Growing Herbs Without a Garden
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You don’t need a backyard or a green thumb to grow fresh herbs. Many culinary herbs thrive in pots on a windowsill, balcony, or porch, making them an easy and rewarding way to add flavor, nutrition, and freshness to everyday meals. Homegrown herbs can elevate simple dishes, reduce food waste by letting you harvest only what you need, and provide gentle health benefits, from supporting digestion to adding antioxidants to your diet.
At East End Food Co-op, we make it easy to get started. In the spring, we carry locally grown seedlings from Grow Pittsburgh, and throughout much of the year we carry high-quality seeds so you can grow herbs on your own schedule.
Here are a few herbs that are especially well suited to container growing:
Basil
Basil loves warmth and sunshine, making it perfect for a sunny window or patio. It grows quickly, and regular harvesting actually encourages the plant to become bushier and more productive. Fresh basil adds bright flavor to pasta, salads, and sauces, and is rich in antioxidants and aromatic compounds.
Chives
Chives are one of the easiest herbs to grow. They tolerate a range of conditions, regrow quickly after cutting, and take up very little space. Their mild onion flavor is great on eggs, potatoes, and soups, and they provide vitamins A and C.
Thyme
Thyme is hardy, drought tolerant, and happy in a pot with good drainage. It doesn’t need much attention, which makes it ideal for busy growers. Thyme is a staple in roasted vegetables and savory dishes and has traditionally been used to support respiratory and immune health.
Oregano
Oregano thrives in containers and prefers to dry out slightly between waterings. Its strong flavor means a little goes a long way in sauces, marinades, and roasted dishes. Oregano contains several bioactive compounds with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties.
Mint
Mint is famously easy to grow and is arguably best grown in a pot, where it cannot spread too aggressively. It tolerates partial shade and frequent harvesting. Mint is refreshing in teas, salads, and desserts, and is well known for aiding digestion.
Parsley
Parsley grows well in pots and prefers consistent watering and moderate sun. It’s versatile in the kitchen, adding freshness to everything from soups to grain dishes, and is packed with vitamins K, C, and A.
Whether you start with seeds or seedlings, growing herbs in pots is a simple way to connect with your food, save money, and enjoy vibrant flavor right at home. Let this growing season bring a little more green into your kitchen.
Board corner
By Tom Pandaleon
The board of directors had its annual retreat on February 22nd, returning to the cozy, plant-filled front room at Greenhouse Co-op for the second year in a row. Greenhouse is a small, two-year-old cidery housed in a spruced-up storefront in Greenfield. It was just right for a midwinter Sunday of discussion and breaking bread together.
We hold this retreat every year shortly after our annual board election to welcome new board members, set a broad agenda for the coming year’s work, and as an initial exercise in collaboration in a relaxed setting. We also hold officer elections, and we discuss the leadership and plans for our three board committees.
POLICY GOVERNANCE
The initial morning’s discussion centered on the strengths and weaknesses of our policy-driven governance model. “Policy governance,” a system that caught on in the foodco-op world starting in the ‘70s, is credited to social sciences professor John Carver. The core guideline of the system is that boards of directors, to be most effective, should monitor their respective managers through the structural buffer of a clear set of detailed topical policies (finance, environment, staff treatment, etc.), on which management then submits written monthly reports. As they grew larger, many food co-ops found that the temptation for individual board members to assume a direct management role in day-to-day operations was destructive, and that Carver’s model offered a clear roadmap to a better destination.
East End Food Co-op is no different from other food co-ops in gradually adapting this system to our needs here in Pittsburgh. Effectively and intelligently navigating the boundary
between too much and too little board involvement on pressing store matters is an inherent challenge for a business such as ours, founded on cooperative principles. Riding herd on the rightness of policy language, and on the quality of the reporting that it generates, is hard, sometimes counter-intuitive work, and it takes individual board member commitment and practice to get the hang of it.
BOARD ELECTIONS
We elected the following slate of officers at the retreat:
President - Tom Pandaleon
Vice President - Nick Leise
Secretary - Michael Vogel
Treasurer - Frank Noll
We regret to announce the resignation of board member Tziporah Feldman.
