Of Food Co-ops

The Times Union had the sad story. The Pioneer Food Co-op in Troy closed abruptly on Saturday night, "unable to reach profitability before it ran out of cash." For those of us who were loyal customers of the ill-fated Hudson River Market and who are now optimistic about becoming loyal customers of the Acres Co-op Market, the failure of a food co-op in downtown Troy is especially disquieting. But there are lessons to be learned from failure, so the experience of the Pioneer Food Co-op is on the agenda for the next community meeting of the Acres Co-op Market, which takes place on Wednesday, October 19, at 6 p.m. in the parish hall at Christ Church Episcopal, 431 Union Street.