July’s discussion of Omar El Akkad’s One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This [see recap at right] was a real opportunity for Members and yet-to-be members to partake in a challenging yet important conversation—together. I am so grateful for everyone who attended. We had a full house; discourse was passionate, attentive, and engaged. Everyone respected the facilitation, and we all survived! Conversations continued in the room and hallway even after the event wrapped and the clean-up began. Connections were forged. continued on page 2
From Olympia to HWFC: One MO’s Journey
by Brendan Byrne
In last month’s Honest Slate, we profiled two co-ops, the Olympia Food Co-op and the Park Slope Coop. We were pleasantly surprised when one of our own MOs, Steve Banbury, reached out to share his experience with the Olympia, which he called “a highlight of my young adult life.”
In 1981, Steve was a Pittsburgh transplant attending Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. One of Steve’s fellow students told him to check out the Olympia Food Co-op. At only twenty years old, Steve had never even heard of a food co-op before. The Olympia Food Co-op was pretty young itself, having only been started in 1977. In the early 1980s, it was growing out of its original identity as a buying club and into a grocery store.
Steve immediately took to the Olympia. He described it as “such a cool place,” run by a collective of women. While the Olympia Food Co-op has two locations now, back then it had only one, a small store on Rogers Street. Steve compared this location to the store HWFC had on Central Ave.
HWFC Book Club Report:
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, by Omar El Akkad by
Irene Kim
In his latest book, journalist and novelist Omar El Akkad examines the crisis of conscience he had been uncomfortably avoiding for decades and that suddenly came crashing down around him. It was the war in Gaza, which was sparked by Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel that met with Israel’s furious offensive.
Steve did his hours in the produce section and was a staff person at the skills exchange program. This was a bartering system. Members who wished to participate had their skills written down on cards, which were indexed. Members could then exchange chores such as grass cutting, house painting, or even more specialized tasks.
Steve also served on the co-op’s Board of Directors. As part of his tenure, he took a twoday fact-finding trip with the Board to Oregon. There, they checked out other co-ops to learn how they did business.
After two years in Washington, Steve decided to move back to Pittsburgh. He felt “really bad” about leaving the Olympia Food Co-op. A few years later, Steve came to Troy with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and stayed in the Unity House on 8th Street. Through the local grapevine, he heard about HWFC and joined up in 1982. After that, as Steve says, “I just never left.”
Steve credits his time at the Olympia Food Co-op for priming him to join HWFC. He says that as a young man he was learning about nuclear power and the government, and that co-ops, which were about “people working
This war, which has killed many thousands of people over more than 21 brutal months, made El Akkad realize his country, the United States, and its citizens, with all our golden talk of equality, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, buy our own prosperity by marginalizing the existence of billions of our fellow humans—often dark-skinned faceless people on the other side of an ocean, but also the George Floyds and Breonna Taylors next door.
Since then, El Akkad has tried to reckon with the unbearable knowledge of this horrific reality. —continued on page 2
together and looking out for each other,” seemed like a tonic to all that.
Steve graduated from Saint Rose College and became a social worker. He currently works in home care hospice. This keeps Steve pretty busy, but he still finds time to bag groceries at HWFC three hours a month.
Steve’s never considered going back to Washington State, although he loved his time there. Reflecting on the Olympia Food Co-op and HWFC, Steve says, “We’re all different, but we’re all very much the same.”
Book Club Report
continued from page 1
About 25 Book Club attendees convened in HWFC’s Community Room to talk about El Akkad’s prose, the war, government’s role in continuing it, profits and prophets, complacency and complicity, and our own reactions to the unfathomable and apparently unending suffering the war has caused.
El Akkad does not mince words, often painting vivid pictures of the brutalities committed on civilians—such as listening to a recording of a young Palestinian girl begging for her life before being shot 35 times by soldiers. Many readers found El Akkad’s writing an eloquent description of the difficulty of facing hard truths one feels powerless to resolve, and of the necessity of having to go about one’s day trying not to constantly think about these horrors.
