Aphids
Q: I purchased iceberg lettuce in plastic today. I went to wash and shook it. As I shook the lettuce head tons of tiny bugs started falling out. The more I shook it the more bugs fell out. I threw it away. Can I get a refund? I don’t think I’ll be able to eat lettuce for a while.
A: I'm so sorry you had this experience! The bugs that you encountered are most likely aphids, which are unfortunately something that we deal with from time to time on organic produce coming from California this time of year. Lettuce, kales, and broccoli are especially susceptible.
Organic farmers do have a few organic approved methods of fighting aphids on their crops, but unfortunately none of them are 100% effective—certainly not as effective as the chemical insecticides that conventional farms typically use.
You certainly can get a refund! I'm ccing our West Side Customer service staff here so they know to expect you.
Also, just as an FYI for future reference if it's helpful, the produce itself is perfectly fine to eat after the aphids are washed off. The best way that I know to do this is to soak your lettuce in a saltwater solution for about 5 minutes, and then swish it around to dislodge the bugs as you are pulling it out of the water. I hope that's helpful. Again, I'm so sorry this happened! Best, Megan Minnick, Purchasing Director
Ingredient Questions
Q: At Willy West, I bought some cold-pack cheese and I noticed it contains Polysorbate 80, which is an unhealthy plastic additive. This is labeled as an ingredient in the horseradish extract, which doesn’t even contain horseradish (it says it contains Polysorbate 80, sunflower oil, and artificial flavors). Horseradish powder is the last ingredient. The cheese doesn’t even taste that good to me.
I was just wondering if you consider these ingredients okay to have in the things that you sell.
A: Thanks for the message! Per our Product Selection Philosophy (www.willystreet.coop/pages/food-and-product-selection-philosophy), we do not have any ingredients that are specifically prohibited in the products we carry. We prefer instead to let customers make their own choice—what we carry is shaped by what our customers want to purchase, in tandem with the policy that is linked above. It's true that part of our philosophy is to prefer natural products, but we are also dedicated to supporting local producers. The horseradish cheddar spread that you purchased is a good example of the grey area that lies between those two points.
If you are looking to avoid Polysorbate 80, or any other additive or ingredient, I would definitely urge you to read product labels to make sure that you are getting what you are looking for. I hope that's helpful. Have a great weekend! Best, Megan Minnick, Purchasing Director
Packaging Plastics
Q: I would like to bring up the subject of plastics in the packaging of the products you sell. I have been reading about plastics and the environment, plastics and wildlife, and plastics and human health and I am inspired to minimize plastic purchases and usage in my life.
I would have thought shopping at a mindful co-op such as yourself would help me with my plastics choices but alas, I am better off sometimes going to Woodmans (Quaker oatmeal in a cardboard box, more frozen foods in boxes with no plastic) or Target (laundry powder) then Willy St. Co-p. I can't tell when things are in plastic (molasses, peanut butter) nor can I insist on paper bags for bulk items with online shopping. I can't buy chicken that's not in plastic, nor yogurt, nor cottage cheese. None of them are required to be in plastic, at least they weren't when I was a kid.
This issue is as critical for the future of our environment as climate change. I would like to see WSC embark on a thoughtful, cost-conscious program of facilitating less plastic usage. In addition to pressuring your suppliers (who better than you?), you could highlight plastic-free packaging producers, such as bionaturae, Pacific Foods and Feed Bakery. You could use less plastic in the deli and bakery (why do I have to get a clamshell when I just want a few cookies?).
Every time we buy plastic, that plastic is going to last longer than us. Every time. It's killing wildlife, will exceed the weight of all the fishes in the sea in a few years, and has been found in human placentas. As usual, the most affected folks are the poorest.
