Who Gives A Shit: Is The Park Slope Food Coop Worth It?

image via @SdiddyBKLYNOh man. While blogging mostly sucks a dizzle, sometimes the universe just drops a jucy little somethin somethin into your lap as if to say: YOU CAN DO IT. DON'T GIVE UP, OLD BLOGGER, OLD PAL! EVERYTHING IS GONNA BE OK!

And this Brooklynian thread is exactly wtf I'm talking about.

Some Park Slope newb is just wondering: is it worth it to join the Park Slope Food Coop??

And while I loved the shit outta all the responses and found a link to a fucking treasure trove of old Coop rants that could keep me busy for days, this is the first time I've ever seen a mathematical formula developed that will tell you once and for all whether or not it's worth your time to join to Food Coop.

I, for one, take a time value of money perspective. The value of my free time (in this case, the value of doing something other than a coop shift) is more valuable to me than the value the coop presents in terms of sense of community, locally sourced high quality food and attractive prices (there might be others) less the hassle factor. The hassle factor includes the things commonly mentioned by coop members as being drawbacks such as the high traffic during peak shopping times, keeping up with shifts, dealing with an unprofessional volunteer staff (again - there may be others).

If you can quantify the variables I've mentioned, you can create a formula. Where T(v) = Time value, B = value you place on the benefits, and H = value you place on the hassles. If T(v) is greater than B-H, then you should not join.

Hats off to Brooklynian commenter Jamzer for that one. While I switched my college major to avoid a math requirement, this is the kind of math problem I can't get behind.