Lots of errands to run today, and then the Olympia Food Co-op Working Member Appreciation party. See, I volunteer as a cashier at the local co-op, and once a year they throw this thank you party. Since I’ve only lived in Olympia since April, this was my first WMA party. Andreas was disappointed by the lack of vegan food, and I kept thinking that more food would be brought out. Where were the entrees? Where was the dessert? The appreciation was limited to nibbly food like bits of bagels, dips, veggies, fruits, and drinks. Regardless, I still appreciated the community aspect…

Growing up, my parents were involved with the tiny Co-op on Bainbridge Island. I used to tag along with my mom as she helped stock the shelves. At a certain point I decided that the food co-op sucked. Maybe it was because my mom tried to use carob instead of chocolate. Maybe it was because I watched too much TV, and decided that food had to be heavily packaged, brightly colored, and artificially flavored to be desirable. Whatever happened, I decided the co-op and the food it carried sucked.

So, I ate Pac Man cereal with my mouth open, begged my grandmother to sneak me chocolate when she came to visit, and, despite my parents’ vegetarianism, started eating meat in college.

Slowly, slowly, I’ve come to realize that, sigh, they were right. There’s something great about shopping at the co-op, and something even better about working there. Food is such a basic necessity, it’s nice to do it with a little intent.

However, that being said, I still want to know why the Working Member Appreciation party had so little food.