ISSUE #425
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018
THE SHADOWS ISSUE
Food Lovers Unite
Join Us At This Co-op Book Club
Housing First
A Strategy to End Homelessness
Camera Obscura
Make Your Own Pinhole Camera
Warmly,
Finally, in this issue you will find instructions on how to transform your own cave into a camera obscura and your own walls into a stage for a children’s shadow play.
Linda Coolen and Susan Metcalf Linda Coolen & Susan Metcalf are Co-op Member-Owners and Co-Managing Editors of the Coop Scoop.
Please feel welcome to contact the editors to submit an article or with
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100 Watervliet Avenue, Albany, NY 12206 (518) 482-2667 [COOP]
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Shadows. We all have them. But what do you think about when you think about shadows? We asked Coop Scoop contributors and their responses were as wide and varied as shadows on pavement. Within this issue, we explore the Yin and Yang of light and dark, shedding light on hidden places, illuminating others and revealing ourselves. One contributor tells of her experience with cancer and how her confident shadow was her steadfast
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Welcome to the November/ December issue of the Honest Weight Coop Scoop.
The content of any issue depends on Member-Owner contributions and may include more general content. A huge thank you to the current contributors! To all readers and members: please consider contributing in future issues! It can be scary to jump in, but this community is safe, warm and welcoming. The editorial team, Carol and Ben, Susan and Linda, will be glad to work with you wherever you’re at. You do not need to be a writer or a poet, just a community member who wishes to be more involved.
In support of community today, we highlight two local family run farms, a local Food Readers Book Club, and a novel underscoring the power of community and the power of our stories. And as the seasons change and the snow begins to fall, invite your shadow out to shovel and back home again for a hot bowl of delicious soup, recipe on page 26.
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Co-Managing Editors
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from Our Editors Letter Linda Coolen and Susan Metcalf
any suggestions you may have. If you haven’t already, think about coming out of the shadows. This is your Coop!
companion. Another sheds light on chronic homelessness, inclusive community solutions, coming out of the shadows, and finding a home. We travel back in time when some humans lived in caves and when the power of shadows on cave walls contributed to early developments in art, religion and philosophy.
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Honest Weight Food Co-op is a memberowned and -operated consumer cooperative that is committed to providing the community with affordable, high quality natural foods and products for healthy living. Our mission is to promote more equitable, participatory, and
Ecologically sustainable ways of living. Honest weight is open to the public, seven days a week. The Coop Scoop is produced bimonthly by our Education Department and offered free of charge as part of our mission. To view online, Please visit www.honestweight.coop/coopscoop.
Contributors Associate EDITOR: Ben Goldberg is retired from a 40+ year career in behavioral health care
in the nonprofit sector. He is currently an active volunteer and a freelance writer and editor.
Assistant EDITOR: Carol Reid is a retired cataloger at the New York State Library, where she worked for over 35 years. She wrote a 10-year blog called “Typo of the Day for Librarians” and has been a Co-op member since the 1980s.
Writers: Loren Brown, Erin Donahue, Ben Goldberg, Jeff Miller, Thom Murphy, Hilary Papineau, Melanie Pores, Carol Reid, Katie Thornton, Pat Sahr, Natalie Wallace
Designers: Mathew Bradley Holley Davis is a new Co-op member. When she’s not at the Troy Farmer’s Market or trying new recipes, you can find her running a half marathon in every state.
DISTRIBUTION Assistants: Donna Eastman, Ellen Falls, Bonnie Betz
Interested in Contributing TO THE COOP SCOOP? Contact:
• contests and giveaways • great deals flyers • fresh deals flyers • exclusive promotions and sales • special event notices
CoopScoopEditors@ googlegroups.com
ADVERTISE WITH US! Contact: Kim Morton (518) 330-3262 kim.a.morton@gmail.com Printed with soy ink on recycled paper in Albany, NY
ISSN 2473-6155 (print) ISSN 2473-6163 (online) The Coop Scoop is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing medical or health advice. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider. We are not responsible for errors or omissions. Honest Weight is not responsible for, and does not necessarily agree with, our guest writers' articles. Cover photo by Stefania Crudeli on Unsplash
Shadows 5
WHAT'S FRESH AT HONEST WEIGHT
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PRODUCER PROFILES
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018
Pat Sahr
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WHEN MY SHADOW BECAME MY LIGHT Katie Thornton
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OUT OF THE SHADOWS: HOME-COMING Ben Goldberg
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CLOSE TO HOME
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NORTH
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Thom Murphy
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SHADOW POET Carole Reid
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YING YANG DARK-LIGHT-NESS
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FOOD READERS BOOK CLUBS BUILD COMMUNITY AND CONNECTION Hilary Papineau
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SNOW SHOVELING SAFETY Jeff Miller
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MEDICINE WALK: A BOOK REVIEW
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Natalie Wallace
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THE CAVEMAN’S CAMERA Erin Donahue
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UNTITLED
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Loren Brown
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RECIPE CORNER Melanie Pores
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KIDS CORNER
COOP SCOOP
What's Fresh at Honest Weight! none of the ingredients on our Banned List. Priority goes to local or regional businesses, mission-based work. Here are four new Honest products to check out!
In our cafe: New recycled chairs You may have noticed that our cafe seating recently changed and that our new chairs are made of green plastic. What you can’t tell just by looking is that they’re actually made of GREEN plastic—each of those plastic chairs is made of 111 up-cycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) soda bottles by a company in Pennsylvania. We like them because they’re classic, comfortable, and sturdy. Visit HonestWeight.coop/Chairs to learn more about our new chairs!
In education: Homeopathy instruction Winter is a great time to invest in your health with our huge variety of free Practitioner Services! One of our newest offerings through our Educational programming is instruction in Homeopathy, a system used to raise the vital force of a person. This is achieved through the use of natural remedies, which are meant to trigger the body’s natural defenses using the principle that “like cures like.” This consultation is not meant to diagnose, treat or prescribe for any disease, injury, disability or condition. Sign up at our Service Desk for your free session or visit HonestWeight.coop/Education to view all our classes and practitioner services! NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018
In Wellness: Cocokind skincare Our Wellness team recently brought in Cocokind, a San Francisco-based woman-owned skincare line. They create clean and conscious skincare using superfoods like turmeric, reishi, and matcha green teas As part of their mission to empower women, they provide grants to female entrepreneurs in health, wellness, and sustainability industries though their Cocokind Impact Foundation. One of their most popular products is their chlorophyll mask, packed with chlorophyll, organic spirulina, wheatgrass to detox, boost complexion, and reduce inflammation. You can find it, along with other all-natural serums, moisturizers, toners, and exfoliators in our Wellness Department!
