A group of Queens residents is bringing its version of the Park Slope co-op to the "food desert" of Long Island City. Fifteen foodies are currently in the planning stages for the grocery cooperative, which they hope to have up and running by 2011. "People are very interested in food in this borough," said Leah McLaughlin, publisher and editor of the food magazine Edible Queens. Like its Brooklyn inspiration, the Queens Harvest Food Co-op will be staffed exclusively by members and funded by member contributions, as well as grants. "We hope the food co-op will increase access to affordable, fresh, healthy foods," organizer Maggie Ornstein told the NY Daily News. "The hope is to have what you'd find in your supermarket. The main difference is as a [co-op] member, you have decision-making ability." more ›

Do you feel ashamed and guilty because you haven't been fulfilling your duties as a member of the Park Slope Food Coop? Have you been missing shifts, drinking bottled water, or purchasing Israeli products? Do you feel like horrible person because of it? Here's a way to repent — wear a t-shirt announcing the fact that you've been "suspended at the Coop." more ›

Some members of the Park Slope Food Coop are pushing for a ban on products bought from Israel; the proposal, which will be put to a vote soon, is being floated in response to Israel's most recent military action in Gaza. "Hima B.," the sponsor of the proposal, tells the Jewish Daily Forward, "Economic sanctions worked in South Africa. Why shouldn’t we ask for an end to practices that are violating human rights?" Because, member Rabbi Andy Bachman says, it's "an irrelevant gesture to 5 million Israelis and 2 million Palestinians, but it will make someone in Park Slope feel really good about themselves. That’s what this is about; it’s about the political purity, which is part of Park Slope’s unique self-absorption." Bachman's synagogue happens to host the Co-op's monthly meetings, and he says that should the proposal pass, he'll kindly ask them to have their little gatherings elsewhere. And last year Co-op members voted to ban bottled water, sending a tough message to Aquaman. more ›