A Dash of History... from Pat Lombardi

In 1976 I moved into the Near South neighborhood from the Russian Bottoms. Friends suggested grocery stores nearby and I tried each one until I found stores where I felt comfortable and could find things I was accustomed to buying. I'd moved with my two children and a dog to Lincoln from Toronto where whole foods could be found in some markets and vegetarian restaurants were available if not plentiful.

I worked at Lincoln General as a registered nurse and, although I made my own bread and granola, I hardly qualified as a "health food fanatic." I had learned some things about the way food was grown, processed, and transported and wanted to buy whole grains and flours and what I thought of as "good" food. I found my way to the Co-op on Randolph Street. Going in after work in my white uniform, I stuck out like a sore thumb. The "uniform" of the day at the Co-op wasn't white and the folks there looked suspiciously at me as if I was a spy from Cattle Country. I didn't know how to find the prices of things and I wasn't used to weighing food. When I was asked if I was a working member I said, "Well, I work and I'm a member of some things. Why?" I know they all thought I was nuts.

In those days I bought a limited range of products. Not because I wasn't food adventurous, but I was intimidated by the fact that I was an outsider and I didn't work at the Co-op. I could have worked there, but I was too scared to work there! Looking back, I don't know what I was scared of. Not being a veg maybe, or not knowing enough about politics. What I do know is that the folks at the Co-op eventually got used to me, and I got used to them. I started asking questions and no one treated me like I was a dope and I learned a lot about food and taking care of my family. I started reading books I found there and talking to people I met and after awhile my life changed. When my son came home from a summer in Taos and announced he'd become a vegetarian I went to the Co-op and got a chart of complementary proteins and we all ate better.

I still eat meat and I still shop at Russ's Market, but a lot less than I used to. Open Harvest is very important to me. There are items I buy at Open Harvest which I can't find anywhere else, and there I find knowledge which I can't find anywhere else in the local area. But more importantly there is an attitude at Open Harvest that our well-being, and that of the whole Earth, is the prime reason for this store. That attitude is what kept me coming back and serving as a board member and paying my dues and encouraging my friends to shop and become members. And that attitude is what kept me staying well.