By Amy Derry, Co-op Owner, Board Secretary
GreenTree is my friend. This grocery store was the first good thing I found when I started working in Mt. Pleasant in 2008. How did I know so quickly that GreenTree was my friend? By its smell? By its accommodating hours? By its products, the local ones, the simple ones, the unique ones, the seasonal products or the bulk trail mix?
It hears me. The shopkeepers hear whatever is on my mind. They know my son and believe in his future. They sell products that make his future brighter, cleaner, more assured.
The deli staff feeds me, teaches me how to use unfamiliar ingredients and suggests pairings.
GreenTree has Community Partners, in that way they suggest ways for me to expand my community. GreenTree has deep roots that I grow from. GreenTree represents me at community events.
I believe in the idea of cooperation. (Have you listened to the Suzanne Simard TED talk? Trees Cooperate!) I’m a part of something larger. I’m blessed by GreenTree every day. GreenTree is there for me and I am there for it. It exists because Owners believe in cooperation, community, and respecting the environment. It exists because of me, I am part of the community that I love! And through GreenTree I’ve helped sustain something beautiful that I can share with others. Something that I believe in and something that does more than I do alone.
In a way that’s both exciting and intimidating, I like to overlap my circles and introduce friends to the Co-op. I’ve decide that as a Board Member, an Owner and a friend, my purpose is to introduce GreenTree to my other friends. This article is me finding my Co-op voice and reaching out just a bit wider with my story. Thank you for letting me practice. I may be singing to the choir or perhaps I have helped you realize that GreenTree is more than your grocery store, it’s your friend too.