: Yum! If you are able to identify and locate nettles in the wild, wear gloves and use caution when harvesting them, because their stinging hairs are quite unpleasant. Fortunately, they are rendered harmless upon cooking. Be sure to harvest the tender tops before they flower. There are plenty of good resources online to help with positive identification and recipe ideas.

the following: “The dandelion is at its most potent in the spring when it is in flower, and it’s a good idea to take advantage of this fact and give your body a two week treatment with fresh dandelion stalks. Eat ten raw, freshly picked dandelion stems every day for the whole two weeks, washing them carefully beforehand and chewing them very thoroughly. Don’t cut off the flowers before washing the plants. If you’ve been feeling tired and listless, this treatment will perk you up very quickly.” I mince the stalks and add them to a little honey to offset the bitterness. Not too much honey, though, since it is important to actually “taste” the bitterness.

Dandelion leaves are also an excellent digestive bitter and blood purifier.

They have very high amounts of vitamins A and C as well as potassium and calcium. They also have high amounts of iron, phosphorus and B vitamins. My Italian stepfather used to go out in early spring and pick large

quantities of dandelion leaves. He sautéed them in olive oil and garlic.

I like to throw them into the mix when juicing or add them to brown rice while it’s cooking for a burst of wholesome nutrition. Dandelion leaves can be confused with chicory leaves. Though people sometimes eat chicory leaves as a garden green, they do not have the same health benefits. To identify a dandelion, look for a smooth underside; chicory leaves have a hairy midrib on the bottom.

It feels so revitalizing to eat fresh greens in the spring, and young nettle leaves are also among the best!

An excellent addition to our spring diets, nettles aid in detoxification by supporting our kidneys and bladder.

They can be considered an herbal bitter and they also stimulate and support the circulatory system. Their high nutritional content includes vitamins A and C, chlorophyll, iron silica and potassium. The Scottish, Irish, and French are among those Coop Scoop

An infusion can be made by loosely filling a quart Mason jar with fresh nettle tops, pouring boiling water over them, capping and steeping for an hour or more. Or, use dried nettle from the Bulk Section at the Co-op instead. You can strain and drink your infusion, or if you find the taste unpalatable as a drink, it makes an excellent substitute for vegetable stock in recipes, or for water when cooking rice. The remaining fresh-infused herbs can be added to dishes in much the same way as you would use cooked spinach. Be sure to remove the main stalks since they are rather tough. Fresh nettles can occasionally be found at farmers markets as well.

Lastly, this novel idea for using dandelion flowers can help ensure that we don’t end on a bitter note! A steaming hot cup of bright dandelion flower tea can provide a very springlike mental lift! Go out into the sunshine and pick about eight fresh dandelion flowers. Pluck off the flower heads and immediately steep them in boiling water for five minutes. Of course, honey is a very nice addition.

I love seeing these yellow darlings cheerfully strewn across an expanse of grass! Dandelion flower tea always seems to inspire the same sunny disposition in me when I drink it. Try it and you’ll see what I mean!

Toddler – Middle School

ADMISSIONS

Open HOuse

saturday, April 18 12:30 - 3 pm Meet the faculty; tour the campus and discover how the proven excellence of a Montessori education can help your child achieve a lifetime of outstanding results.

Montessori 101 presentation at 1:30 pm. limited Openings fOr fAll 2015 scHOOl yeAr

2015

June 22 August 28

Join us for a summer filled with Art Mania, Spanish Culture, Summer Fun, Sports, World Traveling and more! Space is limited so register today.

WOOdlAnd Hill mOntessOri scHOOl

100 Montessori Place • North Greenbush, NY • 518.283.5400 • www.woodlandhill.org

Betsy Mercogliano, CPM, LM (518) 449-5759

Tisha Graham, CPM, CLC

Jess Hayek, CE, Doula

(518) 584-6619

(518) 727-8219

The Family Life Center (518)465-0241 www.albanyfamilylifecenter.org

Hands-On, Hearts Open Care during Your Entire Childbearing Year PROFESSIONAL HOMEBIRTH MIDWIFERY, DOULAS, EDUCATION AND MORE! LOCATIONS IN ALBANY & SARATOGA!

FARM to TABLE

Dining, CSAs, Markets

Visit us online!

Springtime Family D.I.Y.

Homemade No Knead BreaD:

by Meghan Breen

This recipe is all over the internet.

It’s a fabulous bread, and so easy, which really works well for parents who have little time to ‘dough-sit’ a batch of bread through many rises over the course of the day. Not that there is anything wrong with good old fashioned bread making and the fun work of kneading the dough (which kids really love to do), but this is a tad more realistic for anyone hoping to consistently have fresh bread at home.

Four ingredients, no preservatives, and easy. (Sorry, folks with gluten intolerances; this will not be of use to you. BUT there are lots of options for GF recipes online.)

