East End Food Co-op

In need of culinary inspiration and an entry-level epic ride, I strapped my panniers on The Time Machine and hauled ass over the Second Narrows. I cruised suburban neighborhoods, admiring lush Mediterranean gardens but too pressed for time to whip out the Nikon for each green thumbs up. I finally made it to Broadway & Commercial, only to discover from friendly neighborhood information officers that my quarry was well down the hill, beyond 1^st. Commercial is a very colorful neighborhood to cycle past... 'nuff cute alternative girls. But I digress.

Parking my panniers near the entrance with all the others (2 other pairs!), I cruised the store for a couple of minutes before commencing photodocumentation, which I figure is the best way of displaying the variety and prices you can expect of the produce. Mostly organic, location of production made note of, prices better than Capers etc. but nothing amazing. A few standouts: wide selection of organic meats and sausages, noteably local, organic (which in terms of poultry, always means they are pastured or “free range”) chicken breasts for $6/lb – boneless and skinless. I like the skins and bones so I'd rather go for a whole roaster or fryer, but I know a lot of you like your chicken fatless and easy. This is the deal for you.

So after a couple of minutes of shooting, I was approached by a woman who asked brusquely, “Can I help you?” I explained to her my intentions of photodocumenting her store for my little blog, and she was very helpful. I've heard that grocery stores don't like you photographing their shelves, but Roisin was entirely cool with it, and explained to me how the labels work on the bulk bins. Green labels mean organically grown, and blue labels mean conventionally grown. I noticed that they said “naturally grown” and she explained that some suppliers, though not strictly organic, nevertheless reduce their reliance on chemicals by engaging in simply natural practices like crop rotation, or like the aboriginal “three sisters” approach – plant crops closely together that benefit each other, rather than vast monocultures that require chemical crutches. Makes sense. Cool.

Some other cool stuff: bulk organic maple syrup (in a huge jug with a tap!), good deals on wholesome bread (check next time you shop: everything has “mono- and di-glycerides” and at least a few other dough conditioners and preservatives in them... these Uprising Breads ingredients would each be recognized by my great-grandmother, for $3/loaf), and 5kg sacks of organic flour. Restaurants should always use organic flour – it's almost the same price as chemically-treated flour, and obviously a better choice holistically. Walk behind a wall into the bulk corner – bulk organic sugar, sea salt, himalayan salt, nuts, dried fruits, and of course... granola.

As I prepared to pay for my bread, produce, and chicken, I expected to be encouraged to purchase two shares in the coop ($20) to become a member... but one of the staffers let me use their membership number, since it was my first time. Thanks, EEFC. I'll for sure be back to stock up on hard-to-find items like organic garlic and ginger, and scan the sales.