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2010-05-01 11:44:24
Dinner dialogue discussion promotes co-op
1. Dinner dialogue discussion promotes co-op
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Written by Liz Wagner Collegian Staff
The Project on Justice has brought an assortment of events to campus over the past several years. Discussions on every subject from global climate change to the last presidential election to human trafficking have been sponsored by the program and have included well-known and well-versed speakers to discuss the subjects at hand.
This past week’s dinner dialogue on the local Weavers Way food cooperative was no exception. Participants dined on parsnips with apples and leeks, brussel sprout slaw, sole with chickpeas and tomatoes, white beans with duck and greens, all made with Weaver’s Way produce and meat, in the faculty dining room Tuesday evening while Weavers Way general manager Glenn Bergman explained how their co-op fits into the theme of buying locally to promote sustainable foods and promote local economies.
Through Weavers Way, a patron can pay into the cooperative in order to shop regularly at its stores for a discounted price. Nonmembers can shop, members do not have to work, and only members who choose to work receive the five percent discount, as well as the other benefits of membership (rebates, a vote, member specials, etc.).
La Salle’s head chef, Royer Smith, is a major proponent of Weavers Way and used to work with Bergman before coming to La Salle. Many in the crowd, including several La Salle faculty and staff members, indicated that they were also members of the nearby co-op, which is primarily located in Mount Airy and was created in 1973 but has another operating store on West Oak Lane and Ogontz and a third that will be opening soon in Chestnut Hill.
Bergman started his presentation with a quote from Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma: “What should we have for dinner?”
It’s one question that Weavers Way grapples with regularly. While the group does try to provide food that is organic, its true emphasis is on saving its members money and promoting local produce and farmers. Its closest source of food production comes from several small farms throughout the area, including a three-acre stretch of land at the Awbury Arboretum, just one mile west of campus up Chew Avenue.
By producing and selling in bulk, the co-op saves money for its own use while promoting its local mission. These purchases strengthen the local community’s economy, be it the farmers of Lancaster or those with small plots of land within the city.
The co-op currently feeds 3,500 members houses in Northwest Philadelphia, with another 1,000 expected after the Chestnut Hill store opens. The co-op also accepts Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, or food stamps that offset a total bill.
Weavers Way works with area high schools and small city-wide food programs like City Harvest and Philabundance to donate their supplementary produce to food pantries. Workers take public transit to deliver and collect their products through the city.
According to Bergman, Philadelphia has over 30 to 40 thousand vacant lots that could be utilized for growing space to promote local produce and get perishable foods into communities that may not see much of it otherwise. Though there is technically no farming policy within the confines of the city, there has yet to be any conflict with city co-ops and their resources.
Bergman said that eventually the city will pass zoning codes for such farms, and Philadelphia may have the opportunity for some big agricultural projects of its own.
“As you pass an empty lot, just think what can be done with it,” he said.
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