A message from our GM on Atlanta and Boulder…

At the Brattleboro Food Co-op, we have been reeling from all of the violence over the last couple of weeks. We stand with our neighbors from the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in light of the awful tragedy in Atlanta. And now, we breathlessly stand with our brethren grocery store workers and public servants in Boulder. CO. Breathlessly, because they are us. Grocery store workers all over the country and throughout the world, have worked so hard to continue to provide service and food to our communities in spite of the myriad challenges posed by this pandemic.  Those challenges are not just from the virus and its properties, but from human beings who choose to traumatize and impose their political views on those who simply come to work every day to provide for their neighbors, all the while trying to stay safe. So many of us are not safe in our society already due to our stubborn history of white supremacy. This current environment and its innate stresses only exacerbates the inequity and the inhuman actions that the inconsiderate take over our neighbors. At our Co-op, we simply want to continue to serve our community and strive to do so in a thoughtful and supportive way, for all of our neighbors. We are grateful to those of you who recognize and appreciate the task grocery store employees have undertaken, for more than an year, I myself am humbled to work with such a dedicated staff who continues to do the best that they can in difficult conditions. Let’s try to be better human beings to each other. Life is hard enough.

-Sabine Rhyne, General Manager, Brattleboro Food Co-op