Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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VOL. LXII - NO. 91 University of South Carolina, Columbia, S. C. 29208 Thursday, July 20, Everyone has job at food co-C By RUSTY McKIBBEN Two hundred and eighty-one people all together, working in a cooperative venture, buying food together and reaping the savings together. This would be one summation of the Ananda Marga Food Cooperative formed last fall and now prospering to the point of outgrowing its bounds. According to Laney Bright, bookkeeper for the cooperative the venture, began last fall through the efforts of Diana Baltz, "grandmother emeritus" of the cooperative. The store was then formed to "further organic living" though now organic foods are only a part of the cooperative's foods. Now, according to Bright, the cooperative is growing a little too fast, so much so that no mem bership is being accepted until the second week in August. "Right now we're in a floundering period," says Bright. "We're trying to get ourselves together." To re-organize and redefine the growing mammoth of buyers, the cooperative is writing a booklet on the provisions of membership and the way the cooperative works. To get in under the new provisions, a person will pay a $2 a year membership fee and do work in one of the five committees: buying and transportation. distribution, membership, health foods or bookkeeping. "This is not a cheap food store." says Bright em phasizing the point that each member should share his part responsibility by becoming a member of one of the committees. Each of the committees has a chairman -- either volunteers or appointed -- who, in Bright's words, "is a person with the most knowledge" of the particular committee. ''hose in buying and transportation make trips to the Farmers Market, pick out a pre-determined amount of produce. The distribution committee prices and sets up the food. Recently additional rules for membership were laid down by members of the steering committee made up of heads of the five committees. Under the "guidelines", as Bright diplomatically termed the membership provisions, any member that doesn't join a committee with four buying weeks will be refunded a portion of his membership fee and his membership will be terminated. Additional "guidelines" provide that members should attend "a meeting or two when they first join" to insure participation. 3R 3i based on advance order and sends the ord health foods supply store in California. The bookkeeping committee takes care 1oney. Money is received from the members eek before buying. Each member is supplie heet listing produce and the price per amoun healling the cost of the amount of each item. ays the cost and the money is deposited in a e drawn on the following week when food me comes. The membership fee absorbs costs due to ke when members take more than their aare under the honor system of collecting the However, there are times when food is lef hen it is given, free of charge, to the Oliver ission. The group is being allowed the use of the ba! the Green Street Methodist Church to assem, od once a week on a first come first serve bas Each member takes a number upon enteri turch. waits until called them is checked on 5 ' 3 foods sheet of membership that contains his name and the 'r to a amount of money he deposited the week before. The sheets are composed using University of South of the Carolina resources, according to Alan John Zupan, for the chairman of the buying and transportation comn Iwitha mittee. t. After Bright says members of the cooperative intend he then branching out with a mechanics cooperative. This bank to would provide mechanics who would do one of three buying things: allow the use of tools and charging a breakage fee to members who want to work on their own cars; help those who want to work on their own losses, car's for a slight charge; or do the work on the cars alotted for the members with payment adjusted with the ir food. mechanics. over. Gospel Biright also mentioned possibilities the cooperative might explore such as courses in organic gardening, canning. a bicycle cooperative allowing people~ to sement learn how to ride bikes and how to take care of them. ble the is. Summing up. she said of the cooperative idea, "It's ng the just like the process of living, taking one thing and mn IBM expanding it. allowing persns to len."