Ozark Food Co-op "a-political"??? RU FUCKIN KIDDING ME

This is the response I got from the Ozark Natural Food Co-op in Fayetteville when I requested use of their ‘community’ room to hold a reading/gathering/discussion of my book “But What Can I Do?”

My emails are in bold (I hope it comes thru) and Mike’s are in regular print

Mz. Xan Joi,

Thank you so much for reaching out to the coop for your event. Unfortunately, our coop is deeply committed to being an apolitical organization and choose to not host any events or post any notices that are political in nature.

Thanks again, and good luck on the rest of your tour.

Mike Anzalone

General Manager

Ozark Natural Foods

479 521 7558

People, Planet and Prosperity. (The Triple Bottom Line)

Wow! Thank u soooooo much 4 responding.

I'm not sure exactly what u mean by "political" or "non-political". I thght u were a "co-operative" which is certainly a "political" entity in a capitalist society. And I understood you strive 4 such things as "organic", "locally grown", "making connections between where & how food is grown, nutrition & health" - again ALL "political" acts.

I know ur busy but I really want 2 understand what u mean by "political". My book, experiences, wisdom revolves around war, racism, misogyny. Ru saying u & ur members r not interested in dissecting these topics, that this kind of dialogue cannot exist under ur roof?

Again, thank u so much!

In solidarity & act, Xan

Xan,

I do understand the perception that food coops are political organizations. There are many coops across the country who choose to be very outward in their political leanings. And that’s okay. Coops are designed to meet the needs of their ownership. At our coop though, we are not. We stay away from political, cultural and religious topics and concentrate all of our energy and resources on food and farmers.

You might want to try our public library. They host events of a variety of topics. We also have several family owned coffee shops who might be inclined to host your event. The Fayetteville Farmer’s Market might also be interested (although I am not sure how much longer their season lasts.) if you’ve never been to Fayetteville, we do have a main strip named Dickson Street that houses most of our bars and nightlife. You might find a partner there too.

Mike Anzalone

General Manager

Ozark Natural Foods

479 521 7558

People, Planet and Prosperity. (The Triple Bottom Line)

Mike - I'm 68 years old. ALL food co-ops r 'political' when food is an industry controlled by corporations 4 the profit of the most greedy, not 2 mention 6 billion tons of pesticides annually & gmo & terminator seeds. I was there when the 1st food co-ops were established both on the east & west coasts.

Food co-ops in & of themselves r "political". I'm wondering if ur members r aware that u consider their co-op a-political? When given a choice of corporate grocers or a co-op, isn't the decision based on one's politics?

What u really r saying is that ur co-op's 'politics' starts & ends there. Figuring out racism, misogyny, war in food delivery & access, in our local & global control of land distribution & purpose, let alone destroying Mother Earth 4 Monsanto/Bayer's profit is not a concern of ur co-op.

I'm deeply sorry this bubble exists around u. I urge u 2 re-think this individualistic heads-in-the-sand approach 2 the future of life on our planet, & allow the co-op 2 step up & do ur part in saving life on our planet.

Thank u 4 the leads. 

Ma’am,

You have no idea what you are talking about and I am not going to be bullied by your accusations.

It’s time for you to move on. Please do not contact our coop again.

Mike Anzalone

General Manager

Ozark Natural Foods

479 521 7558

People, Planet and Prosperity. (The Triple Bottom Line)

No worries Mike. I've said what I need 2 say.