Great Article
Q: Want to applaud the writing of your newsletter writer Andy Gricevich. His articles are always interesting, informative, stimulating and easy to read. His articles show obvious efforts at gathering facts and presenting them in useful fashion. I always read The Reader cover to cover and i look forward to his offerings. I say "Write On Andy!"
A: Thanks for writing in with your kind words. I will make sure to share your comment with the editor and to our author Andy. We are very lucky to have him as a contributor to our newsletter. He is a well of knowledge. Take care! -Amanda Ikens, Owner Resources Coordinator
Customer Service
Q: Sadly, I am reporting a service issue. Today I was in Willy North. My cashier was wonderful but the bagger did a terrible job. The reason was the whole time she was fixated on talking to another customer in the next lane. She was asking irrelevant things such as how many rings are you wearing? Consequently, my food was packed very haphazardly and the peanut butter bars and mushrooms were under heavier things and squished and the strawberries and raspberries were sideways but luckily didn't open. I greatly appreciate how you help those of us who are low income to purchase good healthy food. But I would like that food to get safely home as well. If this person has special needs and doesn't understand her job then I suggest more training and monitoring. Thank you.
A: Thank you for your message about the employee who bagged your groceries yesterday. I'm sorry to hear they did a poor job of it, and I will definitely follow up with the employee. Please let me know if you would like a refund for the items that were squished in the bag, and we can take care of that at the Customer Service desk on your next shopping trip.
Co-op Stories
Q: Would like to suggest reaching out to members from way back and ask them to tell their stories as it relates to the Co-op.
A: Thanks for your suggestion! We are planning to do just that leading up to our 50th birthday. If you have stories to share, please let me know! Or I could send you some questions or call to interview you, too. Thanks! -Brendon Smith, Communications Director
[Editor’s note: if you have Co-op stories to share, please email Brendon at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Thank you!]
Cooperation Among Co-ops
Q: Hello, I am the president of the board of our little Marsh River Cooperative here in Brooks, Maine. We recently started putting out a newsletter to our, about 200 community member/ coop member, mailing list. I was wondering if you would mind us using your 7 Principles poster in the May newsletter and posting it on our coop info board? Perhaps in the interest of Principle 6 itself?!
If I ever get to Madison, I would love to visit your coops!
Thanks.
A: Sure, you are welcome to use the graphic in any way you’d like as long as you preserve the attribution at the bottom. If you want to share a photo of it with some of your employees, we could share it on social media—Cooperation Among Co-ops!
Palm Oil
Q: Palm oil plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia are responsible for the destruction of rainforests. Rainforests are essential to the survival of orangutans, a keystone species. They are critically endangered at the moment and we need to stop supporting the funding of the destruction of their natural habitats. The colossal destruction of these rainforests also worsens climate change and leads to the displacement of local communities. If you genuinely care about sustainability, you should acknowledge the need to stop promoting products that contain palm oil. A few weeks ago you offered a coop deal on products that contain it, like peanut butter and peanut butter cookies. By offering coop deals on such products you are contributing to the promotion of products that help to destroy rainforests, you worsen climate change and lead orangutans to extinction. Instead of promoting these products, educate the public to make mindful purchases and think about ways of avoiding it altogether. If you genuinely care about sustainability, you should make choices that align with your principles. It is unethical to do otherwise. Thank you for your attention to this critical issue.
A: Thank you for your comments about palm oil as an ingredient in food. It is always good to be reminded of how we can do better. We try our best to make sure that the brands we carry which contain palm oil are using sustainable palm oil, but we do not have a prohibition on non-sustainable palm oil. I will reach out to my co-workers and stress the importance of our properly vetting product ingredients to make sure we avoid it.
Palm oil is a lower-cost ingredient than most oils. There are many shoppers who are looking for affordable options, and often these are not in alignment with our environmental values. We try our best to find a balance, but I know that does not sit well with everyone. I hope that you can understand that there are many among us that are just trying to make ends meet and having lower-priced options is important.
Thank you for taking the time to reach out to us. I appreciate hearing from you! -Dean Kallas, Grocery Category Manager