In juice and java: CBD Add-on Now, when you order any coffee, smoothie, or juice beverage at our Juice and Java Station, you can request to add a six milligram serving of CBD oil! Enjoy a calming infusion of antioxidants with your favorite beverage for just $3 per serving. We're not able to add it to wheatgrass or ginger shots, but everything else is fair game! 5 5
Producer Profile by Pat Sahr
We truly value the small businesses and dedicated individuals who work hard to create the exceptional goods and products we carry here at Honest Weight Food Co-op. We think these inspirational stories demonstrate the importance of supporting local, and why we’re so committed to it!
NIGHTSHADE FARM Found in our Produce Department
Phil Spinelli and Kris Walsh Certified. Finally, as an extra Phil and Kris do all the work with of oversight, USDA and the assistance of one full-time own and operate Nightshade layer Albany County Soil and Water and one part-time employee. Farm, a family wholesale Conservation make annual Because of the small workforce, labor-intensive crops—those that business located in Medusa, inspections. require special handling during New York, near the village of The goal is to assure harvest and packaging—are Rensselaerville. food safety and provide avoided. Currently its products are sold in stewardship of the land two retail stores and are carried by three distributors. Their focus is while increasing crop yields. We grow food that meets our on producing delicious vegetables without the use of synthetic pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, or fertilizers. They use only 100% certified organic non-GMO seed, and Phil and Kris are proud to say that their farm is designated USDA Certified Organic. It is also a member of NOFA-NY (Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York), a certified organic LLC. Nightshade Farm has also successfully met USDA’s acceptance criteria of the voluntary audits of USDA Good Agricultural Practices & Good Handling Practices, and its vegetables carry the seal of New York State Grown and 6
Phil states, “We grow food that meets our high standards—food that we want to feed our family.” Phil and Kris have been together for 16 years. In 2007 they purchased the land that they now farm, and in 2015 they entered the world of organic agriculture. Early on they had success growing vegetables in the nightshade family (e.g., tomato, eggplant, potato), hence they chose the name Nightshade Farm.
Currently they have 12 acres under cultivation.
high standards - food that we want to feed our family. Phil and Kris value their working relationship with Honest Weight Food Co-op which, they note, is “a business with values and practices that match our own.” At this time you will find Nightshade Farm zucchini, summer squash, grape tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, leaf lettuce, all varieties of hard squash, eggplant, and green peppers in the Co-op Produce Department. Be sure to look for the Nightshade Farm label when you shop. COOP SCOOP
Producer Profile by Pat Sahr
We truly value the small businesses and dedicated individuals who work hard to create the exceptional goods and products we carry here at Honest Weight Food Co-op. We think these inspirational stories demonstrate the importance of supporting local, and why we’re so committed to it!
TWO STONES FARM FOUND IN OUR CHEESE DEPARTMENT Two Stones Farm is a small livestock (goats, dairy sheep, alpacas, and guinea family farm located in the chickens, fowl), and making cheese. Catskills town of Halcott Center. For Alan, cheesemaking is It is owned and operated by the most fascinating and Alan and Robin White, who engrossing part of his job. have resided in the Catskills for 35 years. The farm itself was established in 2001 when the Whites, who are graduates of Cornell University with degrees in environmental and animal science, decided to pursue their dreams of farming and animal husbandry. With the help of their three children, Two Stones Farm grew to be the stable, successful, environmentally responsible operation it is today. According to Alan, he and Robin are grounded in a philosophy of sustainability that is in tune with the natural world; they strive to have as small a carbon footprint as they can.
Currently, Alan is the main force behind the business while Robin, a full-time teacher, helps out as much as possible. The work includes cultivating an all-natural vegetable garden, caring for two Jersey cows and other assorted NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018
The advantage of his small-scale operation is that it allows him the time he needs to develop his unique flavors. Using only milk that is free of chemicals and pesticides, he produces cheeses that range from hard to soft. Some are made from a single type of milk, like Harvest Moon Tomme, a cave-aged goat milk cheese made using the traditional recipe and methods of French Tomme production, a type of cheesemaking from the French Alps and Switzerland. Others are a blend of cow’s and goat’s milk: Halcott Sunrise, a traditional tomme and the hardest, sharpest cheese; Mountain Medley, an award-winning Gouda; Betta Feta, another award winner; Catskills Gold, a Havarti-style cheese that is the newest addition; and finally, Fromage Blanc, a soft, spreadable cheese that combines
very well with maple syrup, honey, horseradish, and many herbs. Alan has been working on the creation of a three-milk blend, “Three Amigos,” which will be available later in the summer. Robin tells us, “Some is aging in our cave right now!”
The Whites are grounded in a philosophy of sustainability that is in tune with the natural world. For a more detailed description of Two Stones Farm cheeses and to see what other products the Whites offer, go to www.2stonesfarm.com. And visit the Cheese Department at the Co-op to sample some Halcott Sunrise and Mountain Medley. Pat Sahr has been a member of the Co-op since 2005. She contributes to the Coop Scoop as the writer of the Producer Profiles. Sahr says, “It’s a pleasure being part of the Honest Weight family, and I’ve especially enjoyed communicating with the various producers whose products are sold at the Co-op!” 7
When My Shadow Became My Light by Katie Thornton
I was as deep in chemotherapy as my legs were deep in the snow: halfway up.
hands are holding these poles, my whole body is working together.”
That time nearly two years ago when I committed myself to intensive medical treatment for breast cancer ironically appears like a slow dance in my mind, the acts marked by dramatic visits to the hospital. If a dancer was in fact performing this era of my life she would flit from bed to lounge, chair to kitchen. She would place three young children on her lap, and she would talk with and read to them with her last bit of energy. She would eat for the pure necessity of it and, without fail, she would walk. Every. Single. Day.
As I would near the forest, my mind would inevitably tighten as thoughts came tumbling in about appointments and medication and that close ghost of fear.
My body most accurately remembers the slow process of getting dressed for my daily walks—snow pants, scarf, jacket, mittens, boots, and a switch of the hat from cotton to fleece to cover my naked head. Finally, I would step outside to meet my shadow. In my memory, she was always there, dark and seemingly solid, my one companion on these walks when my only goal was to reach the stream, an easy jaunt that had turned into a winter marathon.
My shadow would immediately spur me on as she appeared so strong, so confident. I would stand up straighter at the sight of her, as if I were gazing at a tall and well-postured statue. As I began to cross the field, I would watch her arms move with agility signaling my brain to practice gratitude: “My legs move, my arms work well, my 8
However, with the trees cozied up, their shadows dancing with mine, I was not permitted to stay with these forward-leaning distractions for long. I would remember to breathe, and I would feel, even for just an instant, my connection with all things, which would sometimes even bestow on me the gift of a spontaneous smile.