Uneasily sitting on the sidelines, on the safe side of the bombs, some readers spoke of the burden of knowing these atrocities are being committed every day—and feeling complicit in prolonging it. We did not vote for this, we may say. Yet our tax dollars fund the machines of war, and we elected those who kill and destroy, because…well, we had to choose the lesser of two evils, didn’t we? We find ourselves so appalled by the splitscreen vision of our comfort built on the backs of others’ suffering that we stand paralyzed; then we shrug and rationalize that we couldn’t have done anything anyway.
Readers spoke of the cognitive disconnect of knowing our government is tacitly condoning the war while giving lip service to condemning the brutalities. Some talked about the power of words to evade responsibility and euphemize unspeakable violence. Many spoke of their perspective broadened by being Palestinian, or Israeli, or Muslim, or Jewish; having lived in the Middle East; coming from an immigrant family; or having Jewish or Palestinian friends.
Several attendees mentioned they volunteer for Jewish Voices for Peace; others, that they belong to the Palestinian Rights Committee. Some spoke of the difficulty of not being able to stand up for Palestine without being accused of anti-Semitism or terrorism. Others talked about the media’s refusal to acknowledge the atrocities committed by Hamas on Israelis.
Attendees discussed the binary framework that we seem to have fallen into—or that has been engendered by inflammatory rhetoric from the media, governments, and popular opinion—where people are heroes or villains, the war is a zero-sum game, and one is forced to pick one side or the other.
One reader asked: Is the situation truly binary? Are there no paths forward other than one side declaring victory and annihilating the other? Is there no way to coexist? How much of what we feel to be the truth has been inculcated in us by governments, by representatives who are too worried about reelection to vote their conscience?
Hello, Co-op Community! continued from page 1
The Book Club will meet 6pm on Sept. 18 to discuss Jennifer Ackerman’s The Genius of Birds
“[A] gloriously provocative and highly entertaining book...a masterly survey of research...that has produced a revolution in our understanding of bird cognition....a work of wonder and an affirmation of the astonishing complexity of our world.”
Wall Street Journal
Birds are near and dear to my heart, maybe they are to yours too, but no matter your relationship with them, they are true harbingers of possible futures on the planet.
—Cara Benson
Come for the awe, stay for the science and song!
Copies are available at Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza for 20% off for HWFC Book Club readers (you do not need to be a member). Or you might want to get the audio version. If so, you can order that through Book House on the Libro.FM platform (discount may not apply to audio version) or Libby, the library app. Member Services will have loaner copies.
For those looking ahead...
Book Club leader Cara Benson mentioned a story by Ursula K. LeGuin, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” about a seemingly perfect village where everyone exists in unbelievable happiness and prosperity— except one child, who must be kept in dark, filth, and misery to pay for the village’s blissful existence. It is a common guilt-laden theme in literature, from Dostoevsky to Fowles.
El Akkad writes of the rage of billions of people whose existence is denied by the Western world, whose misery is ignored so we can have our creature comforts. Give us this day our daily streaming video; but who around the world must suffer, who on our own streets must be choked to death while pleading, “I can’t breathe”?
Some objected to the unrelenting darkness of El Akkad’s writing. Others lauded him as a prophet, a Cassandra warning us to change our ways before it’s too late. Some despaired of being able to do anything helpful, while others pointed out that apartheid was brought down by people pressuring companies to divest from South Africa. El Akkad himself praises individuals who refuse to knuckle under to apathy and resist however they can: students protesting on college campuses, people chaining themselves to the gates of weapons manufacturers.
We can do something, he seems to say. As with any recovery, the first step is acknowledging a problem exists.
November’s book is Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of the Food Industry by Austin Frerick (co-facilitated with Tracy Frisch of the Environment Committee).
January: The Problem with Plastic: How We Can Save Our Ourselves and Our Planet Before It’s Too Late by local author and activist Judith Enck (we hope she’ll join us for the conversation!).
Honest Slate
Membership Matters
Honest Weight defines an “Owner” as someone who has attended orientation, completed the orientation packet, and is up to date on payments. Owners receive a 2% discount on HWFC purchases.
A “Member-Owner” is someone who is up to date on their time investment (hours you invest in contributing to the operation
Giving Back
When your cashier asks if you want to “round up,” they are not talking about the infamous weed killer known by that label. They are asking if you would like to “round up” your purchase to the nearest dollar amount and contribute your extra change as a donation to specified monthly charities. All contributions are split between two organizations each month.
