beerituality:

Many, many thanks to Cathy Frankenberg and Jon Geeting for leading our discussion about food deserts and co-ops last week.  We had a great turnout and the time together was enlightening and generative.  I encourage you to follow Cathy’s work on the Bethlehem Food Co-op here and Jon’s political commentary and views on the changing urban landscape of Allentown here.  I’m looking forward to inviting both of these fine panelists and community advocates back to Beerituality on a regular basis.

One thing that really struck me from an economic/political standpoint of the discussion was the issue of market failure in Bethlehem.  If you’re of a mind to be skeptical of co-op groceries because you think the market is efficient, you have to ask yourselves why the invisible hand hasn’t planted very many grocery stores in these Bethlehem neighborhoods.  Further, if market-driven models have tried and failed to thrive in these settings, you may wonder why a co-op should be any different.  To me, activism, intentionality, and what I’ll call generative consensus add real value to an enterprise like this.  Members of a co-op are committed to making it work for reasons other than profit.  We’re talking about a system conceived, operated, maintained, and patronized by a group of dedicated people who have a very different understanding of the role food has in creating healthy communities.  They have broader understandings about issues of access.  The only shareholders they answer to are each other and the community members who will have better access to better food because a co-op is coming to town.  If you don’t think there is real community interest in making the Bethlehem initiative work, visit their website.  If you don’t think a co-op can work, consider the thousands that are thriving all across the country under a huge diversity of contexts and conditions.

And if you think the market really is the most efficient way to bring the most healthful food to the most people, consider this video from CNN Headline News anchor Jane Velez-Mitchell.  To borrow a line from Uncle Buck, “She’s cookin’ our garbage!”

From where I sit, the mere possibility of freeganism proves the market’s inefficiency.  Maybe, just maybe, when it comes to things like food and shelter, we’re done ignoring the fact that a profit-driven market system can’t be expected to actually take care of people.  Because that, you know, is our job.