She appeared so strong, so confident. When I reached my destination, my shadow would melt into the water—a flowing darkness that was both the antidote to my fears and the source of my survival. After spending some time with the snowspeckled stream, I would begin the journey home, retracing my footprints with my shadow gently prodding me from behind. Katie Thornton is thrilled to be a new member of the Honest Weight Co-op. After growing up in the Albany area she just recently returned, this time with her husband and three young daughters. Besides writing, she loves teaching yoga (you can find her at Lark Street Yoga) and cooking and eating yummy and fresh food from the Co-op. COOP SCOOP
Out of the Shadows Home-Coming by Ben Goldberg
HOMELESSNESS The issue of homelessness is large and complex. It is also, perhaps, a sobering reflection of community and national beliefs and values. Although this publication has neither the space nor the mission to deal with the level of complexity that homelessness presents, we will try to describe some of the salient issues particularly associated with chronic homelessness. We will also try to share some of the good news about what can happen when we combine expertise, objectivity, and good faith efforts to address one of the most basic problems affecting our neighbors. Every year each state in the United States conducts an annual “Point In Time” (PIT) census estimation or “count” of people who are homeless during a specific 24-hour period in January. The 2017 PIT census determined that there were approximately 553,742 Americans experiencing homelessness on that day. It should be noted, however, that the PIT method of counting the number of people experiencing homelessness is considered by many advocates for the homeless to be invalid primarily because of the large turnover in the homeless population. Accurate numbers may not be easily captured by the timelimited PIT method. Some have estimated that as many as 2 to 3.5 million Americans may experience at least temporary homelessness in the course of a year. Although more than half million is a very large and unacceptable number, the number of Americans experiencing homelessness was reduced during the 10 years of 2006 to 2016 by approximately 14% or NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018
approximately 87,000 people. That reduction was due in part to shifts in public policy that supported the development of permanent supportive housing (PSH) for people with extensive and longstanding histories of homelessness—also known as the “chronically homeless.” A majority of people who experience homelessness— approximately 76%—have just one or very few episodes of being without a home, and most often for relatively short periods of time. These episodes are typically caused by the sudden onset of one or more significant and sometimes interrelated life changes or a catastrophic event, such as job loss, eviction or foreclosure, natural disaster, unanticipated medical bills, lack of medical or disability insurance, poverty, break-up with partner, or domestic violence. When an individual or family is already living right on the edge of solvency, with meager financial reserves and/ or social resources, even one of these occurrences or conditions can lead to an episode of homelessness. Particularly since the economic crisis of 2008, increasing numbers of middle-class individuals and families have become almost as vulnerable to homelessness as low-income households. In 2016, for example, nearly 7 million Americans were spending
There is nothing more important than a good, safe, secure home. - Rosalynn Carter 9
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more than 50% of their total income on housing, and another almost 5 million were “doubling up,” that is living with family or friends, a situation that is often a precursor to homelessness. The lack of affordable housing, combined with stagnant wages and a myriad other factors, has created conditions that help to maintain or may even increase the tragic phenomenon of homelessness—particularly chronic homelessness—in America. The latest PIT census estimate, conducted in January 2017, determined that the numbers of people experiencing homelessness increased by almost 1%, the first such increase in the last 8 years. However, that increase is attributed primarily to an increase in the numbers of people experiencing chronic homelessness, who constitute approximately 24% of the total number of people experiencing homelessness.
People experiencing CHRONIC Homelessness HUD defines a person experiencing chronic homelessness as someone who “has a disability and has either been continuously homeless for 1 year or more or has experienced at least 4 episodes of homelessness in the last 3 years where the combined length of time homeless in those occasions is at least 12 months.” Mental illness, substance use, and homelessness. Each has its stigma and each of these conditions is often consciously or unconsciously viewed as some sort of moral failing, character weakness, or lifestyle preference, rather than as the bio-medical/public health condition each is. The stigma is amplified for people experiencing chronic homelessness. In the 1990s, with better data and more sophisticated and objective analysis, it became apparent that people experiencing chronic homelessness, who made up only approximately 24% of the total population of people experiencing homelessness— about 87,000 Americans—were responsible for the utilization of far more than half of the resources designated for services to people experiencing homelessness and associated costs. These included costly emergency medical treatment and hospitalization; detoxification services; the legal, judicial, and incarceration systems. The majority of these incarcerations are for misdemeanors—due as much to the “criminalization of homelessness” as to the behavior of people with mental illness
and substance use disorders who are experiencing homelessness. It also became apparent that many of these services were necessary as a direct result of chronic homelessness itself. Some researchers have even hypothesized that the mental illness and/ or substance use seen in a significant percentage of people experiencing homelessness is exacerbated by the condition of chronic homelessness itself, including toxic stress, trauma, and victimization. Additionally, since the average age of a person experiencing chronic homelessness is 50, and since extended homelessness takes a serious toll on health and well-being, the potential for reintegration into society fades over time, and more assistance and services become necessary. According to the Center for Evidence Based Solutions to Homelessness (April 2018), “Federal policy has increasingly recognized people experiencing chronic homelessness as a vulnerable population of adults with disabilities who have the potential to remain stably housed in housing provided they receive appropriate supports in finding and maintaining the housing.” As noted in “State of Homelessness in Canada” (2014): “Keeping people in an ongoing state of homelessness is then not ‘doing things on the cheap,’ but rather, is quite expensive.”