The program is called “Be the Change,” and for the past several years HWFC customers have passed on enough extra pennies to amass thousands of dollars for local organizations in alignment with our mission. These contributions are 100% customer-generated, and unrelated to Honest Weight’s donation commitment per our statement of conscience. Who doesn’t love more ways to give back to the community?!
Recipients change monthly. Is there an organization (nonprofit) you’d like to nominate for Be the Change? Email Anastasia at AnastasiaRodgers@HonestWeight.Coop
In Fiscal Year 2024-25, HWFC and its customers contributed:
• $52,710 in donations to 125+ recipients via Outreach
• $69,382 to Be the Change (16 organizations)
• $6,000 in sales for Dust Bunnies (80 donations to 7 orgs.)
Total giving, Fiscal Year 2024–25: $128,093
of the Co-op in one or more ways) in addition to your Owner responsibilities mentioned above. Your monthly time investment is based on the number of Owners in your household and discount level, which may be 8% or 24%.
• When you punch in and out to invest time in-store, the accrued time is added immediately to your hours bank.
• Time invested with a committee is entered on a monthly basis. Our computer system maintains your banked hours, deducting the amount needed for your designated discount at the end of each month.
• Investing the minimum amount of time each month ensures you are eligible to vote and run for a Board or GRC position.
Did You Know?
• Any HWFC Member-Owner may visit a governance group meeting.
• You do not have to belong to a committee to attend.
• Links to all our committee meeting dates and times are on our website at: https://www.honestweight.coop/page/ committee-meeting-calendar-322.html.
The Board of Directors has issued committee guidelines for chairs, co-chairs, and participants. This document, accessible to all MOs online, outlines basic expectations of committees and their members.
• Don’t forget: attending a Regular Membership Meeting (RMM), Board meeting, or committee meeting, etc., also counts toward your time investment: two hours for attending an RMM and 30 minutes for voting. Collect more hours and participate in the governance of this Co-op we all love! We want HWFC to be inclusive, equitable, and democratic, so the more voices the better.
• We invite you to try something new! Visit and check out a committee! Try looking at the Committee Meeting Calendar on the website to find a time that works in your schedule next month. Learn how to be an engaged, involved Member-Owner!
Click on the link above or find the calendar by using the tab for Ownership > Governance > Committees of the Board > Committee Meeting Calendar.
• Do you lead or serve on a committee &or attend governance meetings?
• How does your committee work? What could improve in process and communication?
• Does your committee limit its scope only to its official work plan, or do Members and visitors bring new ideas about ways to support our Co-op community?
HWFC thrives on input from a diverse body. The more voices we hear, the better informed our decisions and perspectives can become.
Revised Food & Product Manual (FPM) Now Available
Board Administrator Beth McCarran recently reported the successful culmination of Food & Product Manual updates and its republishing on the HWFC website, expressed gratitude for the teamwork in an email:
Thank you to everyone involved in the process of revising the Food and Product Manual. You have all played a role from start to finish, and I am happy to announce that the revised manual has been approved by the Nutrition and Education Committee. The updates voted on during the June 29, 2025, RMM and approved by the Membership, have been added to the document and now
this version will be our active and current copy...I have learned a lot during this process, and I appreciate everyone’s support and patience with me.
Thank you, NEC, for sticking with the project and all of the great teamwork.
Readers can find the newly approved FPM online at https://www.honestweight.coop/ page/food--product-manual-203.html.
Hard print copies are also available, located in bins at the Membership Bulletin Board area in the store’s exit hallway.
via HWFC
Book Event Spotlights
Local Authors
On Friday, July 18, HWFC hosted a book event in the Community Room. HWFC MO and local author Brendan C. Byrne read from his new book of short stories, Another World Isn’t Possible. Independent journalist Jacob Silverman read from his forthcoming book, Gilded Rage: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon Valley. Afterward, the authors engaged in a short discussion period, taking questions from the small audience.
Arts Committee News
The Honest Arts Committee is pleased to announce a joint show featuring work by Susanne Kaiser, William Pettit, and Wendy Santana.
Brendan joined Honest Weight as a Member-Owner in 2022. He has invested time both in the kitchen and on the Communications Committee. Jacob is an old friend of his who is based in Brooklyn.