BOARD COMPENSATION
We next turned to the issues of board member retention, compensation, and our annual board budget. Over the course of the last few years, the board’s work has increased. In 2023 and 2024, questions around expansion generally, and with regard to the evaluation of particular real estate opportunities, placed new time demands on board members. More recently, with the member boycott and referendum petition, and its Special Meeting, board members have been at times in almost constant contact with each other, hammering out next steps and the relevant communications to our membership.
In addition, board recruitment and retention, which are ongoing challenges, have prompted discussion on this and previous boards regarding whether upgrades to our board stipend and discount benefits make sense. These, and other matters, were part of the mix discussed at the retreat, and deliberation is ongoing.
BOARD COMMITTEES
At present, the board oversees three committees—Finance, Board Perpetuation and Elections, and Member-Owner Participation.
The Finance committee, which consists of management and board members, meets quarterly in the months when we will be receiving our Policy B-1 “Financial Conditions and Activities” report. That committee takes a preliminary look at the report and identifies areas for board discussion at the monthly board meeting.
The Board Perpetuation and Elections committee deals mainly with our annual board election, and is responsible for overseeing the recruitment period before the election opens, as well as monitoring the election while it takes place, and completing the work of tallying results and ushering new board members on board.
The Member Owner Participation committee likewise has board, management, and at-large member representation at present. During the past year, it has met monthly. The committee has traditionally overseen the Annual Meeting, and more recently has been the source of EEFC’s “Game Night” events.
Work needs to be done on our Board committees, and we brainstormed at the retreat a bit on whether or not to consolidate this already spare committee structure, and on recruitment of more at-large members. Determining leadership for each of the committees is a usual part of our annual retreat, which will be followed by board review and approval of committee charters. Members should expect news on these matters in the coming weeks.
For All Things Relating to the board...
Including meeting info, updates, elections, and committees, visit: eastendfood.coop/board-of-directors
The Next Generation of
By Tyler Kulp,
General Manager
16 students from Aliquippa High School, this spring’s cohort of the Youth Mobilizing as Agents of Community Transformation (YMPACT) Academy got their first taste of in-person cooperation during a tour of the East End Food Co-op.
TyPatillo, board president of the startup Aliquippa Food Co-op, reached out to East End Food Co-op in early 2025 to organize a “field trip” for his fellow board members, to tour the co-op and see firsthand the day-to-day retail operations of Pittsburgh’s only food co-op. Hoping to share that experience with more stakeholders in the Aliquippa community, the fledgling cooperative partnered with Ympact, a youth participatory action research project: meaning a project generated from the students - while having structure and guidance from adults to help them along.
Jeff Guerrero, the Co-op’s marketing manager, and I led the students and board members on tours of the retail floor of the Co-op. They spent time in the bulk department discussing reducing plastic, and other packaging waste. Our produce department was another highlight of the tour, especially the back-of-house area. Our store has no loading dock to receive deliveries. So like most co-ops, we have to find creative ways to get the work done in a smaller space. This got the students thinking about innovation, and how you don’t need to be a 40,000 square foot Giant Eagle to feed lots of people. Seeing all of the produce, including plenty of locally
grown items, sparked great questions about farmers/growers, food producers, and the other ways that co-ops prioritize supporting the local food system.
One of the tour highlights from the co-op’s perspective was hearing directly from the students about what foods they like to eat, and their household’s varying approaches to grocery shopping. Throughout the tour, the students were listening, engaged, and having a great time seeing the different brands our coop features. And making all of us very hungry!
After the tour concluded, the group relocated to the Co-op’s conference room for a lunch prepared by our Co-op’s café department. While everyone was enjoying house-made wraps, Waterloo seltzers, and Route 11 potato chips, I gave a presentation on the role of cooperatives in the food system, followed by more dialogue with the students, and the Aliquippa board. Discussion topics included the 7 Cooperative Principles, and the coop’s triple bottom line of people, planet, profits. Cooperative businesses keep significantly more dollars in their local economies, compared to national chains like Wal-Mart, or Aldi. This is not only a function of our business model but also
a conscious choice. We invest in higher wages and benefits for staff members and prioritizing local businesses. Coops steward the environment through composting, and reducing waste. Through our cooperative principles, we help other co-ops by sharing knowledge and resources to foster communities that we want to live in, work in, shop in.