PARADIGM SHIFT: THE HOUSING FIRST MODEL Stable housing provides the foundation upon which people build their lives. Without a safe, affordable place to live, it is almost impossible to achieve good health or to achieve one’s full potential.—Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) If the cause of homelessness is the lack of safe, stable, affordable housing, the solution is primarily the development of such housing. Until the 1990s, the typical approach to homelessness was the “step-ladder,” “treatment-led,” “housingreadiness” approach, adapted from then-prominent psychiatric hospital practices. Under this approach the person or family experiencing homelessness had to achieve certain sequential goals that demonstrated stabilization and readiness for permanent housing, e.g., consistent participation in mental health and/or substance abuse treatment, and resolution of other behaviors or conditions that led to homelessness. In essence, people NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018
The cause of homelessness is lack of housing. -Jonathan Kozol experiencing homelessness had to be receiving treatment for their mental illness and become clean and sober. The approach seemed logical and well meaning. If the individual or family was not “ready” for permanent housing, they would again become homeless because the root causes of their homelessness had not been resolved. The approach seemed logical, but it was not effective because there were significant percentages of participants who got “stuck” at points in the process or who dropped out. And the working hypothesis—that individuals had to be “ready” in order to have and keep a home— was invalid. Participants were often evicted from housing in which rules were inordinately strict and expectations were unrealistic and unattainable for such chronically, seriously troubled people who were not capable of being “model tenants.” This approach was laden with a multitude of barriers to housing permanency, it was expensive, particularly given its lack of effectiveness, and it was nowhere near consumer-driven, choice-oriented enough. The Housing First (HF) approach was an evidencebased model developed for people with serious mental illness in the 1990s by Dr. Sam Tsemberis at Pathways to Housing, a non-profit organization in New York City. The basis for the HF approach was to move people directly from the streets or emergency shelters into “supportive housing” as soon as possible. The approach was unique, both in the way it eliminated as many barriers and preconditions as possible and the degree to which it was “consumer driven.” Participants were not required to actively engage in psychiatric or substance abuse treatment. They were treated as tenants with all the associated rights, privileges, and responsibilities—including paying rent on a sliding scale basis. They were largely able to decide for themselves how to live. Meanwhile, flexible, individualized mobile support, encouragement, and assistance were provided to help maintain stable residency, well-being, and social integration. An integral part of the HF model is the “harm-reduction” (H-R) approach. H-R is a comprehensive strategy, set of techniques, and assistance targeted at managing psychiatric symptoms and other parts of participants’ lives 11
that have the potential to cause harm, including minimizing and mitigating risks and the debilitating effects of substance use when abstinence is an unrealistic or unwanted goal at present.
...An evidence-based model developed... In the 1990s by Dr. Sam Tsemberis The HF approach proved to be much more effective than the graduated staircase model, and the associated costs were lower. It was replicated and studied closely for outcomes and cost savings, both of which proved to be positive. Eventually, public policy shifted and the approach was adopted by the federal government and HUD for people experiencing chronic homelessness. During the period between 2006 and 2016, there was a 294% increase—almost 112,000—in permanent supportive housing (PSH) beds in the United States specifically for people experiencing chronic homelessness. At the same time, many states and counties moved toward the PSH approach in entry and assessment procedures for people experiencing chronic homelessness, and strategic outreach and engagement activities targeted
at people experiencing chronic homelessness were greatly increased. In summary, careful research and objective critical analysis clearly indicated that the “housing first” approach to assisting people experiencing chronic homelessness—as compared with the traditional, “housing readiness” “treatment first” approach, was 1) much more effective across a range of indicators and outcomes, particularly housing retention; and 2) less expensive. The overarching goal of the HF/PSH approach is housing stability, which this approach achieves in most cases. Other frequently cited outcomes for the HF/PSH approach include cost savings; reduced use of crisis and transitional housing services and transitional housing; reduced use of emergency services, hospitals, psychiatric centers, and detox services; reduced incarceration (and associated activities); reduced vulnerability to victimization; increased participation in substance abuse and/or mental health treatment; improved physical and mental health and community functioning; and improved well-being and quality of life. With regard to cost savings, the National Alliance to End Homelessness (“Ending Chronic Homelessness Saves Taxpayers Money”, 2015) posits that: “A chronically homeless person costs the taxpayer an average of $35,578 per year. Costs on average are reduced by 49.5% when they are placed in supportive housing. Supportive housing costs on average $12,800…” Similar findings with regard to both outcome effectiveness and cost savings have been found in many other studies conducted in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Scandinavia. The HF approach is not a magic bullet, and not all people who are chronically homeless, or chronically marginalized can manage to live within even this type of low-barrier, consumer-driven framework. But a majority can and should be able to.
JOSEPH’S HOUSE & SHELTER, TROY, NY: LOW BARRIER PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING (PSH) Joseph’s House and Shelter, Inc. (JHS), a nonprofit organization in Troy founded in 1983, provides a broad continuum of services for individuals and families experiencing homelessness (www.josephshousetroy.org/). In 1994, ahead of the
Housing First (Pathways) replication surge, JHS established “low barrier/low demand,” permanent, affordable housing for people with a history of chronic homelessness who were not able to meet the demands of the prominent “housing readiness” service programs. The JHS site-based or projectbased program was developed with 9 units, 24-hour staff, and shared services with JHS’ emergency shelter program.
The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned. - Maya Angelou Nearly 25 years later, JHS has 105 permanent supportive housing units in Rensselaer and Albany counties, serving approximately 210 people, with 81 units for individuals and 24 units for families with children. 27 units are in separate sites, and 78 are site or project-based. Most recently, JHS was selected to run the day-to-day operations of Albany’s Homeless Action Committee SRO on North Pearl Street. Personal control and trust—or the lack of it—are significant factors in homelessness. The JHS PSH programs are “consumer driven,” with as much personal control afforded as possible with the fewest barriers and demands. Meanwhile, all tenants sign formal lease agreements and pay 30% of their income for rent, if they have any income. Most of the tenants, whose average age is 54, do not have any source of income when they first enter the program, but currently about 90% receive some benefits, including public forms of income (e.g., Social Security Disability Income, veterans benefits) or jobs. Kevin O’Connor, JHS’s Executive Director, proudly reports that 85% of the PSH residents pay their portions of rent, fully and on time! Additionally, with regard to the overarching goal of the Housing First approach—housing permanency—JHS reports that in 2017, the apartment program achieved an 89% retention rate. Of the tenants in apartments on January 1, 2017, almost 90% were still living in their apartments on December 31, 2017. The average length of tenancy to date is 5.25 years.
they so choose, but a majority voluntarily reduce their use. Some get sober. Similarly, people with mental illnesses are not required to participate in treatment, but most tenants with mental illnesses eventually participate in treatment. Elements of the H-R approach in the JHS program include a needle exchange and needle depository for intravenous drug users; Planned Parenthood Safe Sex services; HIV testing; and a range of preventative care health services. As Joseph’s House’s O’Connor has written: “The Housing First approach is the most humane and cost effective response to chronic homelessness. It is a proven successful model. At the same time, Housing First challenges each of us to reconsider what it means to live in an inclusive community.” Author’s note: Unless otherwise cited, the statistics cited in this article come primarily from HUD, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), SAMHSA, and the National Alliance to End Homelessness, as well as those that are frequently cited in the recognized literature on homelessness.
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As with all HF programs, a primary operating principle of the JHS program is H-R. Tenants who use drugs and/or alcohol may continue to use if NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018
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Close to Home How To Fall is an illustrated zine featuring the accounts of three individuals who escaped homelessness.
tors
"How to fall" contribu
The project, created by designers Jordan White and Minami Morohashi, has a unique connection to Honest Weight Food Co-op: all three of the stories told in the zine were shared with the creators by Honest Weight Member-Owners and/or staff members.
