Pick up any piece of fruit at a supermarket or bodega and there’s bound to be a sticker on it with its place of origin – Mexico, California, Georgia, etc. But at the 2-year-old Norwood Food Co-op, there are no stickers. What co-op members get instead is fresh, delicious produce delivered every week by upstate farmer Zaid Kurdieh. They learn about vegetables most have never tried before, like fennel, tat soi, and heirloom tomatoes. They also get familiar items like lettuce, squash, onions and peppers; what’s unfamiliar is the tremendous taste that agribusiness can’t deliver to your market. Co-op members also get the knowledge that they are contributing to the sustainability of the kind of local farming that yields healthy food and healthy people. Sharing and learning about food is also a great way to build community.

The co-op begins June 15 (and goes through November), but it’s not too late to check it out and sign up for a share, which costs about $260 for the whole season. Food stamps are accepted, too. Just stop by the distribution site at Epiphany Lutheran Church, 302 E. 206th St., just off of Bainbridge Avenue this Thursday or next, between 4 and 6 p.m. Or go to www.norwoodfoodcoop.org

Bronx Week

There are so many fun and worthwhile events scheduled for Bronx Week, it’s hard to know where to start. With a family day of fun by the Bronx River? Or a Bronx Trolley Tour with borough historian Lloyd Ultan? What about watching famous former Bronxites get inducted on the Concourse’s Walk of Fame? Or how about partying along Mosholu Parkway for the Bronx Week Parade and Food & Art Festival?
They all sound great, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. A look at the listing of Bronx Week events beginning on page 17 is a little overwhelming. So much fun to be had, so little time. But we hope that all our readers will pick something out, have a great time, and learn a little more about the borough we all call home.

Welcome, Alex Kratz

Last issue we bid a fond farewell to our reporter and deputy editor Heather Haddon.

This issue we welcome her replacement, Alex Kratz.

Alex, a Seattle native, comes to us with experience writing for a scrappy bi-weekly (sound familiar?) called the Seattle Sun and Star. And he’s just finished a year studying journalism at American University

New to the Bronx and New York City, Alex is already eagerly plunging in to the issues that are important to our community. Of course, he still has a lot to learn and we’re confident our readers will help him along by giving him a call or shooting him an e-mail with your news or concerns at akratz@norwoodnews.org.

In any event, we welcome Alex and wish him the best of luck as he begins his work in the Bronx.