After I finished reading the December Shuttle, I got the picture that Weavers Way is struggling for survival. On page 1, I learned of the $600,000 loss for fiscal 2018; on p. 6, that the Shuttle needs to cut back from 12 to 10 issues per year, for financial reasons; on p. 7 of the deplorable rise in healthcare costs; and on p. 19 of the possibility of increased competition from Aldi.

I know the grocery business is very competitive, and my heart goes out to all the people who work so hard to make our co-op successful. And it’s so much more than just another place to buy food! The contributions to the community are huge; the friendly, healthy, sensible feeling in the stores is unequalled anywhere. There’s more at stake in Weavers Way’s success than just its benefits to us who are lucky enough to live here. It’s the whole question of whether such a communitarian, wholesome, small-is-beautiful business is viable in our short-sighted, greed-driven, everyone-for-himself culture.

So, I’m making myself a promise to support WW as much as I can; like many people, I occasionally shop elsewhere, but now I will only do so for things the Co-op doesn’t carry. Just like voting, it doesn’t seem like much, but I must believe it makes a difference.

— Richard Senerchia