An important reminder to be kind to people you meet; you don’t know what battles they may be fighting in their lives. “Now that I’ve been homeless, I feel a stronger sense of empathy toward others. When I was no longer homeless, I found myself more generous and helpful to people in need. You see those people on the side of the road with signs. I became more likely to help them out. I offered them whatever I had. Sometimes I didn’t have money, but I carried food. In my bucket handbag, I had supplies like canned goods and easyto-eat food. I’d share that with people I met on the street. It actually felt good to help. I was surprised; empathy felt less like pity and more like helping a fellow comrade.”
Now that I’ve been homeless, I feel a stronger sense of empathy toward others. How To Fall first premiered during an art exhibition in Japan at Sun Coast Cafe and is available at www.jordannwhite.com/how-to-fall. 14
COOP SCOOP
North by Thom Murphy
As I climbed out of the valley, wrapped in rain gear, the newness of the day hit me. Rapid breaths, filled with misty morning precipitation, exhaled as steam while the hill continued upwards. The weather calmed and I was the only sound in a vast green landscape scattered with enormous boulders jutting out of the forest floor. Fog rolled in and out as pinholes of sun poked through the clouds. Then, suddenly, the sound of cowbells: slow and solemn, taking precedence over of the day. As the hill leveled out I saw only one at first. A strong beast, its chewing as prominent as its size. When the fog began to break I saw more and more of them, combing the field, nostrils breathing heavy. Their repetitive chore mirrored my own and I took comfort in their rhythmic persistence. The rain started again and I thought back to the day before. I had fled north from Carces; there was impending weather and far too many uncertainties. At a distance from civilization, NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018
sheep stood impossibly perched on steep hillsides. I pulled off to look for a place to camp. Trudging through undergrowth near a drainage system, I found nothing suitable. I rode on and came to a horseshoe-shaped flower grove; a car turn-off, neglected and overgrown. Through the flowers and over a small ridge, I could see a breathtaking view. Rows of forest pulled down into the valley by a river snaking through to the horizon, where rays of sunlight pierced through the clouds. Slowly, storm clouds overtook the sunset and color melted into grayness. After securing my bike and panniers, I prepped rain gear for the morning. I climbed down a rocky ledge away from the road and pitched my tent on a soft, grassy incline next to a trickling stream. As soon as the tent was up, the rain began; I listened as it pelted the nylon. As evening faded into dark, a large spider climbed up the outside of my tent and came to rest where the screen met the tarp, also listening to the
rain. I drifted to sleep comfortably surrounded by sounds of water. Hours later, I awoke in a pitch black vessel. The weather had turned into a torrential downpour and the only thing I could hear above the rain was the nowraging river that had grown out of the stream bed. I patted the lower end of my tent. Still dry. I lay mesmerized; the only sound was water. That night I dreamt a thousand watery deaths, but also of befriending a chipmunk. When I awoke in the morning, neither had happened. The sun was slowly giving shape to the day and the rain was holding for the moment. I quickly packed my tent into a pannier as storm clouds danced in the sky. When I fastened the last buckle the rain began again. With rain-gear clattering like a suit of wet armor, I set off into the valley, propelled into a higher state of consciousness‌ Thom Murphy works at the Service Desk and has been with the Co-op since 2010. He took a 3000 mile (4828 km) bike ride through Europe earlier this spring, passing through seven different countries. 15
Shadow Poet by Carol Reid
The Scottish author and poet Robert Louis Stevenson was a sickly, somewhat peculiar, and isolated child, saddled with an illness that grew worse in the wintertime. Much like him, a great many people spend a good deal of their lives in shadows. Some of them go on to shine and bring joy to others; others shrivel and take umbrage at every slight. (The word umbra means “shadow or darkness.”) Stevenson escaped the confines of his own weakened constitution through his art and imagination. Though often bedridden as a boy, once grown he traveled widely throughout Europe and the United States. “I have so many things to make life sweet for me," he once wrote, "it seems a pity I cannot have that other one thing—health. But though you will be angry to hear it, I believe, for myself at least, what is is best. I believed it all through my worst days, and I am not ashamed to profess it now...” In 1887, Stevenson “took the cure” in the shade of the Adirondack Mountains, where he was treated by Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau, founder of the first open-air tuberculosis sanitarium and great-grandfather of the beloved “Doonesbury” cartoonist. This time around, he seemed to thrive in the cold weather. That winter up in Saranac Lake, he publicly promoted Trudeau’s innovative healing program and experiment in cooperative living. He also produced a series of essays, including Pulvis et Umbra, or “Dust and Shadows.” After that salubrious respite, Stevenson headed to New York City by way of Albany; he died 6 years later on a sunny island in Samoa. Wherever he went, he would embrace the changing seasons, climates, peoples, and cultures— while his constant companion, his ever-shifting shadow, continued to nuance his perceptions. 16
My Shadow I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me, And what can be the use of him is more than I can see. He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head; And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed. The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow— Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow; For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball, And he sometimes gets so little that there's none of him at all. He hasn't got a notion of how children ought to play, And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way. He stays so close beside me, he's a coward you can see; I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me! One morning, very early, before the sun was up, I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup; But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head, Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.
From A Child’s Garden of Verses, 1885
Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Cure Cottage” in Saranac Lake, NY COOP SCOOP
Ying Yang: Dark-Light-ness Most of us are familiar with the yin yang/taijitu symbol which (re)emerged into Western culture in the 1960s with renewed interest in Eastern philosophies and culture. This symbol speaks to the universal cycles of endless change, the dynamic interplay and interdependence of seemingly contrary yet complementary opposites: dark/light, feminine/masculine, negative/positive, inside/ outside, Madonna/Mozart, and so on. Not one without the other. And, apparently, the symbol rings true in human experience and consciousness because variations of this symbol, which is usually associated with ancient Chinese philosophy, science, and medicine has been found in many ancient Western cultures as well, including Native American, Baltic and Eastern European, Turkish, Greek, Roman, and Celtic, among others.
...The interplay of opposite principles constitutes the universe. - Confucius As we go about our everyday lives, we often get stuck in various forms of judgmental, dichotomous, binary ways of thinking and reacting. These can make us feel confined, out of balance, unable to fully experience the uniqueness of right here/ right now perceptions ... and exhausted. Typically unaware of this, we peer through those “judgment lenses� as we move throughout our day. X is good; Y is bad. Right is good; left is bad. Dark is bad; light is good. More is better; less is worse. But is it? Look again...more deeply. Is it really?