Co-op member since 2007

As a mom of four kids, I am always looking for ways to cut costs and save time. Wow, that sounds like a commercial for laundry detergent or something! Well, it sort of is, but for laundry detergent and for all the other things you can make from scratch at home (with many of the ingredients found in the Co-op’s Bulk Department).

Homemade Laundry Detergent (liquid): We have been making our own laundry detergent for a while. I tweak it here and there, and this recipe is the latest concoction. I’ve read that recipes similar to this are great for cloth diapers. I haven’t yet tried them on cloth diapers, but soon enough I will have another babe, and will definitely test it out myself!

18

Ingredients: 1 ½ Tablespoons yeast, 1 ½ Tablespoons salt, 6 ½ C Flour (we have been loving Mt. Marcy Bread Flour, which is very yummy and local - 5% off for members), and 3 C lukewarm water

Ingredients: 1 cup grated bar soap (we use Dr. Bronner’s castile soap), 2 cups washing soda, 2 cup Borax, and 1 cup baking soda Directions: If you have a good food processor, you can put the bar soap in that until it becomes a powder.

Otherwise grate the soap and heat it in a saucepan with some water until the soap is completely dissolved. Then add all ingredients to a five gallon bucket and add very hot water. Fill to top. Stir to combine, and then as you think of it for the first day or two, stir a few more times. Add one tablespoon to ¼ cup to laundry.

Directions: Add all ingredients to a large (5 liter or more) bin or bowl. Let rise until it flattens out or collapses.

You can either take some out now to start your first loaf, or stick it in the fridge and leave it there until ready to bake bread (up to one week). On baking day, take out a few handfuls of dough with wet hands and shape into a large ball, then place on a floured cookie sheet or baking stone. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Let dough rise for 30 minutes, then bake for another 30. If you can wait to cut it until it’s cooled a bit, that’s best. But we can never wait! This amount of dough should yield about three small loaves in loaf pans (or 3 round boules – French for ‘ball’). With a large family, I make the boules rather large and find that it only yields enough for 2 boules.

When I am making baking the second batch, I usually whip up a new batch to get it rising so we will be ready for fresh bread the next day.

Coop Scoop

Homemade napkins: Ok, so this may not save time – initially – but it can be fun and save money over time, if you’ve been buying napkins and paper towels. You can either repurpose fabric for this, or check out local thrift stores for fabric bundles.

If you don’t have a sewing machine, barter some homemade bread with a friend who does, and ask them to help! Bonus: If you have kids, they can get in on the fun by choosing fabrics for ‘their’ napkins and, once old enough, they can help you sew!

Offering classes in: Iyengar Yoga All Levels + Gentle, Senior Vinyasa Flow, Kripalu Yoga , Kirtan and Dance

540 Delaware Ave. Albany, NY 12209

For Information: www/THEYOGALOFT.NET Call: Gerry 438-2557 Marge 482-8124

Directions: 1. Wash and iron fabric. Cut 12 squares of matching fabric, about 45 x 45 cm (18 by 18 inches) for a regular napkin, 35 x 35 cm (14 by 14 inches) for a child-size napkin.

2. Place your fabric down with the wrong side facing you. Fold down one side of the napkin about 1/2 inch and press down.

3. Fold down the same side again about 1/2 inch, press, and pin.

4. Do this for the remaining three sides.

5. Use a sewing machine to sew down each side. Trim off the left over thread and you are done.

With whatever handmade/homemade task that awaits you, I wish you well.

Happy Spring!

spring 2015

19

from the

suggestion box

Q: Why isn’t there a cash register at the Deli counter?

A: We have explored this possibility several times and are pursuaded that our existing set-up does not support a register. Please speak with a deli manager to discuss your concerns, and we’ll explain our process.

Want to advertise in the Scoop?

Contact Kim Morton at (518) 330-3262 or kim.a.morton@gmail.com

Q: Colombian coffee beans?

A: We have Colombian coffee beans

A: We’ve been thinking about this for

available in our Grocery Department.

You can also order 5-lb bags of Colombian beans via the Bulk Department - just ask a worker for more info.

some time and we’re working out the bugs.

Q: Open seasonal entrance!

A: The seasonal entrance remains

Sunday, April 26, 2015 • 10:30am - 2:30pm FAIR LOCATION: Albany JCC • 340 Whitehall Road • Albany, NY

518-438-6651 x112 • www.albanyjcc.org

Bulk

Nuts, Seeds, Granola, dried Fruits, and Coffee.

Try our new

Chocolate Almond butter with Honey

“Ah, yes, Collins. Party of two.

Nonsmoking, low sodium, high fiber section.”

Albany Jewish Community Center

20

Coop Scoop

A: We’ve had them in the past. They came in from Canada but the current USDA enforcement policy prevents them from being imported. We hope to obtain it again, or to find another source.

