Compost Bins
I noticed the Food Compost bins at the back of the University Avenue WSC location. I called to ask if WSC Owners were allowed to use the bins. I learned that Dane County residents can drop off food waste at several sites. The link is below:
https://landfill.danecounty.gov/compost
The link to the announcement:
https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Recycling/Compost.html
Please share with members and patrons of WSC?
Thanks for your email! While customers are not able to drop off food scraps from home at our stores, the Dane County drop-offs do provide great options! We did share information about them on social media and our website last month, and we’ll likely post on social media again in the next few months. We’ll also fit it into the newsletter as we’re able. Thanks for suggesting that we help get the word out—we agree that this is the kind of thing our Owners would like to hear about! -Brendon Smith, Marketing & Communications Director
Plastics in Detergents
I’ve been looking for information about the dissolving plastic substrate of laundry sheets, like Tru-Earth ecosheets. Microplastics and their persistence in the environment is alarming me, but consuming resources to truck around plastics jugs of products composed primarily of water, like liquid detergents has long seemed foolish to me. I’m torn about my impact between purchasing a plastic jug filled mostly with water, or a plastic sheet that may or may not decompose or degrade effectively. Can you help me and other members with insights?
Thank you for reaching out about this important topic. I share your concerns about the plastic in laundry sheets and the plastic jugs used for laundry liquid. Most laundry liquids are more concentrated than they were in the past, so they contain much less water, but they are heavy to ship. I would recommend using laundry powder, since it normally comes in cardboard boxes. I know some folks do not like laundry powder, but using it is a great way to cut back on contributing to the plastic problem. -Dean Kallas, Grocery Category Manager
Co-op Pie Crusts
I miss your pie crusts SO MUCH. There is no pie crust anywhere that compares. I know you stopped making them because your sheeter broke- would you please consider buying a new sheeter and bringing back your amazing pie crusts (and the other amazing things you made with your sheeter).
We do have a working sheeter and it is getting plenty of use with the pie crusts and empanada pockets we have in regular production! We use the same recipe as always and make them with local flour and butter. We use our crusts for our dessert pies, pot pies, and quiche. We also sell them as a 2-pack (for $6.99) in the freezer sections at East and West (currently North isn’t carrying this, but definitely will when we get closer to fall). -Nicholas OConnor, Prepared Foods & Cheese Category Manager
Sliced Meat & Cheese
Please, can you go back to having a regular deli counter for slicing meat and cheese? You have a great selection but this model limits choice in slice thickness and I worry increases waste. How much waste does this model have?
Thank you for filling out a customer comment. I’m glad you enjoy the Deli’s selection of sliced meats and cheeses. Years ago, when we had to stop slicing deli meats and cheeses to order, we all thought for sure that it would be back sooner than later. It was a popular model for us for a number of years. Much to our surprise, however, the pre-sliced packaged deli meats and cheeses very quickly proved to be quite a bit more popular than our sliced-to-order had ever been. With the increased sales we have seen, and other structural changes that have occurred in the deli over the past handful of years, I don’t have any plans to go back to a more full-service model any time soon. I wouldn’t say never but not anytime soon. Regarding your concerns about increased waste, we really aren’t seeing too much. We run a pretty tight ship and try to only slice what we think we will need a day at a time. We monitor our numbers and movement and are quick to make adjustments when needed. We sometimes have a little too much and sometimes not quite enough, but usually we’re just about right. So, as long as we keep on our toes we don’t generate much more waste than we did slicing to order. Thank you again for your feedback. -Bob Smith, Willy East Deli Manager
Michele’s Granola
Just wanted to let you know how happy I am that you have started to carry Michele’s granola from Maryland. I’m a huge fan, but refused to shop at Bezos-owned Whole Foods to buy it. Now I can purchase it in good conscience.
