by Kirsten Moore, Cooperative Services Director
Last month, we shared efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19. At deadline, the county issued a new order moving the community into preparations for a safe reopen. We’re reviewing changes made to our practices; deciding which changes to keep and which to transition as we turn the dial to post-quarantine times. We remain nimble and mindful, prioritizing the safety and needs of Owners and employees.
Four Phases of Recovery
Recovery plans are based on the four phases in the Public Health Madison and Dane County plan, Forward Dane, which outlines both the data the county is using to measure progress towards disease control; and the requirements in place for each reopening phase. Recovery relies on safety and community progress towards COVID-19 protection.
Phase One is a baby-step allowing for small gatherings and lifting the restrictions for grocery retailers in the county order. We are making minor changes in this phase while abiding by six-feet of social distancing whenever possible. In Phases Two and Three, larger gatherings and fuller business operations will be incrementally more acceptable. Social distancing will continue, with more services available. Phase Four is contingent on the community establishing means to protect from COVID-19. Then, business and full gatherings may resume with reasonable protective and preventative measures in place.
Phasing may take awhile; timing is unknown. We are prepared for a nonlinear recovery in which the community begins opening and then new data suggests a relapse, requiring us to scale back again.
Opening Earlier, Opening Hour for Seniors and Immunocompromised Remains
On May 26, we expanded open hours to 8am-8pm daily at Willy East and Willy West, and 9:00am-8:00pm daily at Willy North. North opens an hour later to support employees preparing online pickup and delivery orders. The program benefits from our ability to use every register to process orders in the early hours of the day. Opening earlier spreads out the amount of time available to shop while more people venture out of their homes. Hours continue to be shorter than pre-quarantine to allow time to stock shelves, tend to departments, and thoroughly clean at a social distance without customers present.
We currently continue reserving the first open hours of the day for seniors and shoppers with compromised immune systems of any age (8:00am-10:00am at East and West, and 9:00am-10:00am at North). Employees continue to monitor customer counts, and we are monitoring public health guidance for increasing or lifting customer capacity restrictions.
Phase One Recovery Guidelines
Employees maintain six feet of social distancing whenever possible, and we expect shoppers to do the same. Please remain mindful of your surroundings and other people when you shop. Abiding by the signs, markings on the floors, protective barriers, and our announcements protect employees and shoppers alike.
We continue wearing face coverings while working, unless individuals have health-related exemptions. We strongly encourage able shoppers to also wear a face covering to protect others from COVID-19. Employees also carry hand sanitizer on their person for support between hand washings, and some employees wear gloves when appropriate. When you shop our stores, please come with clean hands, and do your best to keep your hands as clean as possible while shopping. Please do not touch your face or face covering while shopping, unless you are able to take time to wash your hands.
We continue diligent cleaning routines, and are making permanent standards for new tasks assigned. As we re-open certain areas of the stores, new cleaning processes and best practices for those areas will be established.
Service Counters Making Comeback
Service counters are reopening! By press time, Meat counters will either be open or almost open, and the Juice and Coffee Bars will also be on their way to providing certain services. We anticipate Deli service counters will also open limited services soon. Products remain available for carry-out only; the Commons are closed. Social distancing signs and floor markers support shopping service counters safely. Please and thanks for following instructions provided.
Self-Service/Bulk Update
We are evaluating offering bulk items dispensed from gravity bins that do not require scoops, such as bulk coffee. We are also developing processes to offer bulk products that require scoops and tongs and considering alternative types of containers and dispensers when possible. We expect gradual re-opening of some bulk self-service areas of the stores in phase three of the Forward Dane plan when the county will again allow customer self-dispensing in stores that sell groceries and medicine.
Salad bars and hot bars remain closed; self-service depends on public health guidance and customer interest after Phases One, Two, and Three of the Forward Dane Plan.
Wellness, Access Discount, Product Ordering & Availability
Wellness Wednesday, Meat Sale Thursday, and Fish Sale Friday (North only) remain suspended. Another Any Day Wellness virtual coupon is available for 10% off Wellness items in June. Meat (and Seafood at North) promotions are offered through Owner Rewards sales.
The Access Discount increase from 10% to 20% runs through June 28 to assist shoppers with low income in social distancing and making larger shopping trips. We will not be able to sustain the increase in the next Fiscal Year starting June 29.
Pre-orders and special orders remain challenging due to limited availability of many items from our suppliers. Currently, we are able to offer pre-orders for Produce department products and bulk herbs and teas in the Wellness section only. No other pre-orders of products we carry, nor special orders of products available to us, are allowed. Meanwhile, we monitor supply levels, and continue to implement purchasing maximum limits on items that remain challenging to stock.
Reusable Bags & Containers, Carts & Baskets, Checking Out
Reusable bags and containers (except bulk water containers) remain prohibited. We hope to decide the future of reusable bags and containers in Phase Three.
Since cleaning wipes remain challenging to stock consistently for use in-store, we continue washing carts after every use, and are developing cleaning standards for the future. We discontinued shopping baskets because more frequent cleaning caused damage. We are making better plans for offering baskets again soon.