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Food Readers Book Clubs Build Community and Connection LOCAL CHAPTER MEETS AT HONEST WEIGHT CO-OP by Hilary Papineau
Many of us know and love the Co-op for its wide variety of healthy and delicious food choices. The Co-op, however, is not only a place to buy food you can enjoy and trust, but a valued community resource providing the opportunity to meet people you can enjoy and trust. In addition to its 900+ bulk items, wide selection of fruit and vegetables, wellness products, basic grocery items, hard-tofind natural food items, plants, cheese, beer, wine, and so much more—did you know the Co-op
Did you know the Co-op also offers a diverse array of free classes, events, and services?
also offers a diverse array of free classes, events, and services? Take the Albany Food Readers Book Club, for example, a local chapter of the larger Food Readers Organization, which provides an active reading community promoting overall food awareness. Founded in 2016, the Albany Food Readers Book Club convenes every other month at the Co-op to discuss a book of the month and a wide variety of topics, from farming and agriculture to cooking education, nature, ecology, food history, food culture, food memoirs, and food movements such as slow food, farm-to-table, and more. In 2018, the umbrella Food Readers Organization emerged from the Albany Food Readers Book Club seeking to help organizers in other communities build-out food-related book clubs. The Food Readers
Organization believes that book clubs and community-building are key ingredients for producing awareness and knowledge to counterbalance misperceptions about our current food system.
“Too often people are passive participants in what they eat and drink, but food is so much more than that,” shares the organization’s founder, Eric Fletcher.
“What I’m trying to do—and see others are trying to do—is to help people realize how truly connected we are. Our food system is huge and complicated. We need to learn how to navigate the landscape, and recognize that food is a commonality we all share.”
Engaging in conversations about food empowers people to pursue their own advocacy. The organization is founded on three guiding principles: gather, educate, and partner—convening people with diverse perspectives and backgrounds to read books and make informed choices about consumption habits and food purchases. Partnering with the Co-op helps the Club achieve its mission and engage members in meaningful conversations. While embracing partnerships to promote food reading and awareness, the Food Readers Organization and local branches maintain independence from broader food movements or political action to preserve its mission and encourage open dialogue. Meanwhile, engaging in conversations about food empowers people to pursue their own advocacy. You don’t need to be a food expert or a foodie to join the Book Club, and the Albany chapter offers the opportunity to meet local food stakeholders. The Chapter’s July event featured Forgotten Farms, a documentary film highlighting the challenges facing the region’s dairy farms, along with a special guest who shared her personal NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018
and professional experience as a fourth-generation New York State dairy farmer. In addition to holding events, the Albany Food Readers Book Club, as well as the Food Readers Organization, provides information on its website about the featured books. The Food Readers Organization also promotes an array of food writers (e.g., authors, academics, columnists, bloggers, journalists, reviewers, reporters, and artists) through its Featured Authors Initiative, aiming to elevate and support authors by enhancing their online presence and providing an expanded audience to interact with.
website (albanyfoodreaders. wordpress.com/), Meet-Up site (www.meetup.com/AlbanyFood-Readers-Book-Club/), or the Co-op’s Classes and Events webpage (honestweight.coop/ education).
Interested in starting a Food Readers Book Club in your local community? The ultimate goal of the Food Readers Organization is to build a community of clubs and organizers across the region, state, country, and beyond. The Food Readers Organization website (www.foodreaders.com) provides a recipe for launching a club. You can also contact the
Interested in sampling or joining the Albany Food You don’t need to be a food Readers Book Club? expert or a foodie to join the The Club meets every other month on Saturday evenings at the Coop. To learn more, visit the Club’s
Book Club 19
“I had been reading food-related books for several years, and while I knew folks who were involved in food or book clubs, I didn't know anyone who had interest in both. I was thrilled when a friend mentioned Eric and the Albany Food Readers Book Club!" Said Annie, a member. Head Book Club Organizer, Eric Fletcher, for additional guidance at foodreaders@gmail.com.
Want to Learn More? Visit the Food Reader Organization’s website to join the email list for updates on local chapters, featured authors, and more! You can also follow the Food Readers Organization on Twitter for news and other happenings affecting our food system (@foodreaders).
“I had been reading food-related books for several years, and while I knew folks who were involved in food or book clubs, I didn't know anyone who had interest in both. I was thrilled when a friend mentioned Eric and the Albany Food Readers Book Club!" said Annie, a member.
means that everyone can find something of interest in relation to food, and everyone leaves a bit more food-savvy than they were when they arrived. Oh, and the homemade snacks and restaurant recommendations provided by attendees are a definite perk!”
"Food is not only about your shopping list—it has nutritional, social, political, economic, and environmental impacts as well. The books we read bring up all of these aspects for discussion, which
Hilary is an urban planner, food activist and
enthusiast and a Co-op member since 2015. She and her husband live in the Helderberg Neighborhood of Albany where they spend their free time playing with seeds and weeds and trying not to kill their Co-op houseplants from too much love. Hilary grew up in the Adirondacks and is a research analyst.
Toddler • eArly CHildHood • eleMeNTAry • Middle sCHool • suMMer ProGrAM
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Meet the faculty, tour the campus and discover how the proven excellence of a Montessori education can help your child achieve a lifetime of outstanding results.
Montessori 101 session 1:30 pm Pre-registration is requested 518.283.5400
100 Montessori Place • North Greenbush • woodlandhill.org COOP SCOOP
Snow Shoveling Safety by Jeff Miller
It’s starting to get cold again, and as surely as the sun goes down early this time of year, thousands of people are going to injure themselves climbing on slippery roofs, shoveling snow, and operating snow blowers. Don't be one of them! Here are a few tips for shoveling safely:
Choose the right shovel for you An ergonomic shovel with a curved handle and an adjustable handle length will minimize painful bending, while keeping the shovel blade on the ground. In addition, a small, lightweight plastic blade helps reduce the amount of weight that you are moving.
Warm up before you shovel Cold, tight muscles are more prone to injury than warmed up, flexible muscles. Warm up for five to ten minutes with a brisk walk, marching in place, or another full body activity. Stretch your lower back and hamstrings with some gentle stretching exercises, and limber up your arms and shoulders with a body hug.
Pace yourself Removing small amounts of snow as you shovel is less strenuous than removing a large pile at once. In deep snow, remove a few inches at a time from the top rather than attempting to shovel the full depth at once. Also take a little break every ten to fifteen minutes or whenever you feel overworked. Do a few stretches during these breaks.
