[Photo: NYT]

The dirty little not-so-secret of the Park Slope Food Coop: you may get cheap veggies, but you'll pay in time, labor, and public humiliation. Alana Joblin Ain at the Times tells of her coop delinquency and the indignities heaped upon others:

One recent morning, I went to the co-op office to check my status. A fellow member-worker pulled my file: a collection of index cards that highlighted every job and misstep since my initiation into the club. Next to me, an elderly woman was being grilled: "Did you tell your squad leader that you had a medical emergency?"

Another time, I watched a woman hold her forehead, her children clinging to her skirt, while a worker at the register called out over the intercom, "Does anyone know how to process food stamps?"