• Another World Isn’t Possible, published by Wanton Sun, collects eighteen years of short stories, many of them in the science fiction and horror genres.
• Gilded Rage, to be published in October by Bloomsbury, is a journalistic and analytic account of the rightward shift among Silicon Valley billionaires.
While one is short fiction and the other reportage, the books share overlapping interests, including the privatization of space exploration and the politics of American billionaires. Discussion afterward was informal, with audience members asking questions and offering perspectives on contemporary politics.
Both Brendan and Jacob would like to thank everyone at HWFC and especially Anastasia for organizing this event.
Pitch for the Parking Lot
During a recent Board Meeting discussion on building maintenance, an MO made a pitch for the parking lot, citing “a handful of areas with significant holes,” which are tough on grocery cart wheels.
When Member-Owners asked about improvement materials and cost, management estimated that parking lot repaving
Susanne (pronounced Susana) Kaiser is an artist, surface pattern designer, and fashion designer. Using watercolors and drawing with graphite pencils, colored pencils, and pen and ink, she paints and draws things, people, and animals she loves. Her goal is to bring out the sweetness of life and inspire peace on earth. Painting and drawing bring Susanne joy, both when she is creating art and afterward when she looks at the results of her work. She has been drawing or painting every morning for seven years and says it helps her to start each day off being happy. If interested in purchase,
William Pettit paints landscapes of the Hudson Valley and the City of Albany, and portraits of his friends. His childhood was spent mostly by himself and painting became a way to express his inner thoughts. George Inness is his primary influence; he says Inness’s
landscapes taught him the inner beauty of oil on canvas. All of the pieces Bill included in the show are oil on canvas and provide a glimpse of his work, showcasing Lark Street friends and Albany views. William’s paintings are not for sale.
Wendy Santana states that her creations are expressions of reverence, honoring the passages of African and Arawakan ancestors. This expression is influenced by Titus Kaphar, Alice Walker, Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart, and anonymous artists, who paint our streets expressing the diasporic experiences of our ancestors. If interested in purchase, Wendy can be reached at santana.wendy1@gmail.com
A reception is scheduled Sat., Aug. 9, 4–6pm in the Community Room. Come meet the artists! Light refreshments will be provided.
Lactation Station Donation
The Honest Arts Committee thanks Janet and Ruth Foster for their donation of a watercolor painting in memory of their mother, Margaret Gelbach Foster. Shells on a Beach will be hung in the Co-op’s Lactation Room, where it will help to instill feelings of rest and peace to those who use the room.
Margaret Gelbach Foster graduated with B.S and M.S. degrees in art from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and received a Carnegie Foundation Grant to study painting in London. She taught art for 20 years, including at Monticello College (Al-
would cost about $200,000, adding that funds are in the budget for this project. A staff person mentioned that the sidewalk outside the store’s emergency exit (located at the end of the hallway past the meeting rooms) was also showing signs of weathering with uneven surfaces.
Materials used make a difference. Currently, the pavement is permeable, meaning that
The lactation room— also dubbed the “Minimal Stimulation Room” or “Quiet Area” by the Personnel Committee— is open to all staff and customers alike.
it lets water through. In winter, oil from vehicles and salt from ice treatment leak into the water table, creating damage under sidewalks from contraction and expansion under different temperature conditions.
“The sidewalk heaves in winter and settles in summer,” noted Produce Manager Brendan Kelly. “It has been studied extensively. It’s not being ignored; it’s just hard to solve.” ton, IL), Transylvania University (Lexington, KY), and Maria College (Albany, NY). Her paintings have shown in many regional and national exhibitions and are housed in the permanent collections of Seagrams, and SUNY at Albany.
Q & A Q & A SUGGESTION BOX
Suggestion Box answers are provided by our Honest Weight managers and departments.
Q: Change the comment board more often.
A: Please watch for updates to the board around the 15th of each month.
Q: I like that the product number in Bulk is now on the shelf, as in spices, but once the jar is off the shelf, the number must be hunted down, especially at busy times. A number on jars (redundancy) would be helpful. Thanks!
A: As we work on getting every jar labeled with a PLU along with a shelf tag, please bear with us. We’ll have full redundancy soon.
