Rotten Radishes
Q: I was cutting up the red radishes that I bought on Monday tonight, and thought you might want to know that probably half of them had black stripes over a large portion of the inside. Not sure if that meant they were bad, but that would have been my guess, so I cut them out.
A: Thanks so much for the comment! I'm so sorry your radishes had blemishes on the inside. These kinds of things can be really hard to detect on our end, since you really have to cut them open in order to see the issue.
You are more than welcome to stop in at the Customer Service desk during your next shopping trip and collect a refund for these. I will alert the Produce teams at all of our stores so they can be on the lookout for this issue. We're at the tail end of the local season right now. If the issue is pervasive, we may need to switch into non-local radishes earlier than we thought. Thanks again! -Megan Minnick, Purchasing Director
Back to Bulk
Q: Hi! I read in the October Reader, in the “Coming Back to Bulk” feature, that “it is becoming harder and harder for us to justify continuing to offer the number of [Bulk] items we’ve historically carried.” Our family actually joined the Coop this summer because of the bulk bins! I’m grateful to have a nearby option with such an extensive bulk selection, so that I can reduce our packaging waste for staples such as rice, lentils, beans, oats, coffee, spices, and even oil and liquid sweeteners. I understand if there are financial realities that necessitate downsizing the bulk section; I just wanted you to know we appreciate it for now! Thanks!
A: Thank you for your comments about shopping Bulk. I appreciate your perspective and words of encouragement. I am happy to hear you joined Willy Street Co-op because of our Bulk offerings. Many people are looking for ways to reduce their footprint, and shopping in Bulk is a great way to do this, while reducing your costs of grocery shopping. Thank you for reaching out and letting us know how much you appreciate it! -Dean Kallas, Grocery Category Manager
Owner Numbers
Q: Hello! I just received an automatic email about a purchase someone else made today using my owner number. It was not charged onto a credit card I have, and most likely was just a mis-entered owner number by the cashier, but wanted to let you know, in case there is a bigger issue. Thanks!
A: Thank you for letting us know that this happened. In all likelihood you are correct that your number was just mistakenly entered at the register. If you continue to see this happening please let me know and I can issue you a new Owner number if it seems your account has been compromised. Have a great day! -Rosalyn Murphy, Owner Records Administrator
Taxable Tea
Q: Per State of Wisconsin Pub 220 https://www.revenue.wi.gov/DOR%20Publications/pb220.pdf (see pages 16 & 17) coffee beans and tea bags are not taxable items in the state of Wisconsin. I have been charged sales tax on my tea bag purchases at the COOP for several years. Why?
A: Teas are tricky! Some of the teas we sell meet the state’s definition of a “Dietary Supplement” and therefore are subject to sales tax. If the tea has a “Supplement Facts” panel it is considered a supplement and tax is charged. If the tea has a “Nutritional Facts” panel it is considered food and is exempt from sales tax.
If you look on page 16 of the document you referenced, the following is mentioned before the table listing the exemptions: “The following examples of food and food ingredients are exempt from Wisconsin sales tax, provided they do not meet the definition of “candy,” “dietary supplements,” “soft drinks,” or “prepared foods.” Pg. 10 lists the state's definition of dietary supplements.
If you still have one of the teas you purchased you can check to see if it has a nutritional facts or supplement facts panel. If it has a nutritional facts panel and you were charged tax, that would definitely be an error on our part! Please let us know if that’s the case and we can update our records. If you have teas you purchased previously that you would like us to check for you, let us know!
I hope that this explains why we charge tax on certain teas. Let me know if you need any additional information. Thanks, -Matt McHugh, Logistics Director
Great British Bake Off
Q: Just when I thought I couldn't love my co-op more... I found Scharr GF pastry sheets in the freezer section! I am a big Great British Bake Off fan, and I've been jealous of puff pastry bakes on the show for years. Tried to make it myself, but it's truly not that good. These baked up all puffy and perfect. THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH.
A: What a fun cheerful comment to read from you. Thanks for taking the time to send it on to us. I will be sure to post your comment for all staff to read and enjoy. It is great to know that the Co-op carries a product that really meets your needs. Also, I too share your enthusiasm for the Great British Bake Off! Cheers to baking! -Katie O’Connell-Jones, Owner Resources Coordinator—West
Order Online
Q: I would like to order online for delivery or curbside pickup.
