Postings
Q: Hi! I was wondering if there was a space to hang a flyer for a group meet and greet? Thanks for your time!
A: Yes, we do have a public posting board in the East foyer. It is the one located to the right as you walk into the store just beyond the back side of the ATM. We have a couple requirements for posting and these guidelines are posted on the board in the right hand corner. They are as follows, please write the date on the flyer that you are putting up, we keep flyers up for one month or until the date of the event. Please do not cover any other poster, there should be plenty of room as there are not that many events happening currently. Feel free to stop in and post, there are push pins available on the shelf right by the board. Thanks for reaching out, I hope this message finds you well. -Amanda Ikens, Owner Resources Coordinator—East
Non-alcoholic beverages
Q: Many places are beginning to grow their non-alcoholic beverage selection as more people are consciously choosing to drink less, or eliminate alcohol all together. It would be great if the coop could offer more options, and consider making a small section in the wine/beer area for these items so they are easier to find. I know you have a few NA beers which are great and I do buy. I am wondering if you would consider brining in a few de-alcoholized wine options such as Ariel cabernet or Be Well cabernet and a few other varieties (white, merlot, etc). Thanks so much for your consideration!
A: Thank you for your comments! I can see your point. There are more people looking for non-alcoholic options these days. I am not sure we have the labor to accommodate a product set change in the beer and wine section right now, but I am going to share your idea with the Grocery Manager at Willy West and our Product Placement Manager to get their thoughts.
I will also look for some non-alcoholic wine options for Willy West. I appreciate you mentioning a couple of brands!! I am hopeful that our wine vendors will have something that will work well. Have an excellent afternoon! -Dean Kallas, Grocery Category Manager
Board meetings
Q: Are the board meetings being held in person or on a web-based meeting platform? And is an agenda for this month's board meeting available on the website?
A: Since the outbreak of COVID-19 early last year, we have suspended the practice of meeting in person and all Board meetings have been held via virtual meeting platforms in order to protect the safety of our Board members, staff, and Owners. At this time, I am afraid we have no plans to resume in-person meetings any time soon.
The Board's meeting schedule is updated each month in the Reader and is also posted on the calendar page of our website. The website calendar also includes a hyperlink and call-in information necessary to connect to the meetings virtually. We also post the agenda for the meeting on the calendar event one week prior to the meeting. -Ben Becker, Executive Assistant
Freshly ground nut butters
Q: Hi, I noticed you are able to bring freshly ground peanut butter to the East store (where I normally shop). Is it possible to bring back freshly ground almond butter as well? I miss the days of bulk fresh ground almond butter! The pre packaged brands just don't compare. Some of them have palm oil or salt or other added sweeteners, and it's so hard to find a brand that is just plain almonds.
A: Thank you for your comments and questions! I hear you about missing the freshly ground almond butter. It is one of my favorites. Unfortunately we are not able to bring it back at this time. We brought back the peanut butter because the demand for it is huge, and we had the time and labor to make and package one freshly ground nut butter at our Production Kitchen. It was a difficult decision and I am sorry the fresh almond butter didn't make it back into the stores.
I am hopeful that in the near future we will be able to have our customers start using the nut butter grinders again. Bulk had been a challenge with the pandemic. Have a great week! -Dean Kallas, Grocery Category Manager
Plastic bag recycling
Q: Do you have a plastic bag recycling program? I realize that the City of Madison used to (still does?) allow bags in their recycle bins. However, I live in an apartment and the garbage collection service explicitly said that they do not accept plastic bags in their recycling. If you do have this service, I assume the bags should be bundled within larger recyclable plastic bags, or are paper grocery bags acceptable?
A: This email is in response to your question you submitted on 2/12/21 asking about plastic bag recycling. Unfortunately, due to space limitations and not having the labor resources to devote to such a service, Willy Street Co-op does not accept plastic shopping bags for recycling.
There are several retail locations listed for plastic bag recycling on the City of Madison Streets and Recycling website. The City also suggests these options for reusing/ recycling plastic shopping bags:
• Donate plastic grocery bags to food pantries: Centro Hispano: 810 W. Badger Rd. 608-255-8471; St. Vincent DePaul: 1309 Culmen St. 608-257-0919; Goodman-Atwood Community Center: 149 Waubesa St .608-241-1574
• City of Madison self-service drop-off centers: East: 4602 Sycamore Avenue; West/South: 1501 W. Badger Rd.
• You may also want to check with some of the other area food pantries that we support to see if they might be interested in plastic bag donations: The WilMar Center. 953 Jenifer St. 608-257-4567. Lussier: 55 S. Gammon 608-833-4979; The River 2201 Darwin Rd. 608-442-8815
-Jim Jirous, Facilities Director
Plastics
Q: Now that we know that COVID is an airborne virus, please reduce the use of plastics. Our environment cannot afford to continue its reliance on fossil fuels and there is not enough of a demand for recycling plastics. If the Coop chooses to buy products from vendors in plastics, please ask them to use containers that are made from recycled plastic at least. As I visit Coops in Minnesota, I see that less plastic is used, especially in the produce department. Herbs for instance are not packaged. Mushrooms do not need to be packaged. The Coop needs to give push back to distributors to shift their practices. Please, please be more environmentally friendly.
A: Thanks for the feedback! It is absolutely true that with the onset of the pandemic, plastic packaging has had a resurgence in our stores.
There are some areas of the store that we can't do a lot about due to current regulations—for example, we aren't able to bring back bulk mushrooms, salads, or some other bulk products because we would need to provide tongs or scoops for customer use, and this practice is prohibited by Public Health of Dane County. That said, I think you are absolutely right that it is time to start pushing back on the use of plastic where we can.
The one thing that I think will make this more difficult and drawn out than we might like is the fact that because sustainable packaging and packaging in general is in such demand right now, sustainable packaging is in a situation of very low supply and high price. As an organization dedicated to both a sustainable future and access to good food for all, we have to be constantly balancing the drive to eliminate plastic with the need to ensure that our products are priced as accessibly as possible.
That said, if we don't push for reduced plastic in our stores, it will never happen, and I am committed to pushing! :) Thanks so much. -Megan Minnick, Purchasing Director
Takis
Q: im 9 years old my favorite snack is takis and my mom always go›s to your store but you don’t sell takis so i asked my mom if you guys selled takis she would buy them and she said yes so im asking can you pleeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaassssssse sell takis thank you
A: Thank you so much for taking the time to let us know what kind of snack you want to see sold at the Co-op. It is important for our customers and in this case their kiddos to let us know what they want to buy from the store. We want to bring in items that the shoppers want. That does not mean that we will always be able to bring in the items that are requested. Like in this case, we checked with our distributors to see if they have the Takis available. We purchase all of our items that we sell in the store from different distributors and they deliver them to the store. But what we found is that the distributors that we use do not have Takis available. So I am guessing that other stores that carry Takis must use different distributors than we do.
I am sorry to let you know that we cannot get Takis in the store for your Mom to buy. But again, I am really happy that you let us know what you want to see in the store. -Amanda Ikens, Owner Resources Coordinator—East
Quelle horreur
Q: Bonjour, I am not sure where you obtained your images for the front cover for Andy Gricevich's "Fast & Slow" article on page 18 but the French definite articles on 3 of the 4 images were incorrect. Quelle horreur!
The correct French is: La cocotte-minute; La mijoteuse; Les haricots; Vive la France!
A: Quelle horreur indeed! Thank you for letting us know. This is a good lesson for us to make sure we have someone who speaks the language proof before going to print. I appreciate that you took the time to write in and let me know. I'll be more careful in the future. Take care, Liz Wermcrantz, Editor