Almost one year ago exactly we wrote about a congressional briefing being hosted by Congressman Chaka Fattah, whose district includes both Weavers Way and Mariposa co-ops. The briefing was prelude to a bill known as the National Cooperative Development Act (H.R. 3677) that Fattah introduced in mid-December and which has been cosponsored by Congressman Brady and Congresswoman Schwartz along with six other members of Congress. Full text of the bill can be found here. The bill, summed up nicely by The Campaign for Cooperation will:

• Provide loans and seed capital to groups who are attempting to form cooperatives;
• Award grants to nonprofit organizations, colleges, and universities so that they can provide technical assistance to operating cooperatives or groups that are attempting to form cooperatives;
• Provide guidance, information on best practices, and technical assistance to communities seeking to establish cooperatives;
• Provide funding for training of providers of technical assistance and supporting existing professional development training for organizations engaged in cooperative development;
• Establish cooperative development centers in areas that currently do not have them; and
• Authorize $25 million yearly for four years.

All over the world people are seeking alternatives to the system that enables corporate scandals and encourages greed. Because cooperatives are democratic and focus on member-owner needs rather than maximizing return for shareholders, they are perfectly situated to provide such an alternative. The National Cooperative Development Act is both an outgrowth of, and will help to support, this historic surge of interest in cooperatives as a means to build a better world. In case you don't remember what you learned in American Government back in high school, this bill still has a LONG way to go before it becomes law and will require the support of everyone in the country who would like to see the cooperative movement expand and thrive. One obstacle to overcome is getting companion legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate. So, Pennsylvanians, please contact Senators Casey and Toomey and ask them to introduce companion legislation for H.R. 3677 - the National Cooperative Development Act. Tell them it will be good for farmers (it will) and cities (it will). That pretty much covers all of PA right there. And if you happen to be reading this from a congressional district not covered by the 9 co-sponsors of the bill (which means you live in one of the 426 other districts), please contact your representative and ask him or her to sign onto Congressman Fattah's bill. To find out more about the legislation and how you can support its passage, visit www.campaign.coop.

Almost one year ago exactly we wrote about a congressional briefing being hosted by Congressman Chaka Fattah, whose district includes both Weavers Way and Mariposa co-ops. The briefing was prelude to a bill known as the National Cooperative Development Act (H.R. 3677) that Fattah introduced in mid-December and which has been cosponsored by Congressman Brady and Congresswoman Schwartz along with six other members of Congress. Full text of the bill can be found here. The bill, summed up nicely by The Campaign for Cooperation will:

• Provide loans and seed capital to groups who are attempting to form cooperatives;
• Award grants to nonprofit organizations, colleges, and universities so that they can provide technical assistance to operating cooperatives or groups that are attempting to form cooperatives;
• Provide guidance, information on best practices, and technical assistance to communities seeking to establish cooperatives;
• Provide funding for training of providers of technical assistance and supporting existing professional development training for organizations engaged in cooperative development;
• Establish cooperative development centers in areas that currently do not have them; and
• Authorize $25 million yearly for four years.

All over the world people are seeking alternatives to the system that enables corporate scandals and encourages greed. Because cooperatives are democratic and focus on member-owner needs rather than maximizing return for shareholders, they are perfectly situated to provide such an alternative. The National Cooperative Development Act is both an outgrowth of, and will help to support, this historic surge of interest in cooperatives as a means to build a better world. In case you don't remember what you learned in American Government back in high school, this bill still has a LONG way to go before it becomes law and will require the support of everyone in the country who would like to see the cooperative movement expand and thrive. One obstacle to overcome is getting companion legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate. So, Pennsylvanians, please contact Senators Casey and Toomey and ask them to introduce companion legislation for H.R. 3677 - the National Cooperative Development Act. Tell them it will be good for farmers (it will) and cities (it will). That pretty much covers all of PA right there. And if you happen to be reading this from a congressional district not covered by the 9 co-sponsors of the bill (which means you live in one of the 426 other districts), please contact your representative and ask him or her to sign onto Congressman Fattah's bill. To find out more about the legislation and how you can support its passage, visit www.campaign.coop.

I'm not going to go out on a limb and say that just because you join the Co-op means that we'll bring thousands of new, well-paying jobs to South Philadelphia. But it is worth noting that the Co-op would be a piece of an overall food system puzzle in which the owners of the enterprise (you) place a value on supporting the other pieces of that puzzle, which themselves create and sustain good jobs all over the region. I bring this up because of a recent Treehugger piece which made the point about the job creation power of small, family farms. In fact, the numbers on the return on investment on many different programs that support these kinds of farms are staggering. A program meant to help tobacco farmers transition to sustainable farming of more diversified agriculture "awarded $3.6 million in three years to 367 farmers, created 4,100 new jobs, and had an economic impact of more than $733 million." As for the Co-op, it's important to remember that while large retailers have their ups and downs (and the downs are mostly suffered by the people at the bottom of their organizational charts), a Co-op can be a more resilient business model because the member-owners come together in times of trouble to see the Co-op through until the economy picks up again. And now, while we're just starting to come out of  some pretty big economic trouble, wouldn't it be good to be prepared for the next downturn? (Join the Co-op today... we've made it easy with our new online form.)

