by Ashwini Rao, Board Vice President
As a policy governance Board, we monitor the Co-op’s performance and compliance through numerous policies. One of those policies is the Ends policy. Willy Street Grocery Co-op’s Ends policy states that:
Willy Street Co-op will be at the forefront of a cooperative and just society that:
• has a robust local economy built around equitable relationships;
• nourishes and enriches our community and environment; and
• has a culture of respect, generosity, and authenticity.
But what is an Ends policy?
Simply put, these address what an organization stands for. It’s different from mission, goals, or objectives in the sense that Ends policies define outcomes that result due to the Co-op’s work.
Everyday, Willy Street Co-op management and staff engage in various activities that bring the Co-op closer to meeting the Ends policies. Some of those activities include:
- Supporting and growing our network of local vendors.
- Supporting brands and companies that have demonstrated a commitment to equitable business practices.
- Treating our employees equitably, and providing employees with the financial means to contribute to building our local economy.
- Treating Owners in an equitable fashion, as dictated by our cooperative business model.
- Ensuring community members have equitable access to nutritious food.
- Creating an accessible and vibrant food culture within the community by promoting access to local foods, food security, and collaboration among businesses in the community.
- Increasing economic opportunity in our community by offering local employment opportunities for local producers, charitable contributions, and partnership to public and private partners.
- Continuing, advancing, and researching practices that promote environmental sustainability and the betterment of our community spaces.
- Creating an inclusive organization where groups or individuals having different cultural and social backgrounds are accepted, welcomed, and equally treated.
A few examples of the partnerships, practices, and programs that the Co-op engaged in 2022 are below:
- Operations negotiated with the UE (our employee union) to enter into a number of temporary agreements that ensured improved safety and working conditions for staff throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Operations negotiated with the UE our second two-year collective bargaining agreement effective March 24, 2022; this resulted in a wage increase for all bargaining unit employees at ratification plus two additional wage increases during the term of the CBA.
- Maintained pandemic response measures as early adopters of safety measures in response to COVID-19 pandemic (masks, plexiglass, social distancing, capacity limits, etc).
- Donated more than $300,000 to Community Shares of Wisconsin for the third year in a row.
- Continued engagement in equity, diversity, and inclusion work through our partnership with Step Up: Equity Matters. This work included the creation of three working groups focused on initiatives to advance DEI with our employees, customers, and vendor partners.
- Operations continues to pursue measures to achieve the Board’s chosen commitment to the Climate Collaborative. These include continued recycling training to increase diversions of waste from landfill and developing strategies on emissions and energy reductions.
- We have resumed offering Second Harvest Food Share education and enrollment sessions at East. Second Harvest only had enough staff resources to continue at East this year, however, we are looking to expand to North in FY23.
- In-person classes have returned with Kids Classes beginning in July 2022 and other classes for adults starting in October 2021. These classes are promoting local foods, nutritious and economical eating and cultural cuisine exploration.
We are incredibly grateful that our partnerships with various businesses, community groups, and stakeholders contribute to the realization of a more cooperative and just society. And in the coming years, we will continue to expand on these partnerships. As always, please feel free to reach out to us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have ideas on how to build on our existing partnerships or if you have any questions.