Q: Would it be possible to make

A: We love this idea and it is definitely a future goal of ours.

other diabetic-friendly foods.

Q: Love the horizontal aisles and

worked hard to come up with what we feel is the best solution.

Q: Would love to see the return of

340 Whitehall Road, Albany, NY 12208 www.albanyjcc.org Contact: Claire Sigal 518-438-6651 x112 ClaireS@albanyjcc.org

grass shots.

Q: Please carry fructose and also

A: We’re really glad you enjoy it! We’ve of the Capital District

Q: Consider selling frozen wheat

Q: Please offer Co-op member cards in a kay tag form!

new spaciousness of the Produce Department. Rock on, y’all!

Vaad Hakashruth

A: The paper containers can be recycled and placed in the single stream container. You can leave the plastic utensils in the dish bin, for wash and reuse or for composting, as they are made from compostable materials.

a farmer that is willing to use glass to bottle their cider.

our Bulk Department, but we have had difficulty finding GMO-free fructose. We currently carry other sweeteners that are suitable for diabetics. Please feel free to speak with a Bulk Department worker for assistance.

HEALTH SCREENINGS

• • Information Booths • Refreshments • Drawing Prizes • Therapeutic Massage • Snack Bag 10:30am - noon (while supplies last) • Quick Adult Haircuts

Q: Can we get some apple cider in glass bottles (to avoid plastic, which could leach chemicals)?

priate receptacle - trash or single stream?

closed in cold weather to maintain a comfortable temperature for people in the Front End and Cafe. It is still available for emergency use, and will be open when it’s nice out!

A: We’ll look into carrying fructose in

FREE

Q: Can the Deli please make sushi?

A: We are looking into it! Stay tuned.

Q: Let’s make email receipts an

option!

ally Loc ted! s Roa

A: Thank you so much! We’re glad you liked it. We’re excited about May, which is National Bike Month. We’ll announce some bike-based events soon! The jerseys may make a comeback...

the Honest Weight bike jersey (like the one in the 2014 raffle). I’d buy one! spring 2015

A: Unfortunately, we have yet to find

some baked goods with honey or agave instead of sugar?

A: Our vegan muffin, Zen Cookie, breakfast bar, and cranberry almond bar are all made with local maple syrup. We’ll continue to develop more sugar-free recipes.

Q: I’d like it if we sold “Co-opoly, The Game of Cooperatives,” put out by the Toolbox for Education and Social Action. It’s great for the holidays!

A: Great suggestion! In time we hope to bring fun stuff like this into our selection.

Q: Can hot food containers (paper)

& plastic utensils be recycled? I never know which bin is the appro-

Thanks to those who’ve made suggestions! You can see all the suggestions and responses on the Suggestion Board posted near our Co-op Cafe.

21

CENTER FOR NATURAL WELLNESS SCHOOL OF MASSAGE THERAPY

CONTINUING E D U C AT I O N

NEED ce hours?

Now offering a full line of classes and workshops for

ALL Allied Health Professionals

TYPES OF CLASSES

?

Medical Massage, Shiatsu Massage, Reflexology, Myofascial Release, Energy Healing, Aromatherapy, Self-care, and many more…

HOW TO SIGN UP

“

By plucking her petals, you do not gather the beauty of the flower.”

Rabindranath Tagore

?

Easy and secure ONLINE registration makes signing up for classes fast! Visit: cnwsmt.com/redpines.php for info about classes and to register.

CONTACT/ MORE INFO

?

Contact Grayce Ray, Director of Continuing Education: 518-489-4026 or email: redpines@cnwsmt.com LOCATION: Unless otherwise noted all classes are held at The Center for Natural Wellness School of Massage Therapy located at: 3 Cerone Commercial Drive, Albany, NY

Photo by Andrew Franciosa, Co-op member since 2009

518.489.4026 • www.CNWSMT.com/redpines.php

Co-op Kids! spring thaw word search H Q T Z L F M N J S Q I R U E

W X N Y U C I O A H B E M O K

A C R O C U S D O T J T I G O

L P I L U T I I D L H Y J X H

H T V L S A I V T L B E A W C

W A T E R C R E S S E P A E I

APRICOT ARTICHOKE ASPARAGUS BLOOM BUD CROCUS DAFFODIL ENDIVE

L M W P N Y Q U Z J R H V G T

M I E R G F G C U I S I E T R

C A D C U A B V C C D H S A A

S E Z O R U R O W N B S P Y D

N N E A F M T D E Z U I I H O

P K P Z P F C J E J D D N R D

O S K M G Z A C N N T A A W M

FIDDLEHEAD GARDEN HONEYDEW PEAS RADISH SPINACH TULIP WATERCRESS

A K X H E D S D G J W R C T H

I D P C W E D Y E N O H H L I