That is so great to hear! We were excited to be able to add Michele’s Granola to our shelves and it appears you are not the only one to like the Granola, it is doing quite well. Thank you again for reaching out. -Jason Zabinski, Willy East Grocery Manager
Bulk Preorder Discount
Can members order and pick up bulk items for a lower price? For example, 25 pounds of organic yellow popcorn and 25 pounds of organic walnuts (halves and pieces)? Thank you.
Thank you for your inquiry! Owners can indeed receive 10% off when they pre-order cases of items, and bags of bulk product are a very good example of that. The yellow popcorn “case” size and the walnut halves and pieces “case” size are both 25 lb bags. If you would like to place a pre-order for these or other products, you can call the Willy Street Co-op store location you wish to pick up from or stop by the Customer Service desk and we will place the order, then contact you when the items have arrived. FYI, East carries both organic and conventional walnut halves and pieces. -Kjerstin Bell, Willy East Customer Service
Good Culture Cottage Cheese
Hello – in late April or early May, we purchased a container of Good Culture cottage cheese at the West store (where we always shop), The cottage cheese was excellent, and when we looked for it on subsequent shopping trips (May 30 and June 17) it was not available. Do you intend to continue carrying Good Culture products (we hope so)? Thank you and keep up the good work.
Thanks for taking the time to reach out to us with your question. We currently carry 3 varieties of Good Culture cottage cheese at our location. Since this is one that you haven’t seen here for awhile, my guess is that you are interested in purchasing the Lactose Free variety. That said, I spoke with our Refrigerated Buyer and it sounds like we should be able to get this back on our shelves. We are currently experiencing some inventory issues with our distributor, but we will try to get this in as soon as possible. -Dave Andrews, Willy West Grocery Manager
Nixie Cola
The Nixie cola is really good but only comes in singles in the cooler. Would like to see this on the shelves with the other Nixie products.
Unfortunately, the cola from Nixie only comes in a flat to be sold as singles. It doesn’t come in any multipack at the moment so it’s only home for now will be in the cooler. If they ever do start making 4, 6, or 8 packs of it I’ll look for a shelf location. -Nate Groth, Willy North Grocery Manager
Apeel
Do you currently or will you in the future carry produce treated with Apeel in any or your stores?
Currently, we do not offer any organic produce items with the Apeel coating. Will we in the future…I don’t know. There hasn’t been a lot of interest in the organic agriculture sector for Apeel, primarily because of cost and backlash. If in the future that changes, we’ll likely make decisions on a product by product basis. -Andy Johnston, Produce Category Manager
Purslane
I came across an article about the health benefits of “purslane” – sometimes talked about as a common weed, but with historical use in many different cultures because of it’s beneficial nutritional make-up.Here is UW’s reference for it: https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/common-purslane-portulaca-oleracea/
“In the US it can occasionally be found in specialty stores or at Farmer’s Markets.” Curious if any of your stores have it, or if it might be something procured for the future?
Oh, I’m plenty familiar with purslane: I’ve got plenty of it growing in my garden and in the cracks in my driveway and sidewalk! The Co-op’s Produce departments do not offer purslane, and it’s not an item the local growers we work with are offering. It’s been talked about, because they all have a lot of it, but generally there’s not much interest due to its “weed” status. Like nettle and fiddleheads, purslane is maybe better suited for a farmers’ market, but I don’t know that there is enough demand in the retail sector to incorporate into a farm’s production schedule. Thanks for the comment, and have a great day! -Andy Johnston, Produce Category Manager
Salad Bars
Love the Co-op. Is it possible to get a salad bar at this (West) location? I really appreciate the bars at East and North. Thank you
I appreciate you writing to us about what you’re looking for. We tried running a salad bar over on the west side years ago and it never really took off. We’d often end up “lossing” out as much or more than what we would sell. From a food waste perspective we just couldn’t keep it going. I apologize for the bad news, but know that you can still get packaged salad from the deli or bagged salad kits in produce. -Nicholas OConnor, Prepared Foods & Cheese Category Manager