Use good lifting technique ●● Always face toward whatever you want to lift. ●● Bend at the hips, not the lower back, and push your chest out, pointing forward. Then, bend your knees and lift with your leg muscles, keeping your back straight. ●● Lift light loads; don't try to lift something too heavy for you (or even close to it). ●● If you lift a shovelful, grip the shovel with one hand as close to the blade as comfortably possible. ●● Avoid twisting your back! Always point your whole body to face the new direction. ●● Keep the heaviest part of the shovel load close to your body at your center of gravity. ●● Walk to the new location to deposit the load rather than reaching or tossing. Remember to listen to your body, take plenty of breaks, and drink lots of water! We tend to forget about hydrating when it’s cold outside, but water will help prevent cramping and soreness.
Keep your feet on the ground
So hunker down, get ready, and don’t be afraid to ask for help—or to ask someone if they need help. That’s what a community is for.
Slippery conditions can lead to strains, slips, and falls. Wear boots with good tread and spread sand, rock salt, or kitty litter on your sidewalk or driveway to increase traction.
Jeff Miller is a fitness trainer and corrective exercise specialist, with 20 years of experience in the health and fitness as an herbalist and coach. He is owner of Function Fitness (www.FunctionFitness.com) and provides in-home service. He can be reached at (518) 281-3772.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018
21
Medicine Walk: A Book Review by Natalie Wallace
By the time Franklin Starlight was ten years old, he had relinquished all anticipation that his estranged father might acknowledge his birthday. Eldon Starlight’s presence in his son’s life had only ever been ephemeral; if he appeared at one moment, he was gone the next, as surely as the tide erases a footprint in the sand. Nevertheless, when the ailing Eldon summons sixteen-year-old Franklin to his home in the mill town at Parson’s Gap, Franklin heeds his call.
Eldon’s days are numbered. He has spent the better part of his life in the destructive throes of alcoholism, which has finally laid claim to his embattled body. With time not yet run out, Eldon enlists his son’s help; reluctantly, Franklin agrees to guide him deep into the forest and bury him “in the warrior way”—a reference to their Ojibway heritage. What ensues in Richard Wagamese’s illuminating novel is a journey both literal and metaphorical.
Wagamese possesses a stunning talent for storytelling. In Medicine Walk, he puts his skill to work crafting a story about stories themselves. As father and son set out on their journey into the woods, Eldon opens up to Franklin. Beside the fire one evening, Eldon tells Franklin the story of their name: “Jimmy said Starlight was the name given to them that got teachin’s from Star People….Legend goes that they come outta the stars on a night like this. Clear 22
night. Sat with the people and told ’em stuff. Stories mostly, about the way of things. The wisest ones got taught more. Our people. Starlights. We’re meant to be teachers and storytellers.”
Ironically, Eldon has not always been so candid. But with the intention of showing his son who he really is, he begins to recount the details of his troubled life in a way he never has before. He weaves stories about his father’s death, his mother’s abusive lover, his enlistment in the Korean War, and the solace he sought in alcohol. Wagamese paints a devastating picture of a broken man: “Then, always, time’s dank shadow would fall over him again and sweep him into its chill…. He sought a place that carried no reminders, believing that a place existed that was barren of memory and recollection. But he bore time like sodden baggage.” Eldon has spent his life in search of refuge from his pain, but has
“We’re meant to be teachers and storytellers.” COOP SCOOP
instead trapped himself under the weight of a story he hasn’t fully confronted until now. instead trapped himself under the weight of a story he hasn’t fully confronted until now.
From beneath Wagamese’s prose emerges a significant question - do our stories definea From beneath Wagamese’s prose emerges us,significant or do we question define our- do stories? our stories define us, orisdo our stories? Eldon notwe thedefine only character of the novel to have
endured life, has Eldon is suffering—Franklin’s not the only character of thetoo, novel to been have plagued with struggle. He has yearned for the endured suffering—Franklin’s life, too, has been attention a father who He never him plagued of with struggle. hasshowed yearned forcare, the and has ached for knowledge of the mother he attention of a father who never showed him care, never knew. Rather runningof from troubles, and has ached forthan knowledge thehis mother he however, Franklin seems to meet them head on in never knew. Rather than running from his troubles, ahowever, way that Franklin sets him decidedly apartthem fromhead his father. seems to meet on in a way that sets him decidedly apart from his father. In part, it is Franklin’s appreciation for nature and the he forgesappreciation with his Native American In connection part, it is Franklin’s for nature and heritage that helps him find way through an the connection he forges with his his Native American arduous childhood. Wagamese’s exquisitely vivid heritage that helps him find his way through an descriptions of the natural worldexquisitely illustrate vivid how, arduous childhood. Wagamese’s time and again, Franklin finds peace in the beauty descriptions of the natural world illustrate how, and solitude of nature: “The sky was clearing and andsun solitude of nature: sky was and the splattered light“The against the clearing green-black the sun light the green-black boughs ofsplattered the trees and theagainst birds came alive with it boughs of the treesin and came with it and he lost himself thethe feelbirds of the landalive shrugging and he himself in the feel of the land shrugging itself intolost wakefulness.” itself into wakefulness.”
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We can move beyond the We can move beyond the stories of our past to storiesthe of our past to become authors of become the authors of our future. our future. In the end, Wagamese does not pretend for a moment In the end, Wagamese does not pretend for a moment to ignore the cold, harsh reality of our world: “The to ignore the cold, harsh reality of our world: “The war became the knowledge that life can strip you war became the knowledge that life can strip you raw, that some holes are never filled, some gaps not chinked, some chill winds relentless in their pitch chinked, some chill winds relentless in their pitch and yowl.” Perhaps, however, it is in the telling—or and yowl.” Perhaps, however, it is in the telling—or in the mere acknowledgment—that we can move in the mere acknowledgment—that we can move beyond the stories of our past to become the authors beyond the stories of our past to become the authors ofofour ourfuture. future.
Natalie from SUNY Albany in 2014 with a degree in English. Nataliegraduated graduated from SUNY Albany in 2014 with a degree in English. She in Shecurrently currentlyserves serveswine, wine,tends tendsgrapevines, grapevines,and and helps helps with with everything everything in between betweenatata asmall smallfarm/winery farm/wineryininValley ValleyFalls, Falls, NY. NY. NOVEMBER/DECEMBER NOVEMBER/DECEMBER2018 2018
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23
The Caveman’s Camera CAMERA OBSCURA by Erin Donahue
The earthen chamber is dark and quiet. Light finds a small hole in the animal hide draped over the entrance. It filters through and an image of the outside scene is projected onto the far wall of the cave. Its ancient occupants watch in wonder. What did Neolithic humans think of that optical phenomenon? Were they creating it on purpose?
