This oral history interview is an intimate conversation between two people, both of whom have generously agreed to share this recording with Oral History Summer School, and with you. Please listen in the spirit with which this was shared.

This interview is hereby made available for research purposes only. For additional uses (radio and other media, music, internet), please inquire about permissions.

All rights are reserved by Oral History Summer School.

Researchers will understand that:

  • Oral History Summer School abides by the General Principles & Best Practices for Oral History as agreed upon by the Oral History Association (2018) and expects that use of this material will be done with respect for these professional ethics.
  • Unless verbal patterns are germane to your scholarly work, when quoting from this material researchers are encouraged to correct the grammar and make other modifications maintaining the flavor of the narrator’s speech while editing the material for the standards of print.
  • All citations must be attributed to Oral History Summer School:
    Narrator’s Name, Oral history interview, YYYY, Oral History Summer School
I have read and agree to the terms listed above.
Library

Audrey Berman

June 16, 2019

|

Hudson, NY

Song

Recorded by

Darlene Stokes

This interview is available in-person only. Please get in touch if you would like to listen.
Is this your interview?
Click here to respond.
x
Summary:

On Sunday, June 16, 2019 an interview was conducted with Audrey Berman Solaris in Hudson, New York. Audrey lives in Germantown and works in Hudson and the county. They are the daughter and granddaughter of Jewish immigrants that came to this country as refugees from the former Soviet Union.  They were born shortly after her parents arrived in America. They went to college in New York City where they studied architecture.  They currently live in Germantown. In response to work they were doing around food access they started a mobile grocery story. In March 2019 they opened a brick and mortal servicing predominantly the residents of Hudson New York. They explained they liked working in nature, being outside is very healing. The store is a non-profit, co-workers are incredible human beings, family oriented, Food is essential to everyone life.

When asked to speak to their vision for the future they said we are working to create a large food hub, purchase or construct a building that is an aggregation and distribution center. They explained they are working to create community food hubs, purchase or construct a large scale building that will allow them to process in the facility, prepare food, grab and go, mildly process done with surplus or blemish food, service more people in different ways, create living wage jobs. Their finals comments were, I had a lot of questions when I was a kid. I’ve done a lot of work to figure out the answers to those question. When asked about support they said, I met a friend on Facebook, she’s my age, she has the same family immigrant story. It has been so beautiful to talk to her. We can be a support for each other. I love her. We are both queer, we came out late in life. I never felt so close to another human. We are working through the questions and the challenges we face.

This interview would be of interest to those who are interested in income inequality, food scarcity, agriculture, mobile grocery store, grocery store a with sliding scale prices coming out queer relationships

Themes:
Farming
,
Architecture
,
Letterbox Farm
,
Food
,
Non Profit Sector
,
Activism and Advocacy
,
LGBTQ+
,
Immigration
,
Local Business
,
Class
,
Jewish Culture
,
New York City
,
Interviewer Bio:
Darlene Stokes

Darlene Stokes is A Black feminist woman, retired educator who has worked as a teacher, professional staff developer and school administrator. She facilitates book discussions on professional and personal development. As an oral historian giving "ordinary" women a public platform to share their stories is her post retirement commitment.

Additional Info:
Interview language(s):
English
,
Audio quality:
Medium

Audio Quality Scale

Low - There is some background noise and the narrator is hard to hear.

Medium - There is background noise, but the narrator is audible.

High - There is little background noise and the narrator is audible.

Permissions: 

This interview is hereby made available for research purposes only. For additional uses (radio and other media, music, internet), please click here to inquire about permissions.

Part of this interview may be played in a radio broadcast or podcast.

Oral history is an iterative process. In keeping with oral history values of anti-fixity, interviewees will have an opportunity to add, annotate and reflect upon their lives and interviews in perpetuity. Talking back to the archive is a form of “shared authority.”

Is this your interview?
Click here
to leave updates or reflections on your life, your interview or your listening experience.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

© 2023 Oral History Summer School. All rights reserved.