Teachers' Guide to the DVD 
The Honest Weight Food Co-op:
A Really Great Place to Shop!

The Honest Weight Food Co-op has been at the forefront of the community grocery movement since 1976-- find out how and why in this exciting video! Peek behind-the-scenes on a visit to the source of fresh eggs in the hills at a family farm-- and share the early light of day with some of the folks who feed us all at the local farmer's market. From cheese to vitamins, groceries to reiki, meet a network of individuals
putting their values into practice, sharing love and life through food and community. Insightful interviews, wacky performances and great music weave an organic picture of a really great place to shop: the Honest Weight Food Co-op.

Watch and enjoy... then share this compelling story with friends, neighbors and colleagues! At home or in the community, use this video to spread the word about buying local, the political economy of food, and the history of a movement. Corporate chains sell food-- the Honest Weight Food Co-op promotes sustainable agriculture, economic justice and environmental stewardship. Help move this story off the screen and into the streets!

Produced by the Hudson Mohawk Independent Media Center and Co-op members Eleanor Goldsmith, Jill Malouf, Rachelle Menshikova and Branda Miller. Contact Karisa Centani to obtain a copy.

HOW TO USE THE DVD

The following questions can help you lead a discussion of The Honest Weight Food Co-op: A Really Great Place to Shop! DVD with any group of people. The questions are posed simply in order to include folks new to co-ops and co-op history. You may want to focus on one special section, depending on your audience, to have a more in-depth and focused discussion, custom-tailored to your audiences’ needs.

These links below will change as information becomes updated and shared. They may inform your research and provide materials for you to print out on the topic that you plan to discuss further in preparation for the screening in your classroom or community.

I. What is a “Co-op”?

1.       What does the word “co-op” mean?

2.       How is the co-operative model different from a traditional business model? What priorities differ?

3.       How have the products that Honest Weight sells changed over the course of the co-op's history? (suggested link on Corporate Consolidation at http://www.certifiedorganic.bc.ca/rdbtoa/services/corporate-ownership.html)

4.       What other changes has the Co-op experienced from growth? 

 
  II. Gayle Goes to Market

1.       Why does the Co-op care about supporting local agriculture? (suggested link on Local Foods discussion at www.foodroutes.org and www.environmentalcommons.org/LocalFood)

2.       What would our towns look like and feel like if more of our food came from local farms?

3.       The Honest Weight Food Co-op Produce Manager, Gayle, says she will buy any apples that are of “old, new or different variety.” How does supporting this kind of purchasing policy affect biodiversity?

4.       How has the history of local farming changed over the past century, and how has it resulted in our local farmers' survival? For example, what did you learn from the farmers in this video? Where are the young people in the market? (suggested link on the history of the Menands Farmers' Market is http://www.capitaldistrictfarmersmarket.com. The site for another local farmers' market is http://www.troymarket.org)

5.       As Gayle is purchasing corn she asks, “Is this genetically modified?” What does “genetically modified mean? What is the debate over GM foods? (suggested link on organic food and genetically modified foods is http://www.organicconsumers.org)

 
  III. Orientation

1.       Why is important for new members to attend an orientation?

2.       How have packaged foods changed over the years? What companies or businesses are supported through purchases at the Co-op?  (suggested link on Corporate Consolidation at http://www.certifiedorganic.bc.ca/rdbtoa/services/corporate-ownership.html)

 
  IV. Amazing Cherie

1.       What does Cherie mean when she says, "It's not just about food.. it's total spirituality"?

2.       Why is it important to support alternative medicine and therapies?

3.       What opportunities does the Co-op offer to the community that set it apart from being simply a place of commerce?

V. Chi (Oi)

1. What is "energy medicine"? How is this concept in line with the Co-op's goal to promote self care and healing? (suggested ink on Energy Medicine at http://www.energymed.org).

VI. Bob the Bulkman

1.       What are the benefits of buying products in bulk? (suggested links on Waste and Packaging are http://www.wasteonline.org.uk and http://www.thesite.org.uk/healthandwellbeing/fitnessanddiet/food/foodpackaging)

VII. Shopping Kosher

VIII. French Cheese Shopper

IX. The Story of Seven Cheeses

1.       How is an artisinally crafted cheese different in taste and production from a mass produced cheese?

2.       What is raw milk cheese? Why are raw dairy products controversial? (suggested website with a great source of links attached is http://www.raw-milk-facts.com)

X. Russian Tea Shopper

1. Why are international Co-op Shoppers more "at home" at the Co-op that hey may be at other stores?

2. What causes the Russian Shopper's "culture shock" that she expresses?

XI. Health and Body Aids (HABA)

1. How is an Integrative Medicine Practitioner different from a Conventional Care Provider?

XII. The Deli

1.       What is the difference between foods that are homemade and mass produced?

2.       How does the Deli cater to people with different dietary needs? Why is this important?

 
XIII. The Octogenarian and the Eggs

1.       Why is it important to buy locally grown eggs? (suggested link on Local Foods discussion, and what's available when and where, is www.foodroutes.org)

2.       What are the benefits, for both Honest Weight Food Co-op and Guineverre, for example, of being a member operated Co-op?

3.       Why are a wide range of member jobs important to a community run business like the Co-op's?

XIV. Membership Dinner

1. How does food, and sharing a meal with others, promote the idea of "community"?

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