Health and Happiness Club

Today, I became a member of the Honest Weight Food Co-op in Albany, NY. My mother has been shopping there for local vegetables, cheeses, meats, spices and organic products for years, but until recently had never thought about becoming a member.  We decided to join together and today I signed us up!

What is a food co-op, you ask?  Well, I shall tell you.  It is a store owned and operated by the people who shop there. At Honest Weight, and many other food co-ops, their mission is to provide the community with affordable, high quality natural foods and products for healthy living and to promote more equitable, participatory and ecologically sustainable ways of living.  Somewhere, Captain Planet is giving a celebratory fist pump.

The decision to join was an easy one.  Since we shop there so frequently, becoming a member gives us certain benefits (*discounts*) and allows us to become more involved and educated while supporting local, small-scale farming.  Also, and this is my favorite benefit, we get to work in the store!  You're probably thinking, "Woop-dee-doo, Nance, who wants to work more than they have to?"  You make an excellent point, however, not only is working in the store essential to the principles of a food co-op, I get to fulfill one of my childhood fantasies ... scanning items and being a cashier!  It's weird, I know.  But I have vivid memories of grabbing various items from our pantry, dragging them into our living room and creating a checkout lane using a piano bench and my sweet red mini cash register.  And of course no setup would be complete without a bagging station, I had that, too - paper or plastic?  There's something so fulfilling and exciting about the beep that accompanies scanning a barcode!  But I digress, working in the store is a great opportunity to meet new people who share similar beliefs and give back to the community in a positive way.  Don't fret if working the cash register is not appealing.  You're only required to work a few hours a month (or not at all, but you get a smaller discount) and you have the option of working anywhere in the store (grocery and produce stocking, bulk goods, the health and wellness section, etc). 

Moving on ... what is wonderful about shopping at HW is their selection of local goods.  I found a map in the store with the name and location of all the local farms where the various meat, dairy and vegetable products come from.  How cool is that?  The information is right there in front of you.  It's nice to know the food is coming from somewhere close by; you can certainly count on it being fresh and if you want more information on the farms and how they treat their animals/crops it's easy to investigate. 

In addition to supporting local farming, the store encourages its customers to partake in various recycling and reusing practices.  It's common to byob (bring your own bag - 5 cent discount!) and also to bring your own containers for bulk items like spices, cooking oils, grains, etc.  Otherwise, you pay a few cents to use the store's containers/bags.  Recycling resources are available on site for plastic bags, egg cartons and the usual cans/bottles/plastic containers.

Did I mention there is a whole section of the store devoted to cheese?  My mouth is watering just thinking about it ...

I feel that I have much to learn from this membership experience and I'm very excited to be a part of something so special, dedicated to helping folks lead healthier and happier lives - that's what we're all about, after all! 

Are you inspired to join a co-op? Go here to find a co-op near you!

Are you already a member of a co-op? I'd love to hear about your experience; share it with us in the comment section!