I'm not going to go out on a limb and say that just because you join the Co-op means that we'll bring thousands of new, well-paying jobs to South Philadelphia. But it is worth noting that the Co-op would be a piece of an overall food system puzzle in which the owners of the enterprise (you) place a value on supporting the other pieces of that puzzle, which themselves create and sustain good jobs all over the region.

I bring this up because of a recent Treehugger piece which made the point about the job creation power of small, family farms. In fact, the numbers on the return on investment on many different programs that support these kinds of farms are staggering. A program meant to help tobacco farmers transition to sustainable farming of more diversified agriculture "awarded $3.6 million in three years to 367 farmers, created 4,100 new jobs, and had an economic impact of more than $733 million."

As for the Co-op, it's important to remember that while large retailers have their ups and downs (and the downs are mostly suffered by the people at the bottom of their organizational charts), a Co-op can be a more resilient business model because the member-owners come together in times of trouble to see the Co-op through until the economy picks up again. And now, while we're just starting to come out of  some pretty big economic trouble, wouldn't it be good to be prepared for the next downturn?

(Join the Co-op today... we've made it easy with our new online form.)

Frugal Dad did the work and invited anyone to embed this useful infographic about the consolidation of the American food industry. It's yet another reason to help a place like the South Philly Food Co-op come into existence and thrive. Enjoy... and learn. Source: Frugal dad  

[caption id="attachment_2573" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Huh?"][/caption] At least, it enjoys legal vegetable status according to the United States federal government which essentially means that I can eat pizza and get my daily serving of vegetables. Never mind that (1) a tomato is a fruit and (2) seriously? do I have to say why this is ridiculous? That's just one of many outrageous bits of news to be found in this story about Congress pushing back against the Obama administration's attempts to promote healthier school lunches. I posted this story on our Facebook page and asked the question of why government attempts to promote healthier eating are considered by conservatives to be "overreaching" while changes made to a spending bill at the behest of "food companies that produce frozen pizzas, the salt industry and potato growers" are perfectly fine. It would seem to depend on whose behalf they're doing the reaching. I rarely get so political on this blog. And I write all of this as someone who believes in government and its capacity to effect positive change. That's what makes this all so darn frustrating. I prefer to keep my writings on this blog about why it would be so good for there to be a food co-op in South Philly. So I'll end with this point. Our elected government failing to act on behalf of public health by making it easier for children in the low-income, federally funded school lunch program to have access to more than just pizza and french fries is a prime example of why we need to take matters into our own hands. There are numerous examples of how government policy that was written to please large corporate food manufacturers has resulted in a system that is unsustainable, unhealthy, profit-driven, unaccountable and unsafe. There are plenty of good reasons to become one of the South Philly Food Co-op's 250 Founding Members. One of them is that it is our chance, at least in this little corner of the world made up of four zip codes, to take control, establish a place that we own and where we get to decide that pizza, however awesome it is, is not a vegetable. And here is the usual disclaimer about how the opinions expressed in this piece are mine and mine alone and do not reflect any policies or opinions of the South Philly Food Co-op, its members or its board. Feel free to disagree with me in the comments section of this post or via email at dan.pohlig (at) gmail.com.

 

At least, it enjoys legal vegetable status according to the United States federal government which essentially means that I can eat pizza and get my daily serving of vegetables. Never mind that (1) a tomato is a fruit and (2) seriously? do I have to say why this is ridiculous?

That's just one of many outrageous bits of news to be found in this story about Congress pushing back against the Obama administration's attempts to promote healthier school lunches.

I posted this story on our Facebook page and asked the question of why government attempts to promote healthier eating are considered by conservatives to be "overreaching" while changes made to a spending bill at the behest of "food companies that produce frozen pizzas, the salt industry and potato growers" are perfectly fine. It would seem to depend on whose behalf they're doing the reaching.

I rarely get so political on this blog. And I write all of this as someone who believes in government and its capacity to effect positive change. That's what makes this all so darn frustrating. I prefer to keep my writings on this blog about why it would be so good for there to be a food co-op in South Philly.

So I'll end with this point. Our elected government failing to act on behalf of public health by making it easier for children in the low-income, federally funded school lunch program to have access to more than just pizza and french fries is a prime example of why we need to take matters into our own hands. There are numerous examples of how government policy that was written to please large corporate food manufacturers has resulted in a system that is unsustainable, unhealthy, profit-driven, unaccountable and unsafe. There are plenty of good reasons to become one of the South Philly Food Co-op's 250 Founding Members. One of them is that it is our chance, at least in this little corner of the world made up of four zip codes, to take control, establish a place that we own and where we get to decide that pizza, however awesome it is, is not a vegetable.

And here is the usual disclaimer about how the opinions expressed in this piece are mine and mine alone and do not reflect any policies or opinions of the South Philly Food Co-op, its members or its board. Feel free to disagree with me in the comments section of this post or via email at dan.pohlig (at) gmail.com.