Q: One of the Charge Point stations is not working!
A: We are monitoring them. They’re working now and we’ll keep an eye on them.
Q: Have macaroni salad for those who don’t want tuna.
A: We have Mom’s Mac and Zorba’s Greek available now with our seasonal menu change for summer.
Q: More pizza at salad bar!
A: Smart Chicken packages are sold by weight. We’re not selling fewer thighs to avoid raising the price. Added response from Anastasia: This is not a case of shrinkflation, which is when a product is made less well or smaller at the original price. Most of our Meat Department sales are sold by weight. The price of Smart Chicken has not changed per pound.
Q: What effects are being made to reduce nonrecyclable packaging for Co-op-made products? It has gotten out of control!
A: We’re glad you enjoyed it. It’s not something we do consistently, but when it’s possible we will make pizza for the hot bar.
Q: Sell Owala water bottles!
A: We carry water bottles from Elemental and Hydro Flask in a variety of styles. We have no plans to add a third line of bottles.
Q: Can the seafood department please make salmon burgers again? The frozen ones are really not that good and the homemade ones were delicious.
A: We are interested in making salmon burgers again. We’re currently discussing our options for this grilling season.
Q: Regarding Smart Chicken SHRINKFLATION: 3 thighs?! Used to be 4!!!
A: All our containers are either recyclable or compostable. This includes our straws and plasticware.
Q: Why does the meat counter promote a pesto that uses a wheat filler? There are other Italian pestos in the grocery section with less fillers it seems. Thank you.
A: We carry a broad range of products for a broad range of people.
Q: Can you get pet bird supplies? Thanks
A: We have wild bird food available by the service desk. There are some bulk items that you may find to supplement your pet bird’s nutritional needs.
Q: Birds Eye frozen mashed cauliflower (plain).
A: We carry Cascadian Farm Riced Cauliflower. Birds Eye is unavailable to us through our distributor.
Q: Please consider a separate hot bar for meat/animal products. I just paid $12.00/lb for lentils and rice. I feel like I’m subsidizing the meat, which I prefer not to do.
A: You are correct about the blended price. May we suggest that you select items from the Grab n Go wall that are priced individually.
Q: Kudos to the team who produced the whale sculpture in the café! As is the case with well-made artworks, this sculpture can enhance and stimulate pleasant memories for us all. Some may suddenly have their memories of a whale watching trip rejuvenated by this realistic rendering.
Q: Can I have the recipe for Fog City macaroni?
A: Apologies, we don’t have household-size recipes. We work in very large portions. Email the kitchen manager Dan at DANH@honestweight.coop.
Q: Would you look into supplying Roli Roti bone broth (any flavor) please? It’s the only bone broth I can find with no onion or yeast, which my family has allergies to.
A: We’ll research Roli Roti to see about it—or comparable brands with similar ingredients— availability. Thanks for the suggestion.
For me, the whale brought back the fond memory of a group art project that was completed in grade school. I had totally forgotten about that project and now I find well-cherished memories of my childhood reawakened by the cooperation that produced the whale in our café. Thank you!
A: Thank you so much for your kind words and for sharing your memories with us! We LOVE Whaley and hope he brings joy to all our shoppers!
“If you’re hovering under a big whale near the bakery, thank MO Mallory! MOs are our notso-secret sauce.” —Peter Waldmann
Honest Slate 6
B o a r d Decisions
During August 5, 2025’s HWFC Board of Directors meeting, the Board approved:
• Adding GRC’s reminder of ENC request regarding 2025 board ballot wording to Aug. 5, 2025, Board work agenda.
• July 1, 2025, Board of Directors Meeting minutes as presented.
• April 27, 2025, Membership Meeting minutes as presented.
• June 29, 2025, Membership Meeting minutes as presented.
• Postponing further discussion of proposed Community Engagement & Education Specialist combined job description until Aug. 19, 2025, Board work session.
• Reaching out to HWFC Membership asking for submission to the Board of questions and feedback related to the proposed Community Engagement & Education Specialist combined job description by Tues., Aug. 12. Submissions will be reviewed by the Board.
• Phone Reimbursement Policy from the Personnel Committee as presented.
