KOMBUCHA ON TAP
Q: What happened to the kombucha on tap at the East store location? This is my #1 purchase from the co-op and I'm concerned to see it suddenly missing from the store. Even the large format pre-bottled kombuchas are wasteful vs. the beverage being available on tap. Not to mention the wonderful seasonal and special flavors that seemed to only be available on tap.
Is it still available at other locations? What does it take to bring this back to Willy East location?
A: Thank you for your comments and questions! We stopped selling bulk kombucha due to low sales at our stores. I believe North has a little left, but they will run out soon. We may decide to bring it back, if we feel like people are shopping more in the department again. I appreciate you voicing your opinion on the matter. It was a difficult decision to make given Willy Street Co-op has had a strong Bulk program for years. Have an excellent week! -Dean Kallas, Grocery Category Manager
REUSABLE BAGS
Q: "The Streets Division recommended taking reusable bags when shopping " https://www.nbc15.com/2021/04/06/madison-stops-accepting-plastic-bag-plastic-film-for-recycling/ can we do this again?
A: Thanks for asking. We have been allowing customers to use reusable bags since August, and encourage customers to use good food safety practices for cleaning, storing, and packing bags. We recently did an article that provided tips for reusing bags in the March Reader. Please let us know if you have any other questions! -Kirsten Moore, Cooperative Services Director
OPENING TIME
Q: It’s summer-ish! I work early mornings and would love to be able to stop at North on my way to work for coffee and to grab lunch. Imagine my surprise this morning when arriving at the coop and finding it closed until 8 am!! Bummer to not get coffee OR lunch. A 7 am start time would likely do very well in this blue collar neighborhood for folks like me who find it easier to do things in the morning than at the end of the day...
A: It is summer-ish....finally! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on our store hours. As you probably know, our original hours of operation were 7:30am-9:30pm however we changed North’s hours a few times over the past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are currently open from 8:00am-9:00pm; however, store hours are something we continue to review on a regular basis to determine when we might expand our hours even further. I will keep your request for a 7:00am start time in mind as we have these conversations. Thanks again for reaching out! -Jenny Skowronek, Store Director—North
Thanks for the New Product
Q: I called a couple of weeks ago to ask if any of the co-op locations carried dragonfruit. The person I talked to was very nice and after checking with produce and frozen foods, regretfully informed me that you didn't carry it. I went in today and was pleasantly surprised to find the "new product" sign next to frozen dragonfruit! Just wanted to send a note and say thank you.
A: Thanks for writing in with the positive feedback. I have shared it with the staff. I am so happy that we were able to bring the frozen dragon fruit in and that you have already found it for sale. Take the best care! -Amanda Ikens, Owner Resources Coordinator—East
Seafood Sourcing
Q: Thank you for the article about seafood sourcing in the most recent Reader! I was thrilled to learn that you use Seafood Watch to guide your seafood choices. Two questions:
1. Would it be possible to indicate which products are green and which are yellow? I try to use the Seafood Watch app to guide my purchasing, but would love a quick visual indicator in the store (and also understand if this is too much of a burden on merchandising, especially if the information is subject to change!).
2. Do all of your canned fish also pass the green/yellow Seafood Watch test? I've been surprised to learn that fish I typically thought were sustainable choices (sardines, anchovies) are actually not (due to the proliferation of aquaculture, I think).
Thank you for helping us all be more conscious consumers!
A: Thanks for the message! I'll take your questions one at a time:
1. We are looking into a few ways to get the Seafood Watch designation on our signs. Unfortunately, it's not as simple as having the information print on the signs with the method we currently use for printing—the database we use doesn't have a good way to hold that information. However we have a few ideas that we're working on to make sure that information is clear to customers. Stay tuned!
2. Canned fish is handled by a different internal department than our new Seafood counters, and we haven't vetted that category of foods as carefully as we have our fresh fish selection. We do carry a lot of brands of sustainable canned fish; however, like most categories of goods in our stores, we haven't excluded other brands on the grounds of sustainability. I think it's a great call out, however, and I think we'll need to talk more internally about the discrepancy. Thanks for bringing it up!
I hope that's helpful information. I'm sorry I don't have more clear cut answers for you—this is such a new program for us we are learning as we go to some degree. Best, Megan Minnick, Purchasing Director
Excellent Recipe
Q: Just tried the Parmesan Spinach Cake recipe. It is DELISH. Tweaked with extra garlic, plus threw in a bit of gouda. It seemed too dry when I combined, but I watched it closely. Honestly, it's like spanekopeta without the extra calories from pie dough. Thanks!
A: Thank you so much for letting us know! We are glad you enjoyed the recipe. Sounds like a good one. I’ll have to try it myself! -Liz Wermcrantz, Editor
Double Yolks
Q: A couple of weeks ago, I bought a a dozen of M&M organic farms’ extra large eggs. (Sell by date 4/9/21.) Over half of the eggs had double yolks. My wife and I are wondering about M&M’s fertilization process. This clearly isn’t a natural occurrence; it is in fact somewhat repulsive. Have any other customers/owners encountered this? Thanks.
A: Thank you for your questions and comments on the M & M organic farms' eggs!! I buy jumbo eggs regularly, which I know aren't technically the same size as the extra large eggs you purchased, but I encounter double yolks on a pretty frequent basis. I found a good explanation for the phenomenon online from Nellie's Free Range Eggs, who is a reputable producer.