Treehugger.com is a great website to get news about all different aspects of environmental policy, clean energy innovations and climate change implications. Recently I came across a post about the growing trend of organic and local food showing up on the shelves and in the bins of major grocery chains. While this is a welcome change, it still leaves a lot of questions like how local is local? Are the organic foods raised in a sustainable and environmentally sensitive way? It's important to remember that the bottom line for the grocery chains is exactly that... the bottom line. Profit. Organic and local are "in" right now. The general public is picking up on it and increasing their demand for these products. Large food retailers are only too happy to jump in and provide these goods at a premium price (for what may actually be cheaper for them to purchase given savings on transportation costs). A food co-op that carries local, organic and sustainably produced foods has a different motivation. For a food co-op devoted to carrying these products as part of its mission there really is no choice but to carry local, organic and sustainably produced foods. On top of that, the food co-op seeks to educated consumers about why these "buzz words" are actually important to the overall environment and to their own public health. Finally, the co-op seeks to make the connection between consumers and the source of their food. Offering "local" is great. But offering tomatoes from "XYZ Farm in Bucks County, owned by John Doe who has been raising his tomatoes in such and such fashion" tells the story behind the food. And if we can't raise our own tomatoes (and have our own stories), then knowing the story behind the tomatoes we do eat is almost as good.  

Treehugger.com is a great website to get news about all different aspects of environmental policy, clean energy innovations and climate change implications. Recently I came across a post about the growing trend of organic and local food showing up on the shelves and in the bins of major grocery chains. While this is a welcome change, it still leaves a lot of questions like how local is local? Are the organic foods raised in a sustainable and environmentally sensitive way? It's important to remember that the bottom line for the grocery chains is exactly that... the bottom line. Profit. Organic and local are "in" right now. The general public is picking up on it and increasing their demand for these products. Large food retailers are only too happy to jump in and provide these goods at a premium price (for what may actually be cheaper for them to purchase given savings on transportation costs). A food co-op that carries local, organic and sustainably produced foods has a different motivation. For a food co-op devoted to carrying these products as part of its mission there really is no choice but to carry local, organic and sustainably produced foods. On top of that, the food co-op seeks to educated consumers about why these "buzz words" are actually important to the overall environment and to their own public health. Finally, the co-op seeks to make the connection between consumers and the source of their food. Offering "local" is great. But offering tomatoes from "XYZ Farm in Bucks County, owned by John Doe who has been raising his tomatoes in such and such fashion" tells the story behind the food. And if we can't raise our own tomatoes (and have our own stories), then knowing the story behind the tomatoes we do eat is almost as good.  

(In the interest of blogger etiquette, you'll have to click through the links below to see the charts since I didn't create them myself. But keep reading for even more fuel for the why we need to change our food system argument and how a co-op can do its small part.) I've been meaning to share this post from Grist's food section for a long time. You can see the date, I've had it sitting in my queue since April. Better late than never! The main point is that from 1970 to 2008 the American food system has gone from producing 2,168 calories per day per person to 2,673 calories per day per person. As if consuming about 500 more calories per day weren't bad enough (not to mention the toll that producing 500 extra calories per day per person for about 105 million more persons takes on the environment), the portion of those calories that come from added sugar and added fat (the sugar and fat not naturally found in whole foods but added to food during its processing) has gone from 37 percent to 41 percent. Basically, on average, we're producing/consuming 300 more calories from added sugar and added fat per day than the average bell-bottom wearing, Grand Funk Railroad listening 1970 American. So if you click through to the Grist post it will take you to another post that has a fun (wait, I mean horrifying) chart that shows the change in the make-up of the American diet between 1970 and 2008. 2008 is the last year of available data. I have a feeling it hasn't gotten better since then. Silly Grist even suggests that if the food processing industry simply cut the number of calories per person per day that it produces down from 1100 to 550, our total caloric intake would be back around where it was in 1970. You know... when everyone was skinny (though, in fairness, a lot of the skinniness was achieved by smoking). As if those numbers and charts weren't enough to send you into a rage for change, Vegansaurus rages on about another pretty well known inequity in our food system: the percentage of agricultural subsidies that go towards meat and dairy (that would be 63) vs the percentage that goes towards fruits and vegetables (that would be 1). Grains, sugar, starch, oil and alcohol combine for 35 percent. I highly recommend that you click through to read what she has to say if you're looking for some colorful language to take with you to your next cocktail party when you can preach to your friends about these issues (which probably explains why I don't get invited to as many cocktail parties as I used to). She says something about a breast pump and social change that you won't want to miss. So, loyal readers, any idea what we can do about this situation? Even more importantly, how can a co-op become an agent of this change? This isn't a quiz so there are no wrong answers. Fire away in the comments. (Oh yeah... and if you haven't done so already "Like" us on Facebook and vote for us in this great contest sponsored by Intuit. We could part of $50,000 in grants toward start-up costs!)