“And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been.” -Rainer Maria Rilke
Our first Wellness Wednesday (Willy Street Co-op Owners get 10 percent off all wellness and bodycare items) of the new year falls on January 4th; plan ahead for deeper savings on products to help you with your New Year’s resolutions. And, if you are looking for ways to eat better, see page 16.
WILLY NORTH UPDATE
We have added many new changes to our operation in the last few months since opening Willy North in mid-August. Willy North now offers hundreds of new products thanks to requests we have received from customers. If you have a favorite we don’t currently stock, please fill out a customer comment in one of our stores, or submit through ourwebsite at willystreet.coop/contact.
We began accepting WIC (Women Infants and Children) at Willy North, and have launched the Double Dollars program at all three retails as long as grant funds remain or through mid-March. Every Tuesday customers using their FoodShare/QUEST card to purchase groceries can receive up to $20 worth of Double Dollars coupons. Coupons can be redeemed any day in any amount. To learn more about this program, check out Kirsten Moore’s October article, available at online at willystreet.coop/double dollars.
Your Co-op has hundreds of new Owners since opening Willy North. We now have over 34,400 Owners and we are adding more all the time. Anyone can become an Owner—a single Fair Share is $58, which can be paid in one installment or over as many as seven years. Fair Share is an equity contribution to the Co-op, which is just one way we are able to finance expansions or maintain operating cash.
If you qualify for a financial assistance program, you may qualify for your Access Discount Program, and gain Ownership for only $4 a year. For more information, see willystreet. coop/ownership or stop at the Customer Service desk in the store.
OWNERSHIP REFERRAL PROGRAM
Have you heard about our Owner Referral program? If you have friends or family that aren’t yet Co-op Owners that you think would like to try us out, when they signup for Ownership, they can mention your name and you will receive a $25 gift card.
NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE FROM…
Yard signs that say “No matter where you are from, we’re glad you’re our neighbor” in English, Spanish, and Arabic are now available at each of our retail stores. It has been a long time since we have sold yard signs. That said, we have long been supporters of providing an outlet to take non-partisan and secular action. We opted to sell these signs because they had a message that is in line with the Cooperative Principles, benefits the entire community, and is not politically partisan. Signs are $10 and benefit FairShare CSA Coalition.
MID-FISCAL YEAR UPDATE
We are six months into Fiscal Year 2017; six months to go. Sales are slightly under budget for the year. Willy North is meeting budgeted sales; however at Willy East and Willy West, sales are down slightly. Whichever of our stores you chose to shop, East, North or West, your purchases contribute to our overall continued success.
In the coming weeks and months, you will see a few new pieces of equipment at each of our stores that will support sales or improve efficiencies. Willy East will soon have a rotisserie oven and hot case merchandiser in the Deli department; Willy West will have a new hot case merchandiser in their Deli; and Willy North will have a new refrigerated case for Willy Pack (repacked bulk items) and refrigerated bakery. Willy West Produce will get a refreshed look with new shelving, and more/ brighter lighting in the department. Outside seating at Willy North will happen later in the spring once the snow melts.
A few behind-the-scenes items include new recipe costing software to support the Production Kitchen, and also financial software to support more streamlined processes for the Finance department.
ANNUAL REPORT
By now you should have received your Willy Street Co-op Annual Report, which was delivered mid- December. I hope you were as excited as I was to read about our many successes in our last fiscal year.
CHIP
Chip—not the Community CHIP—but finally, your Co-op is EVM chip-reader ready! See related article on page 10.
Until next month, stay bundled up!
NEW YEAR’S EVE: CLOSING AT OUR CUSTOMARY 9:30PM
NEW YEAR’S DAY: ALL LOCATIONS CLOSED