BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Author and radio and TV show host Jon Steinman said he vividly remembers his 2019 trip to Bethlehem — his first visit to the city.
“I had a very distinct memory of coming into the city from the east, and noticing how all the grocery stores were in the perimeter of the city, and very few within the city," Steinman said in a recent interview with LehighValleyLive.com. "I remember that quite distinctly.”
- Jon Steinman, host of the radio show, podcast and streaming TV show "Deconstructing Dinner," will speak from 1:30-3:30 p.m. April 15 in Wilbur Mansion Event Center, 201 Cherokee St., Bethlehem
- The program will focus on how food co-ops work and how they are different from traditional grocery stores
- It will be free and open to the public with advanced registration
That memory, Steinman said, makes Bethlehem a prime location for an entity such as Bethlehem Food Co-op, under construction at 250 E. Broad St, Bethlehem.
That store could become a model for other communities and co-ops, Steinman said.
It also makes Bethlehem an appropriate location for his presentation "Who Owns Your Grocery Store?" from 1:30-3:30 p.m. April 15 in Wilbur Mansion Event Center, 201 Cherokee St., Bethlehem.
The talk will focus on how food co-ops work and how they are different from traditional grocery stores. It will be free and open to the public with advanced registration.
The first 25 attendees to register will get a free copy of Steinman’s book, “Grocery Story: The Promise of Food Co-ops in the Age of Grocery Giants,” according to a release from Bethlehem Food Co-op.
The presentation also will be offered via Zoom.
Familiar with food situation
Bethlehem Food Co-op's web page defines co-op as "an independent, democratic organization owned, operated and financed by its members, committed to the people it serves and the communities in which they live."
Steinman said that the 2019 visit led him to become familiar with Bethlehem’s food situation, and why he believes a food co-op is appropriate for the city.
"But what makes the co-op model so appropriate is that it allows the people who are shopping at the store or the people who are in the city to be stewarding and owning that store, and knowing that that store is working for the benefit of those people, and not for any outside interests.”Jon Steinman, international food co-op educator
“And so, by appropriate, I mean it's appropriate for grocery stores to be further inside the city — any type of grocery store," he said in the interview.
"But what makes the co-op model so appropriate is that it allows the people who are shopping at the store or the people who are in the city to be stewarding and owning that store, and knowing that that store is working for the benefit of those people, and not for any outside interests.”
Bethlehem Food Co-op 'is unique'
Bethlehem Food Co-op, which says it has 1,300 members, says on its website that "Our store will be open to all shoppers, and will feature healthy, nutritious, locally sourced products Even now, we are also working to give back to our community — and support it — through educational, environmental, and social justice initiatives."
Steinman also is a producer and host of "Deconstructing Dinner," an internationally syndicated radio show and podcast and streaming television series.
“The Bethlehem Food Co-op is also unique in the United States in how it’s financing its development. If successful, it hopefully will become a model for other communities and other food co-ops, to be able to more easily build their stores because of the unique financing behind this co-op.”Author at TV, radio and podcast host Jon Steinman
He speaks of himself not only as an educator but also as a “motivational food co-op speaker” who helps others speak for their co-ops more effectively and spread that education.
That’s part of why he said he's excited to speak in Bethlehem in particular because the member model is untested but promising.
“The Bethlehem Food Co-op is also unique in the United States in how it’s financing its development," Steinman said.
"If successful, it hopefully will become a model for other communities and other food co-ops, to be able to more easily build their stores because of the unique financing behind this co-op.”