The Co-op continues preferring debit or credit transactions, limiting cash contact when possible. Register lanes and pin pads are cleaned frequently, with a goal to clean between every transaction. Plexiglass barriers remain at checkout lanes and the Customer Service desk, these may become permanent. Please respect barriers; do not reach around or step beyond them to talk with employees unless requested.
Online Shopping, Delivery and Pickup Services
Demand for pickup and delivery continues exceeding capacity. Every available inch of Willy North is full of orders to check-out and distribute, and we continue to improve efficiencies, service availability, and quality.
As we bring back services that were shut down, staffing needs to be reallocated to those offerings. Since many employees supporting delivery and pickup service were employed in these other areas, we must balance the demands of all services. Recently, we added a dedicated E-commerce Manager position, and look forward to hiring soon.
Online order pickup and curbside is available at all retail locations, and will remain long-term. Please call your store when you arrive, and we will bring orders to your vehicle. If you did not drive, we will put your order in a designated location to pick up when you call, and you may pick up without contact with our employees.
Veggie And Fruit Boxes Available
Order-ahead fruit and local veggie boxes are available for touchless pickup. Visit www.willystreet.coop/boxes for details. Four-week subscriptions are available monthly for $100 with weekly pickup days and times scheduled for each retail location.
Production Kitchen Returns
As we open service counters, and offer order-ahead boxes, we are partially re-opening our production kitchen for support. The kitchen will prepare a reduced catalog of offerings for prepared foods, and assist with packing fruit and local veggie boxes. We will continue to assess the capacity for production work on the road to the new normal.
Community Outreach
Classes, Community Room rentals, nonprofit and cooperative tabling outside the stores, Street Pulse vending, musicians playing, promotional events, and FoodShare outreach with Second Harvest has been suspended since March. Yet, concern for the community remains a priority. We have been working with local organizations whose cancelled events we planned to sponsor to see if we can support their current needs. 501(c)3 nonprofits and cooperatives may also continue requesting donations at www.willystreet.coop/community/charitable-giving#donation-requests.
Community Reinvestment Fund (CRF)
Owners leaving the Co-op may either withdraw their equity or abandon it to use for charitable causes by statute. The Board approves annual use to support the $25,000 CRF grant program, our $10,000 holiday giving drive for partner food pantries, and other local causes on a case-by-case basis.
The CRF committee delayed its decisions to fund nonprofits and cooperatives, as applications are due at the end of February, with awards made by May. Due to the pandemic’s timing, the Co-op first focused efforts on the impact to immediate operations, and then began the evaluation process. Evaluation included an opportunity for organizations on the short list for funding to report COVID-19 changes to their proposed projects before making final decisions. We are currently informing applicants of their funding status and will announce the winners in July. Organizations have until March 31, 2021 to complete projects (the deadline is usually December 31).
Co-op Matching Campaign Raised $20K for Local Food Programs
Two projects developed by the Dane County Farmers’ Market, FairShare CSA Coalition, and REAP Food Group challenged their individual donors to a 1:1 match up to $5,000 for each project from the Co-op’s abandoned equity. Both projects met the fundraising match by mid-May.
The Dane County Farmers’ Market and FairShare CSA Coalition Emergency Farmer Fund received $5,000 to assist member farms and food producers whose income has been severely impacted by COVID-19 with essential loans, mortgage payments, and employee wages. The Fund aims to raise $50,000 in emergency aid for a minimum of 100 farmers. Visit www.gofundme.com/f/emergency-farmer-fund to donate.
REAP Food Group’s Farms to Families Fund also received $5000 in partnership with Roots4Change Co-op and Rooted to purchase fresh food from local farms in the Farm Fresh Atlas network and minority farmers. They are distributing this fresh, nutritious, and locally grown food weekly to a network of 200 Latinx and Indigenous families, many who work in the heavily impacted food service and hospitality industries. Visit reapfoodgroup.org/farms-to-families to contribute.
Abandoned Equity Supports Double Dollars
The Board approved up to $15,000 of abandoned equity for the Double Dollars Fund through the end of Fiscal Year 2020. Funds go to Community Action Coalition For South Central Wisconsin, making-up for our inability to save money from bag reuse at the registers (which normally supports the Fund). $15,000 accounts for the average we have contributed year-over-year during this same time period. We plan to continue supporting the program with the savings from using less paper bags when reusable bags are allowed again. You can support Double Dollars using a $1, $5, $10, or $25 scan card at checkout, or by visiting www.cacscw.org/get-help/food-security/double-dollars.
The Future Is Up to Us, Stay Safe and Healthy!
It takes a community to build the future, and while the future remains unclear, we plan to move forward at the pace the community decides to take. We appreciate continued guidance from public health officials and all the support from our Owners. Please remain aware and open to change while we continue extra safety measures and slowly open services we’ve missed. Needs may change, but our commitment to you remains the same. Thanks to our Board of Directors, our suppliers, our benefits providers, Public Health Madison and Dane County, UE 1186, and all our employees, Owners, and managers for your ongoing efforts and patience. Here’s to cooperating for a safe recovery.