Corporations have no ethics, only profit to pursue. We at the East End Food Co-op are so fortunate to have a 45+ year foundation on which to continue to build upon. We have a reputation, formed over decades, as being a quality source of natural, organic foods, and for solid, rewarding retail jobs in Pittsburgh. I take the responsibility seriously to share knowledge with the next generation of cooperators, the Ympact students. We strive to assist the Aliquippa Food Coop board in any way possible so they can realize their community’s vision of a cooperative business. We hope to once again welcome the next cohort of the Ympact Academy, and any other Pennsylvania, or regional start-up coops.
Thank you to Ty Patillo, Aliquippa Food Co-op board president, and Betsy Van Noy, Penn State University Dept. of Nutritional Sciences, for making this day very special, and memorable for everyone at East End Food Co-op.
Support local charities
Supporting Casa San José
Throughout the year, East End Food Co-op shoppers can make a meaningful difference simply by rounding up at the register. This quarter’s Register Round Up recipient is Casa San José, a local nonprofit dedicated to connecting, supporting, and advocating with and for the Latino community across the Pittsburgh region.
VegFair and VegFest are free annual events that promote health, compassion, and community.
Plant-Powered Festivals Return
Casa San José works to build a community that celebrates culture, welcomes immigrants, and upholds inclusion, dignity, and respect. Their impact is felt every day through free services that include case management, youth and mental health programs, support for pregnant mothers, continuing education opportunities, and legal clinics. In addition to direct services, the organization plays an active role in advocacy efforts that elevate the voices and needs of Latino residents throughout our region.
Participating is easy — just ask your cashier to “round up” your purchase to the nearest dollar, and the spare change will be donated to Casa San José. Those small amounts add up quickly, as Co-op shoppers have given back over $200,000 to area non-profits since 2013!
Want to give more? You’re always welcome to donate beyond the round-up amount at the register. You can also make a direct contribution anytime by visiting www.casasanjose.org
Pittsburgh’s vibrant vegan community has two exciting reasons to celebrate this year, thanks to the passionate organizers at Justice for Animals (JFA). Founders Leila and Natalie first met at a protest against animal cruelty in circuses and quickly bonded over their shared commitment to compassion. That friendship grew into a nonprofit—and into VegFest, a joyful outdoor celebration designed to raise awareness of animal welfare issues in a fun, family-friendly way.
From the beginning, VegFest brought together the best of Pittsburgh’s small businesses, standout vegan food vendors, and local animal advocacy groups, alongside live music, yoga, and sustainable living resources. The inaugural event drew nearly 5,000 attendees, revealing a strong community appetite for an uplifting, inclusive gathering centered on health, ethics, and environmental stewardship in Pittsburgh.
Building on that success, JFA launched VegFair—an indoor, springtime companion to the summer festival. Now in its third year, VegFair will take place Saturday, April 18, 2026, at Rockwell Park. Conveniently located across the street from East End Food Coop, the event runs from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. Attendees can expect delicious plantbased foods, unique vendors, educational exhibits, and activities for all ages.
Later in the season, VegFest returns for its 12th year on Saturday, August 1 in Northside, continuing its tradition as one of the region’s largest celebrations of compassionate living.
East End Food Co-op is proud to sponsor these welcoming, communityfocused events that highlight healthy lifestyles, support local entrepreneurs, and benefit area nonprofits. Learn more at www.pittsburghvegfest.org and mark your calendar for two inspiring days of food, fun, and positive change.
2% discount on all daily purchases 10% quarterly discount on one transaction
Save up to 20% on cases via special order The opportunity to run for the board Voting privileges in Co-op elections
Access to the EEFC Federal Credit Union And more!