Honest
SLATE Years a Co -op fty i F
Member-Owner Paul Rosenberg Finds His Calling with the Co-op by Carol Ostrow Who found his calling at Honest Weight while founding local traditions? That would be longtime MO Paul Rosenberg, who began shopping at Honest Weight in 1978, joining in 1980. A regular customer— first at Quail Street, then Central Avenue— he embarked on Membership involvement with the original Coop Scoop, which served as the first Membership newsletter until the publication “went glossy” in 2013. “I served the Coop Scoop in three or four different jobs—but never as editor—starting in 1980,” Paul told Honest Slate. Paul’s first assignment was collating newsletter copies printed on a fellow Member’s photocopier. He was then asked to become the bill collector for local advertisers. (”Boy, was that a terrible job,” he confessed; instead of invoicing businesses by mail, the team sent Paul, who “had to wait a lot,” in person.) Fun fact: His then-girlfriend Jennifer Wolff created the original Coop Scoop logo. When the newsletter sought a restaurant reviewer, he jumped at the chance to become “The Veggie Gourmet,” writing about local eateries including El Loco and Maharajah (“Curry ain’t just a spice!”). Taking pride in learning via reporting, Paul also wrote general interest articles—about bike paths, running, and pretty much “whatever I liked.” honestslate@honestweight.coop
Honest Weight Food Co-op’s Community Newsletter for Membership • Staff • Governance • Management Published monthly by the Communications Committee to promote transparency, report without bias, and sustain community.
a u g u s t 2O26 Honest Weight Food Co-op • 100 Watervliet Avenue, Albany, NY 12206 • 518-482-2667
honestslate@honestweight.coop • https://www.honestweight.coop/ All-bany Born in Washington, D.C., Paul has spent “99%” of his life in Albany, attending city schools and SUNY-Albany, where he studied Spanish, Hebrew, Italian, German, French, and Russian.
In 1995, when Paul became the first customer at the Central Ave. store, the Co-op’s name wasn’t even printed on his receipt (which he still has). Kathy Koch—who still works in our store—was the cashier. In 2013 he became HWFC’s first Watervliet Avenue customer.
“Becoming a runner slowed down my studies.”
Following his stint with the Co-op’s original Membership newsletter until the mid–'80s, Paul ended up on the Finance Committee. He had taken accounting courses, and his longtime state job as an auditor for NYS social services had prepped him—or so he thought, recounting that it was not entirely clear who the chair was at the time. Bob Linn, HWFC’s all-time longest-employed staffer, now bastion of Bulk, was general manager then. There was also a bookkeeper named Gus. The committee comprised just 3 people.
Paul organized races for many years. He led the Hudson Mohawk Road Runners Club and created the Mohawk Hudson River Marathon (not to be confused with the Hudson Mohawk RCC marathon), and a Mother’s Day race in Bethlehem’s Hamagrael neighborhood. Although “not musical until age 30,” he has a natural ear, performing without sight-reading. It was Jennifer Wolff who met Paul at a race event and subsequently introduced him to the local music scene—specifically contra dancing, where he found his “calling.” He learned to play the recorder, then the fiddle, and began playing at music jams. “I started out calling dances at the Co-op,” he stated, deeming the 1980s occasions very successful, complete with “amazing” potluck dinners, storytellers, puppet shows, and contra dances—which helped him land additional gigs and ultimately became his main job. Natural Background From an early age, Paul recognized the value of healthy food. In the '70s, his father introduced him to shops carrying ground peanut butter (“actually really awful” back then) and carob, both novelties at the time. He recalled local natural food shops predating the Co-op: one simply called “The Store,” run by a “nice old hippie guy” and which later became Miles Natural Foods; how he gravitated away from meat as he learned more about nutrition, and how the Co-op has reinforced his diet, now pescatarian.
He served about 2 years, noting: “One reason we had [contentious] meetings is that people who join the Co-op are dissatisfied with the status quo of corporate mainstream groceries.”
“We come to the Co-op because we seek a utopia. And then we realize that people are still human.” continued on page 2
CONTENTS Stocking Well.................................. Well.................................. 2 Book Club ...................................... 3 ........................................... 4 Pickling........................................... Suggestion Box Q & A...................... 5 Board Decisions ............................. 6 Committee Corner ......................... 7 MO Announcements...................... Announcements...................... 8 Cyclospora Explained. Explained. .................... 8 https://www.honestweight.coop/