• Tabling discussion on Problem Solving Guide, which includes sections on conflict, grievance, and peer-review structure, until Aug. 19, 2025, Board work session. The Board will draft feedback for the committee to consider.
• Personnel Committee’s 2025–26 work plan as submitted.
• Communication Committee’s 2025–26 work plan as submitted.
• Elections and Nominations Committee’s 2025–26 work plan as submitted.
• Nutrition and Education Committee’s 2025–26 work plan as submitted.
• Asking HWFC leadership to provide a letter to Ruth and Janet Foster acknowledging the donation of their painting valued at $500. The painting will be displayed in the Lactation Room/Quiet Room at HWFC.
• Membership Program Administrative Assistant job description with the following changes: (1) rate of compensation range will be $19–$21/hr., and (2) job responsibilities will also include “other duties as assigned.”
The meeting was adjourned at 10:21pm at the conclusion of the Executive Session.
HWFC Coffeehouse Open Mic Mon., Aug. 18, 6:30–8:30pm
HWFC’s café fills with music every 3rd Monday of the month. It’s open to Co-op and community members alike.
Join us for an evening with local performers and artists. Performer sign-in starts at 6pm. All family-friendly performances are welcome!
august 2O 25
Editors & Contributors
Cara Benson
David Bulnes
Brendan Byrne
Stephanie Conde
Elisa Grimm
Don Kennison
Irene Kim
Beth McCarran
Janice Nissen
Carol Ostrow
Anastasia Rogers
Karen Roth
Robin Schatz
Janet Sorell
Contact with questions, comments, & ideas.
Submissions Policy
• Maximum article length is 800 words.
• Material is published at the discretion of the Honest Slate team.
• Only signed work is accepted. Items are edited for length, grammar, & style.
• We may consider unsolicited material but encourage submitting ideas first.
• Letters to the Editor do not require preapproval.
Governance groups regularly create and maintain manuals, reports, proposals, and other publications.
When your committee drafts or updates official HWFC governance documents, follow the guidance offered in our
This guide lists commonly used terms with preferred spelling and usage. HWFC presents more professionally when we communicate consistently.
As a living document, the guide is periodically updated. Please reach out with any questions or for more info:
CommunicationComm@honestweight.coop Comm Comm publishes Honest Slate and provides editorial support to the Co-op.
White Affinity Group Meetings
Third Thursdays 6:30–7:45pm via Zoom
This is a group meant for white folks to work on eliminating racism and white supremacy. Join us as we share thoughts, feelings, successes, and mistakes in a warm, friendly, and nonjudgmental atmosphere.
Contact Tam for the Zoom link at Listeningpartnerships@gmail.com
Statement of Purpose:
Honest Slate is a platform for HWFC Membership, Staff, Management, and Governance: promoting transparency, reporting news without bias, and sustaining community.
Honest Slate articles are for informational purposes and are not intended to diagnose or treat disease. Opinions expressed in Honest Slate do not necessarily represent the views or policies of Honest Slate or Honest Weight Food Co-op.
A summary of preliminary committee reports submitted to the Board of Directors (BOD) for its August 5, 2025, meeting. See Board Meeting packet for details. Board-approved committee reports are posted on HWFC’s website. Our committees help to run Honest Weight. See if there is a committee for you.
Governance Review Council (GRC)
∙ Discussed FPM, specifically adherence to Section 7 on products to strive to avoid.
∙ Received report of July BOD meeting, June budget meeting and June Strategic Planning meeting.
∙ Discussed update on progress to implement Peer Review Panel for employees.
∙ Requested BOD advise whether Membership would like more information about store discounts &or the 1% threshold for cumulative, unbudgeted expenses. Want to know whether GRC can use Constant Contact system to reach out to Membership for feedback.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee (DEIC)
∙ Discussed work plan. Each DEIC member is reviewing and editing existing work plan. Discussed concerns and questions on creating work plan and reviewed some sections together to rewrite.
∙ Some DEIC members expressed concerns about HWFC shoppers who use Double Up Program/SNAP. Local news reported some program users’ benefits were stolen.
[Editor’s note: any impacted shoppers can contact the EBT Customer Service Helpline to report theft and request a replacement EBT card by calling 1-888-328-6399 or visiting www.ebtEDGE.com.]