A: Our online shopping options can be found on our website at www.willystreet.coop/pages/curbside. You can also find this by going to the homepage on our website and clicking the purple box in the upper right corner that says "order online." Please let us know if you need further assistance. Thanks for thinking of us and have a great weekend! -Kirsten Moore, Cooperative Services Director
Onion Recall
Q: Hello, I just saw that onions through ProSource Produce have been recalled. I don't have a sticker on my onion to see the source. Can you let me know if it is possible that the red onion I purchased at your East store on 10/17 could possibly be from this source. Thank you.
A: Thanks for reaching out! I'm happy to report that all of the onions we've sold at Willy East since mid-September are locally grown in Hillsboro, WI, so there's no chance at all that they are part of the recall. Have a great day! -Megan Minnick, Purchasing Director
Sally the Salad Machine
Q: On a recent trip out of town, we stopped at the East Co-op to experience the elusive Sally the Salad Machine. A number of shoppers stopped in awe as we watched the swirl of kale, croutons, diced carrots, and quinoa become a bowl of magical sunshine! (Minus the cherry tomatoes–which were still shriveled, flavorless, and appeared to be expired) We grabbed the sought-after Red Curry Tofu wrap, and agreed it was better with each bite. A few questions out of curiosity: Will the Sally the Salad Machine change on a regular basis to include different and/or more ingredients? Will there be an option for dressing on the side? And that tofu wrap—while quite tasty, nearly $7 for such a small sandwich seems a bit pricey. The wrap we selected was merely a snack. Thanks for taking the time to answer.
A: Thanks for reaching out with your questions about Sally and the RCT Wrap.
In regards to Sally, we have been noting a few problems with the cherry tomatoes, and are working to resolve those issues. Sorry you had a bad experience with that ingredient. The dressing is unable to be provided on the side at the moment; the machine doesn't have that capability. We are planning on getting a salad bar back at east; once that happens folks will be able to snag dressings from the bar.
In regards to the cost of our tofu wrap, we have seen prices go up across the board this year. It's been challenging to keep prices low and still uphold our ingredient and quality standards. The tofu in the wrap is hand-produced in Milwaukee by the Simple Soyman, the tortillas have super clean ingredients and are organic, and the produce in that wrap is all local (when possible) and all of it is organic. Unfortunately when our costs on these products go up, we have to pass that on to the consumer. We have not changed our pricing structure, we're merely keeping up with the market.
Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns, and thanks for supporting the prepared foods program at Willy Street Co-op! Best Wishes, Dustin Skelley. Prepared Foods Category Manager
Soup Reconstitution
Q: Hello! Do you have the reconstitution instructions for the bulk soup mix online?
A: Thank you for your question. I am sorry but we do not have the preparation instructions for making the bulk soup mixes on our website. I am not sure which bulk soup mix you purchased, but North Bay Trading has instructions for their soup mixes on their website under each product's cooking tips: www.northbaytrading.com/soup. Just click on the product and the instructions are on a tab a bit lower on the page, by the product descriptions and customer reviews. The Taste Adventure soup mix instructions are a little bit harder to find. Here are the instructions for their: split pea (www.pccmarkets.com/product-info/bulk/taste-adventure-split-pea-soup-mix-370994/), and curry lentil (www.pccmarkets.com/product-info/bulk/taste-adventure-curry-lentil-soup-mix-370993/; scroll down and they are under preparation). I hope these help! Dean Kallas, Grocery Category Manager
Bulk Availablility
Q: My family joined the Co-op this past summer and we have appreciated the opportunities for bulk shopping. We had a couple of questions about the availability of certain items.
First, we like that we can find bulk laundry and dish detergent at the East location, but have been missing it at the West location (which is more convenient for us).
Second, we were wondering if bulk dried fruit will ever be available? We've seen it pre-packaged but think it would great to have in the bins.
A: Thank you for your questions and comments. I appreciate you letting us know what you are looking for in bulk at Willy West, and thank you so much for joining the Willy Street Co-op.
I will mention your interest in us carrying bulk laundry liquid and dish liquid at Willy West to our Grocery Manager. Our pricing on them does not work out as well as we would like, because both of the bulk products come from a vendor that we only order these two products from. We have received complaints that both are more expensive than their packaged counterparts, so I think this makes our Grocery Manager hesitant to want to carry them.
We do not stock dried fruit in bulk bins because it has the tendency to get mushy when exposed to air and the fruits start to become like a paste when they are crushed together. In the summer, a bulk fruit bin would become a fruit fly nightmare. I am sorry but the loss on the product would be too great for us to offer it that way. Great question! -Dean Kallas, Grocery Category Manager
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Q: I recently bought a box of your vegan chocolate chip cookies and they were different than the ones that we are used to, back when they came in a bag. The old crumbly salty ones were so amazing! What happened??! Please don’t say they’re gone!!!
