Cents and Sensibility
Friday, January 4, 2013 at 2:54PM Ever feel like the only one drinking beer when the rest of the world is on a champagne budget? I did recently, when I saw rack of lamb being offered at Creekside.
For me, a retiree on Social Security, lamb is the kind of luxury that won't be gracing my table any time soon.
That, in part, is the motivation behind this new column: an on-going look at some of the issues we face as a growing coop as we try to balance prices, inventory, staffing and services.
As a staff writer at the Philadelphia Inquirer for 27 years, I spent a decade assigned to the Food section. Unlike Craig LaBan, who reviewed restaurants, Rick Nichols, who wrote a column about his personal experiences with food and growers, and Mike Klein, who wrote primarily about restaurant openings and closings, I wrote about buying and preparing food for everyday meals at home.
Focusing on ingredients, from poultry to produce, I introduced readers to local farmers struggling to balance ethical practices with price considerations. I wrote about compassionate slaughter and carrot mobs. And now that I have left the newspaper, I am volunteering to help explain how we too juggle ethics and inventory.
In the coming weeks and months, I hope to bring clarity to questions such as the cost of brown eggs vs. white; choosing between conventional and organic products; and sorting through the gazillion and one varieties of yogurt.
As for that rack of lamb sale, for example, I'm told Mike, our butcher, got a great price from a supplier and, because he was able to actually cut up the meat in house, we could pass those savings on to our members. And while I could not fit the lamb into my food budget, I see it now as a matter of balance, something we'll need if we want to please most of the members most of the time.
I welcome your questions and comments via email: cents@creekside.coop. And don't forget the Suggestion book at the customer service counter.
Dianna Marder, member #70