Meet a Committee Member: Alison Fritz

On which committee do you serve? Chair of the Steering Committee and Inter-committee liaison to the Outreach Committee. What do you do for a living? Associate Director of Donor Relations at Fox Chase Cancer Center. How did you get involved with the food co-op? I really enjoyed being a member of Weavers Way in Mt. Airy from 2003 - 2005, and wondered why there weren't more stores like it in Philadelphia. When my husband and I moved to South Philadelphia in 2008, I was encouraged to learn about a local buying club and previous co-op start-up activity. With the help of Weavers Way, we presented the co-op model at a neighborhood meeting in April and got a great response. The initiative took off from there and I've met some really wonderful people who I wouldn't have known without the help of the co-op (see! it's connecting us already!). Why do you want a food co-op in South Philly? Well, I love food. Love Food. Love eating it, cooking it, shopping for it, and talking about it. More than that, I think it's important to know where our food comes from, how it was grown or raised, how it has been processed, and ultimately how it got to the table and into our bodies. By being a part of a member-owned co-op, we will all get to exercise some small measure of ownership and control over these issues - while supporting the local economy and working together. Why should people join a food co-op? Really good food, support for local and socially responsible food suppliers, and a chance to get to know and work with your neighbors. One of the reasons I wanted to move to South Philly was to have a chance at the "neighborhoodness" (is that a word?) that I remember from my childhood. With all of the change and residential turnover that our community has seen over the last few years, this co-op could be one of the things that helps unite us again. What is your favorite meal to cook and why? Gosh, I don't know. It's hard to pick one dish because I really like to test our new recipes and our menu tends to be dictated by whatever we picked up in our CSA share that week. I guess the staples in my house are: homemade pizza, black bean burgers, hummus, roasted broccoli, and braised kale. I've also been on a bit of a kimchi kick lately. I love the ritual of looking through my cookbooks and picking out new things to try, and then the act of prepping, chopping, bubbling, and sizzling. Sometimes the experience of preparing a meal can be more soul satisfying than actually eating it.