Mixed Welcome to Food Co-op in Fort Greene
[Originally published in The Local on Jan. 28, 2011]
Daniel Morgan, 51, has lived in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, since 1976. In the neighborhood that he describes as a “war zone” during the 70s and 80s, he raised two children who now have families of their own. Leaving the area has never been in his mind.
When he heard about the opening of the Fort Greene Food Co-op at 18 Putnam Avenue last year, he welcomed the initiative. But he was concerned at the same time. Morgan -who works various jobs, as security guard, construction worker or driver when he’s not at Rutgers University where he studies social work- fears that a long-term the food co-op becomes an instrument of the growing gentrification trend in the city that is displacing low-income people from their communities.
Some low-income residents in the area, like Morgan, find it difficult to embrace the food co-op since they are still loyal to the nearby supermarkets and find it difficult to afford any of the three types of memberships the co-op offers: the Avocado Plan for $325; the Lettuce Plan for $175; and the Carrot Plan for $150.
Aware of that, the Green Hill Food Co-op included the “Apple Plan” in its membership options for people who are in public assistance and can show proof of that. Applicants to this membership type pay the $150 fee in five years ($30 per year) along with a reduce $5 administration fee.
D.K. Holland, co-op’s co-founder, said that the Co-op is in the process of applying for EBT –Electronic Benefit Transfer- to accept food stamps. At this moment the co-op has not received an answer from the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) about the application, Holland said.