My guess is the extra large eggs you bought were probably a bit bigger than normal, and could have been graded as jumbos. Quite honestly I have a tough time telling the difference when I look at them in a carton. M & M is a local egg producer, and I know they are doing their best to provide us with quality products.
I am truly sorry for the negative experience you had with their extra large eggs. I would like to make it up to you by providing you with a refund for them. I will ask our Willy West Customer Service team to issue you a credit for them. Please just check in with our staff at the Customer Service desk at Willy West. Have an excellent rest of your week! -Dean Kallas, Grocery Category Manager
Produce Price
Q: I just accidentally bought a bunch of asparagus for $7.53. That's outrageously expensive. That's on me, I know, but it's not like it's an out-of-season item. Often bundles or containers are in weight amounts that reflect price per pound. Though I generally love the produce quality at all Coop locations, that's just too pricey.
Thank you for reading.
A: Thanks for the message. I'm sorry that you were unhappy with the price of asparagus recently.
I'm not quite sure how the cost came out to so much for one bunch. Currently, our organic asparagus is priced at $5.79/lb, and typically, the bunches are 1lb. Perhaps you got a really large bunch? For items sold by the pound, you are always welcome to break apart bunches and buy the amount that works for you.
It's true that the price did see a jump recently. This is because our sourcing changed from Mexico to California. California asparagus is typically of much higher quality than the Mexican equivalent, so we generally make the switch as soon as spring supplies from California are strong enough to be a consistent offering in our Produce departments.
Unfortunately, the California asparagus is also more expensive ($5.79/lb compared to $3.99- $4.49/lb for Mexican) particularly in the beginning part of the domestic season. The biggest contributor to this is the fact that labor is more expensive for farmers in California compared to Mexico. It is counterintuitive I know, but I expect the price will rise even more as we move into local asparagus in May—local farms typically pay more for labor, and since they are much smaller than most West Coast growers they have higher overhead costs. We make a point to pay our local farmers a fair price that will keep them in business, and since asparagus is a very labor intensive crop, it is not a cheap one for local farms to produce.
Thanks again for the feedback.
I hope you're having a great day! Best, Megan Minnick, Purchasing Director
Subscription Boxes
Q: Will the produce boxes be available this spring/summer? When might I be able to sign up. We loved our subscription last year!! Thanks for all your efforts.
A: Thank you for your interest! As we noted in our most recent COVID-19 article in the April newsletter, times have changed and our fruit and vegetable box program is ending with our April run of subscriptions. You can still buy produce of your choice from shop.willystreet.coop if you prefer pickup instead of in-store shopping, and if you want to learn what fruits and veggies are hot at the Co-op before you shop, you can sign up for our new Weekly Produce Update that starts this May on our website at www.willystreet.coop/about-us/departments#produce. If you are still interested in continuing to participate in a subscription-style program this summer, you may want to check out the farms associated with FairShare CSA Coalition and sign up for a regular pickup with a local farm. Please let us know if you have other questions. Enjoy the day! -Kirsten Moore, Cooperative Services Director
Quesadillas
A: I love your black bean quesadillas, but why did you make the decision to include salsa and sour cream in each container and increase the price? Could you reverse this decision and go back to the former pricing. If a person wants condiments, you already sell great salsas and sour cream separately. Thanks.
A: Thanks for the feedback about the black bean quesadillas! We made the switch to line item pricing for this item because of feedback from customer comments just like yours. Folks were frustrated that there were no condiments and that they had to buy an entire jar of salsa or sour cream to dip their quesadillas in. Due to adding the condiments, and because of labeling requirements by the Wisconsin Department of Weights and Measures, we had to move to line item pricing.
I logged your comment and will be sure to continue to track sales. Based on customers' reactions and how movement has been impacted, we may make the change back to selling them by the pound. Please feel free to reach out if you have any additional questions. Best Wishes, Dustin Skelley, Kitchen Director
Apples and Mangoes
Q: Have meant to comment on the Apple boxes from October. I finished the last of the Ida Reds about a month ago. The note in the box said the apples were washed, and I also believe they must have had a wax film to have them keep so long. I did notice consistent lip chapping when I ate these apples raw, something I had never experienced. Just wondered if anyone else commented on that.
Also, re the frozen mangos from juice bar extras, I still have some repackaged pints left from my second bag. I used a thawed center block of mango pieces over several days by putting mango in my heated oatmeal in generous amounts—think some oats with my mango! This caused not only heavily peeling lips but inflammation around my mouth. Research showed that mango skin and some flesh under the skin contains urushiol, the cause of the irritation. This is not a complaint, just an observation because who knew? I think I will try putting the rest of the fruit into mango bread. If I still react, I can share it with someone who isn’t sensitized. However, I am hoping that I won’t have to give up an occasional mango lassi!
Thanks,
A: Thanks for the comment! Regarding the apples—I am certain that Ela Orchard does not apply wax to their apples, but the varieties that we put in those boxes were known to be good keepers, so it doesn't surprise me that they lasted so long for you. Many apple varieties, particularly older varieties, have a naturally occurring wax that can sometimes be mistaken for an added coating. Maybe that's what you noticed? I've never heard of it causing chapped lips, but I suppose anything is possible!
Regarding the mango—it's true that many people have irritation to mango skin, which can be as mild as skin tingling, or as severe a serious allergic reaction. I suspect it's not as well known as some other allergies. I hope it stays on the mild side for you!
Thanks again for all of your support. Have a great day! Best, Megan Minnick, Purchasing Director