Hungry for change? Put the power of food co-ops on your plate and grow your local food economy. Food has become ground-zero in our efforts to increase awareness of how our choices impact the world. Yet while we have begun to transform our communities and dinner plates, the most authoritative strand of the food web has received surprisingly little attention: the grocery store—the epicenter of our food-gathering ritual. Through penetrating analysis and inspiring stories and examples of American and Canadian food co-ops, Grocery Story makes a compelling case for the transformation of the grocery store aisles as the emerging frontier in the local and good food movements. Author Jon Steinman: Deconstructs the food retail sector and the shadows cast by corporate giants Makes the case for food co-ops as an alternative Shows how co-ops spur the creation of local food-based economies and enhance low-income food access. Grocery Story is for everyone who eats. Whether you strive to eat more local and sustainable food, or are in support of community economic development, Grocery Story will leave you hungry to join the food co-op movement in your own community.

The author knows about what she speaks. She is a lawyer and president of her Manhattan co-op building. She had no prior knowledge of co-op and condo conversion before her residence went that way, and she had to learn and learn fast. Now she shares the expertise she's accrued, and she presents it in a well-ordered format. Guiding readers into a co-op or condo situation and ensuring their future of comfortable and productive living are the purposes of Shapiro's handbook; and to that end she supplies a complete codification of all the rules and necessary procedures. Dealing with the board is, of course, the major concern of a co-op or condo owner, and Shapiro is encouraging and explicit as she draws up the appropriate behavior to guarantee a successful board relationship. A book for all public libraries. - Brad Hooper; 368p-