Over the past few days, my life has been very Co-operative. On Saturday night, I participated in a panel discussion about the past, present and future of co-operatives in Vancouver. On Monday night I was part of the riproarin’, kick-ass Annual General Meeting of the Eastend Storefront Food Co-operative. Here’s a quick – and awesome – synopsis of these events that will make you want to get outside and build a little community right now:
Communities Unite!
The Players: Marty Frost (Facilitator and Co-operative guru), panelists from Co-op Radio, The People’s Co-op Bookstore, East End Food Co-op, and CECC Credit Union.
The Venue: Rhizome Cafe on Broadway, hosted by Co-op Radio 102.7FM.
Awesome Quotation: “Pay day loan companies are directly responsible for the cycle of poverty in our communities. They are criminal and should be stopped.”
Amazing Moment: The myriad perspectives from the panel on the answer to the question: “How will co-operatives be relevant in the future?’ I won’t spoil it (you can listen to the broadcast at 102.7FM), but it had something to do with building community from chaos…
The Result: Changemakers even cooperated to get each other drinks and help each other out the door. It was a beautiful thing!
The EEFC Must Grow or Die! (Seriously!)
The Players: The Facilitator, The Auditor, The Manager, The Board of Directors, Two Staff Members, and a Bevvy of Members New and Old.
The Venue: The Lion’s Den on Commercial Drive.
Awesome Quotation: “I don’t want this to be taken the wrong way – and maybe I’m just a yuppie, part of the gentrification of The Drive – but that railing in front of the store looks like it’s from a militant 1970s era that doesn’t exist anymore. What about the bright and shiny co-ops out there?” (Editor’s note: the dark, brooding, communist railing from the 1970s is now officially retro!)
Amazing Moment: BOD President Bill Bargeman’s heartfelt, frank and sense-of-urgency-laden report for the year. It was followed by an outpouring of enthusiasm from members and the Co-op now has a fully-peopled board.
The Result: Change is coming to Commercial Drive, people. And if my name started with a “W” and ended with a “Hole Foods” I’d be gettin’ pretty nervous* about my market share right about now.
Needless to say, both experiences were fantastic examples of powerfully positive communities coming together during not-so-great times in order to make a supportive difference. Now get out there and build some community!
– JCH
*for the record, International Deliciousness Provider, Whole Foods, probably shouldn’t worry too much about the EEFC…pretty funny though, right?
Damn, we missed it. As a member of the East End Food Co-op, I too feel that the railings out the front likely have a negative effect on business. If you’re walking South on Commercial you have to walk almost past the store and double back to enter. No issue if this is your chosen destination, but it must surely put off browsers. I would actually bet that if the railings came down and access to the front door was made simple from the street, the store would have Commercial Drive regulars coming through the door saying things like, “Nice store. When did you open?” And how cool would it be if the store could have bins of produce out front?
Anyway, that’s the dream and in the meantime we’ll keep supporting the EEFC and telling our friends.