Elections & Nominations Committee (ENC)
∙ Discussed ENC 2025-26 work plan. Discussed required annual work to support bylaws responsibilities, e.g., candidate recruitment, election coordination, developing ballots, and vote counting. Chose some “aspirational” goals we’d like to achieve—in this fiscal year and beyond. Requested BOD approve Workplan.
∙ Discussed SLRPC’s request. SLRPC’s bylaw requires development of Vision Statement/ Strategic Plan in consultation with HWFC committees, management and staff. SL-
RPC’s Paula advised SLRPC seeks ENC input to help create Vision Statement/Strategic Plan for annual review and update as needed. SLRPC welcomed every ENC member to participate in meetings for this purpose.
Nutrition & Education Committee (NEC)
∙ Submitted updated 2025-26 work plan. Requested BOD approval.
∙ Discussed in-store tabling on Food and Product Manual (FPM) to continue twice a month.
∙ Copies of FPM are now available at both store entrance and exit.
∙ Cape Cod chip flavors that were out of compliance with FPM have been removed from sale.
∙ Discussed changes to FPM: items we strive to avoid. Researching harmful effects of consuming products containing carrageenan and fluoride. Plan to expand efforts on other ingredients that may be harmful to our health.
Membership Committee (MC)
∙ Discussed administrative issues: reminded members to use regular email rather than MC email due to emails bouncing back; BOD continues discussing Book Club selection and will advise; gardening team thinks fall would be best for planting tree for Jonny’s memorial service; and MC website information needs updating, particularly standing agenda and guidance for visitors.
∙ Discussed Honest Slate articles. Approved article on Rights & Benefits; temporarily tabled article on joining HWFC.
∙ MC work plan was accepted. Discussed sorting out role of Membership Manager vs. Membership Committee.
∙ BOD continues discussing management pictures and committee chair pictures on website. BOD provided notes on new wording for hours bank (change name to donated hours vs hours bank as it is confusing). Awaiting BOD edits and notes.
∙ A new MO investing time in Bulk attended an MC meeting. She was told her adult son with special needs could not use her membership number. MOs are allowed to send someone else to shop on their behalf if they contact the front desk in advance; however, in an ongoing special situation, could the person be given a second card?
∙ Discussed orientations. Allen is doing in-person orientations. There have been 1-2 Zoom orientations; Karen would like to schedule at least two more over the next two weeks and start to look forward to August. As temporary Membership Manager, Karen is not supposed to start new things. Many things are coming up over the next couple weeks that require her attention. May be better to hold off starting Orientation Subcommittee.
∙ Discussions were tabled on: SLRP 3-5 year plan, and Outreach & Upcoming Events.
∙ Discussed Bulletin Board.
Honest Arts Committee (HAC)
∙ Discussed Lactation Room. Decided to hang “Shells on a Beach” art by Margaret Foster in Lactation Room. Requested BOD provide Ruth and Janet Foster (who donated late mother’s artwork for installation) with formal letter for tax records acknowledging their donation valued at $500, as requested.
∙ Current show features work of 3 artists— Bill Petit, Susana Kaiser and Wendy Santana. Reception scheduled for Sat., Aug. 9 from 4-6pm.
∙ Discussed upcoming shows, including Anastasia’s sketch class students showing their work in Aug.-Sept.
∙ Discussed Poetic License show, a collaboration between Hudson Valley Writers’ Guild and Upstate artists, scheduled for Oct. 1—Nov. 15 with reception scheduled for Oct. 3.
∙ Discussed improving gallery connections including: installing feedback/suggestion box or hanging clipboard or use of QR code (prefer to avoid hearing comments third hand); signage in front entry area announcing show and location of gallery; and meeting with new Marketing Director to explore other ideas.
∙ Discussion of HAC work plan planned for next meeting.
continued on page 8
8 Honest Slate
memBer-owner
Greetings Honest Weight MOs and Owners! We had a wonderful staff/Member-Owner BBQ on July 10, gave 3 orientations in July, and welcomed 19 new Owners.
Congratulations to you for another update to our Food and Product Manual (FPM) at the June Membership Meeting. Occasionally, within a passionate community such as ours, we do a poor job of communicating.