This natural optical phenomenon is known as a camera obscura, or “darkened chamber” in Latin. A small hole, or aperture, allows light to filter into the darkened room. The result is an inverted image of the outside scene projected into the room. Chinese philosopher and engineer Mozi (470-390 BC) was the first person in recorded history to describe this phenomenon, but evidence shows that humans encountered and perhaps began using the camera obscura much earlier. The study of the experience and use of light by ancient peoples is called archaeo-optics, a term coined by some of the lead researchers in the field: Aaron Watson, Ronnie Scott, and Matt Gatton. Their fieldwork in Wales and Scotland explores methods of light manipulation 24
in Paleolithic and Neolithic caves and structures. The Paleolithic Period lasted about 3 million years and ended around 12,000 years ago. Many structures from this period have deteriorated, but researchers are able to replicate animal-hide tents and dwellings to try to understand the experience of the humans who lived inside them. At the Paleolithic reconstructions at the Museum of Malgré-Tout in Belgium, researchers found that a hole in the animal hide would create a camera obscura in the structure. When the surface that holds the image is not flat or straight, the image becomes distorted. When researchers recreated a camera obscura with an animal hide over a cave’s entrance, they found that the tilted wall of the cave distorted the image of the outside scene, which included live animals. They noted that the animals in their projected image looked very similar to the animals depicted in Paleolithic cave artwork, such as paintings of horses in the Cave of Lascaux in France.
The visual experience may have helped trigger the early development of art, religion, and philosophy
The animals shared a few traits, including small heads and large midsections. The Neolithic Period began when humans began to farm, around 10,000 BC in some parts of the world, and ended with the introduction of metal tools. By 2000 BC, the Neolithic Period had ended in most cultures around t he worl d. U nlike Paleolithic structures, many Neolithic constructions, such as Stonehenge, have survived to the present day. Many of the caves studied in the archaeo-optic field are passage tombs, or narrow human-made passages with stone-walled burial chambers under mounds of earth or stone. Some artwork on the walls of these caves suggests that images had been projected onto them by a natural camera obscura and traced or used as an aid to painting. Cairn T at Sliabh na Calliagh at Loughcrew, Ireland, is a passage tomb that faces the equinox sunrise. On March 21, sunlight shines into the passage onto the chamber’s rear wall, where the artwork engraved into the stony surface seems to chart the sun’s path.
As human eyes take time to adjust to the darkened chamber, the otherworldly images can provoke thought and spark creativity. Some researchers have theorized that the visual experience may have helped trigger the early development of art, religion, and philosophy. Whether projected onto the damp stone of a Neolithic cave or the textured white wall COOP SCOOP
of a modern-day apartment, the camera obscura is sure to provide a powerful sensory experience for its viewers. Follow these instructions to transform a room into a camera obscura!
Materials: ●● A room ●● Any material to block light from entering the room (cardboard, poster board, aluminum foil, etc.) ●● Tape and scissors to secure the material
Instructions: 1. For the location of your camera obscura, choose a room that has one window if you can. If you don’t have a plain, lightcolored wall opposite the window, hang a white sheet up on the wall. 2. You want the room to be as dark as possible so cover the window completely with your black-out material. 3. Cut or poke a small hole in the material. The smaller the hole, the sharper (but darker) the projected image. 4. Turn off all the lights in the room. Your eyes will take a while to adjust to the darkness. 5. The light from outside will filter through the aperture and the image will be projected
Long before I met you it was the moon who taught me to be at peace with the face you choose to show me.
upside down on the wall. Erin Donahue is a proud new member of the Honest Weight Food Co-Op. She lives and works in Albany, and can be reached at erind589@gmail.com.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018
Loren Brown identifies most with being a person, learning, growing, seeking, and trying to capture the aesthetic of thoughts in writing so she can share with others. She has been a member of the Co-op since the days of the Quail Street start-up. Which means, she is getting old.
25
Recipe Corner GINGER AND TURMERIC SPICED CAULIFLOWER AND SWEET POTATO SOUP by Melanie Pores
Ingredients
Notes
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
On a cold, damp late fall or early winter evening, I enjoy preparing Lina Liwag’s “Ginger and Turmeric Spiced Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Soup”— a yummy, but healthy, “comfort” food. To reduce the heat and pungency of the original recipe, I replaced the red onion with half a Vidalia onion and reduced the grated ginger by half. From the nightshade family, I included a roasted red pepper for added sweetness and a russet potato for a more creamy texture.
1/2 Vidalia onion, minced 1" piece of ginger, peeled and grated 2 Tbsp. ground coriander 2 tsp. ground turmeric 1/2 tsp. ground cumin 6 cups water or reduced-sodium vegetable broth or a combination of both 1 small cauliflower, cut into florets, approximately 3 cups 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed 1 russet potato 3 stalks celery, chopped 1 roasted red sweet pepper, diced 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped Himalayan pink salt to taste Cilantro oil (optional): Blend together: 1/2 cup cilantro with 1/4 cup sunflower oil 26
I hope that you will enjoy this healthy, warming soup as much as I do! Adapted from the Fresh n Crunchy blog (www.freshncrunchy. net).
Directions 1. Sauté the ginger and onions in coconut oil in a large pot on medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the coriander, turmeric, and cumin and stir until fragrant. Add the water or broth and boil, then add all the vegetables. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer until the vegetables are tender, approximately 10–12 minutes. Be sure not to overcook the vegetables. Add salt to taste. Blend in batches in a blender until smooth, and reheat if necessary. Serve with a few drops of cilantro oil (optional). 2. If you are short on time, Lina shares that you can also prepare this soup in a streamlined way by steaming all the veggies for 8–10 minutes and using the water from steaming the vegetables to blend the soup. Add salt, herbs, and all spices and blend until smooth. Adjust the taste and serve. COOP SCOOP
Kids Corner Shadow play Materials 1. A white wall or a white sheet 2. A light source (bright flashlight or focused lamp) 3. Stuffed animals, toys, or objects with bold, interesting shapes
Directions
1. In a darkened room (the darker the better), shine the light on the wall or draped sheet. 2. First use your hands to make figures: ◊ Make a fist and point your index and middle fingers upward to look like a rabbit. Wiggle her ears.
◊ Try this again but with your two middle fingers held down with your thumb. Which one looks better to you? Does one of them look like a different animal? ◊ With one hand held sideways, open and close your thumb towards your straight fingers to look like a snapping alligator. 3. Then you can use the toys and other items: ◊ Hold the objects in front of the light to create interesting shadows. Move them closer and further away from the light to see what happens. Try to create images with multiple objects. 4. Use your imagination! What else can you create?
Help the Hands Form the Bunny Shadow!
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