A: Thanks for reaching out about our vegan chocolate chip cookies. The only change that has been made to the cookies recently is that we started using flour that was grown and milled in Wisconsin from Meadowlark Organics. We used to use flour that was grown and milled in Kansas. We made this change back in September across the board with our prepared foods; it's a really cool opportunity to support a local, family-owned farm. If you want a little more info on Meadowlark Farms, here's a link to their website: www.meadowlarkorganics.com/our-farm-1!
We did change packaging as well, but that is only a temporary change. The cookies will come in bags as soon as we get them back in stock Packaging has been really challenging to source this year with all the supply chain disruptions. We've had the packaging on order for almost a month and we're just waiting for it to show up.
Please let me know if you have any additional questions or concerns! Best Wishes, Dustin Skelley, Prepared Foods Category Manager
Plastic-Free Products
Q: Please carry more plastic-free products. For example, I cringe every time I buy blueberries and blackberries. Prior to the ’90s they came in cardboard containers, rather than plastics.
Also, there are many selfcare and home products that could come in bamboo: https://thesustainabletomorrow.com/
Also, please separate Vegan chips from those that contain Dairy. Many of your products contain hidden Dairy.
***Note that Dairy is one of the largest contributors to Methane in the atmosphere.
Methane has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over the first 20 years after it reaches the atmosphere.
Many of us are trying to refrain from consuming dairy to save the planet, yet many of your products contain hidden dairy ("casein" "whey" in chips). Please carry more non-dairy products.
A: Thanks for the comment! We do look for plastic-free packaging whenever we can, but unfortunately, the food industry has not been as quick to eliminate plastic as we might like.
Unfortunately, fresh blueberries and blackberries are not available to us in cardboard or other non-plastic packaging. Many large produce firms are currently experimenting with non-plastic clamshell packaging for berries and other items, but this type of packaging is still quite rare, and so far limited to strawberries, grape tomatoes, and a few other commodities.
On the bright side, we do work with some local growers who are very interested in reducing plastic in their packaging. I'm not sure if you've noticed the locally grown 3lb bags of onions in paper bags that we're currently carrying? These are from New Traditions Homestead, and that farmer has been extremely proactive about plastic reduction in his products. We will also have a new 3lb bag of local potatoes from Driftless Organics on our shelves within a week or so that are packaged in a paper bag.
Regarding chip merchandising, we don't unfortunately have the capacity to monitor all ingredient lists of the products we sell regularly enough to guarantee that a particular section conforms to a dietary preference like dairy-free. Additionally, a lot of customers prefer to shop by brand, and/or by type of chip. Your best bet is always to read ingredient lists to make sure that the products you purchase don't contain any ingredients that you're hoping to avoid.
Thanks again for the comment. Have a wonderful day! Best, Megan Minnick, Purchasing Director
Lactose-Free Chocolate
Q: Hi guys, my mother has developed a lactose issue. And she adores chocolate. Wondering if you have any dairy free chocolate? I’m not even sure if that is a thing, but if it is I figured you might have some. Let me know?
A: Thank you for your comments and your questions. Many of the dark chocolate bars we carry do not have dairy ingredients in them. They will normally say 55% cacao on the outside of their wrappers, or even have a higher cacao percentage in them. Please make sure to read their ingredients for good measure, and beware anything with caramel in it, since they usually use dairy to make it.
Some of the brands I would look at are: Alter Eco, Beyond Good, Chocolove, Cocomels (these are made with coconut milk, and are dairy-free, but they taste like the real thing with a bit of a coconut aftertaste), Endangered Species, and Theo. I hope you find what you are looking for! -Dean Kallas, Grocery Category Manager
Mrs. Clark’s
Q: For decades my family has been buying Mrs. Clark's mayonnaise from the Willy Street Co-op. It is the best mayonnaise. It now appears that the coop is no longer carrying Mrs. Clark's. Is that, indeed, the case, and, if so, can it be remedied? Thanks.
A: Thank you for your comments and question! At first I heard that our distributor could no longer get it from them. Then I heard that Mrs. Clark's is not currently producing it. I do not think I have the full picture, but I am hopeful that we will be able to get it back on the shelf again soon.
To be honest, the supply chains for many food manufacturers have not been as solid as we would like them to be, and this has led to a lot of disruption in what we have available. I am sorry we do not have it in stock for you. -Dean Kallas, Grocery Category Manager