Based on some situations that occurred this month, I would like to remind folks of the procedure for communicating when a product the Co-op sells appears not to comply with the Food and Product Manual. The Nutrition and Education Committee (NEC) is the place to go first!
Forms are available in the store and we hope to add a form to the website in the near future. Email sent to the committee is now being more closely monitored and responses to inquiries will be a priority. Contact NEC
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Communications Committee (CC)
∙ Reviewed August Honest Slate material.
∙ Approved 2025-26 Committee work plan for submission to BOD. Requested BOD approval.
∙ Next Honest Slate copy deadline is Aug. 21 and next publishing dates are Aug. 8 / Sept. 5.
Environment Committee (EC)
∙ Discussed Zero Waste. Plan work with Membership Manager to better implement potential new MO roles within HWFC. Wrote article on TagBack Recycling Program’s in-store offering for July’s Honest Slate. Several EC members have been involved in meetings on the possibility of a Capital District Re-use program. Plan collaboration with HWFC.
∙ Work on Sustainability Manual is temporarily on hold.
∙ Discussed Utility/Energy/Community Solar, including Electric Utility Data through June 2025 (total utility year-to-date cost is up 55%, total consumption up 2.2%, peak demand up 2.8%, energy supply cost up 71%, Forward
o - o p p o r t u
at NutritionComm@honestweight.coop for more information.
Buyers do the best they can to follow the guidelines and when products are noncompliant, they are removed. The thing not to do is confront staff members in departments in a challenging or aggressive manner, a clear violation of our Member-Owner Manual’s Co-op conduct policy. It states: “Abuse or rude language will not be tolerated.”
Finally, if your passion overrides your manners, apologize. Good judgment is the result of experience, and experience is very often the result of bad judgment.
If you’re an early riser, the Bakery needs you! The Bakery Department is looking for Member-Owners to work shifts on Wednesdays,
Thursdays, and Fridays from 6–9am. This shift helps the opening baker clean and restock the bakery case, package items for sale, and set up the bakery for the next day. Email Meaghan McGugart at MeaghanM@ honestweight.coop or call 518.482.2667 ext. 254.
Opportunities for Member-Owner time investment in departments are listed on the website: https://www.honestweight.coop/ page/member-owner-needs-and-opportunities-101.html. Scroll down to the ONGOING NEEDS section.
Thanks for reading the Slate!—Karen, Temporary Membership Manger
Capital Region prices for remainder of 2025 are in line with last year, $4,520 total 2025 solar savings, June bill was $20,274 compared to last year’s $12,199, and June usage was up 13% compared to last year. Community Solar/National Grid Solar credit value is down 31% as bill credit not provided for 1/25 period.
∙ Discussed Refrigerants. Formed sub-group with knowledge on grant writing, energy systems and low GWP (global warming potential) refrigerants. Sub-group will provide information and support to Management as we move forward.
Anti-Racism Committee (ARC)
∙ Forming subcommittee to streamline ARC work.
∙ Successfully tabled at HWFC Sat., July 26; we were helpful to some about ways to save when shopping at HWFC. Preparing to visit community meeting places and communicate about how to save money shopping at HWFC.
∙ Discussed projects in planning stage, including: anti-racism trainings, finding out from Department Managers about Black-
and Women-Owned businesses currently at HWFC (planning creation of list and legend to be able to utilize symbols on shelf tags to show business ownership), and completing new ARC work plan.
Personnel Committee (PC)
∙ Continued discussing Problem Solving Guide.
∙ Discussed Phone Reimbursement Policy.
∙ Discussed work plan, 6th and 7th Day Pay, Position Posting, Handbook General Updates, and PTO Improvement/Clarity.
∙ Requested BOD clarify what’s needed to access a solution on Problem Solving Policy (PSP). PSP supports all levels of problem resolution with timeliness, training support, and ease of navigation.
∙ Requested BOD permission to replace wording in Employee Manual on Interpersonal Conflict Resolution (p. 61), Employee Grievance Procedure (pp. 67-70), Peer Review Panel (Appendix A, p. 76), and updates, where necessary, to other mentions of policy (Right to Notice).
∙ Requested BOD permission on Phone Reimbursement Policy.