Plastics are a petroleum-based product and powerful economic forces push their use. We are lied to about recycling, among other things. Thankfully, I see you have already backed away from "compostable" produce bags, which is an expensive and unregulated product full of mystery ingredients. As we move to renewable energy, plastics will continue to be pushed hard. We must resist. What will you do to help? A good resource: beyondplastics.org.
A: Thanks for the message. I appreciate that you took the time to write to us about this. It does seem that, especially since the pandemic started, items packed in plastic are everywhere. To complicate things, we've noticed a real shift in what customers are purchasing at our stores: Pre-pandemic, the move toward less plastic was really gaining momentum, but in the last year plastic packaged items have become much more popular amongst people who shop in our stores. It's a balancing act for us—we do try to provide as many plastic-free options as we can—but we also need to make sure we're meeting the needs of all of our customers.
We will continue to do what we can to reduce our plastic usage, and I will definitely follow up with our e-commerce team about allowing you to request paper bags. Thanks again for writing. I very much appreciate Owners like you who continue to push us towards sustainability. Best, Megan Minnick, Purchasing Director
Kitchen Waste
Q: Hi, I was talking with the folks who run the farmers market in McPike park last summer, and they mentioned that Willy st has a drop off program for kitchen waste. Is that something you guys do? We are new to the area and new to the coop, but it has been great so far. Thank you for building such a great operation.
A: Welcome to the area, and thanks for the compliments! We do not have a food waste drop-off program. We recommend that you check out the City of Madison website for information about the municipal food waste options available and to check out some local organizations that collect food scraps for composting (scroll all the way down the page to see those). You can find this information at www.cityofmadison.com/streets/food-scraps. I hope that steers you in the right direction! Enjoy your afternoon! -Kirsten Moore, Cooperative Services Director
Product Origins
Q: I recently bought a new soup product called "Ready or Not Here We Yum." After reviewing the label, I bought one container of Rice Ramen Noodle Soup to try. Prior to opening I noticed the origin of the product: Made in China. The origin of this product is many mile and time zones away. Isn't this the exact opposite of the Co-Ops stated principal of buying local? I know there are other ramen noodle manufacturers. The actual product contains a small amount of rock hard noodles (i.e., unbreakable) and a packet of numerous "powders" to be added to the soup. Really whats being purchased is a green, cardboard container to heat the soup. Can we label this kind of food product as extremely energy inefficient? And not green?
A: Thank you for your comments and questions!! We do not buy exclusively local products for our stores, but we do try to have a fair array of them for our customers. Local products are often more expensive than ones produced by bigger food manufacturers, and so for many customers they are not always affordable. Do you know of any local manufacturers of ramen noodles? I have not had anyone approach me about selling any at Willy Street. I would be curious to see how much they cost in comparison, since that is how most shoppers decide what to buy.
As far as the ramen cup being made in China, we do not exclusively buy only products made in the U.S. I believe the specific product you are speaking of is from Lotus Foods, and they are an ethical manufacturer in my experience. Part of their mission is to help raise the income levels of farmers who grow the ingredients for their products. They also have done a lot with their growers over the years to help make their farms more sustainable and cut down on water usage in rice production.
I think their ramen noodle packages are a better way to go than their cups, but they require more time to prepare a meal. The ramen cups are designed for a quick meal for folks who either do not have the time to cook, or the interest in cooking, or perhaps the knowledge of how to do so. We try not to make people feel judged by adding labels to the foods they eat, so we do not label products in the store as energy inefficient.
It sounds like you were not impressed with the ramen cup you tried, and I am sorry to hear that. I would like to offer you a refund for it, which you can get at any time at Willy West's Customer Service desk. Thanks again for your feedback!! I appreciate your input. -Dean Kallas, Grocery Category Manager
Matzo
Q: I stopped by Willy West recently to pick up some matzo for Passover and there was one box of gluten-free "matzo style squares." There was, however, a big Easter display... I think there are enough Jews around town that'd it'd be appreciated to stock up a little more for Passover and other Jewish holidays. Thank you for your consideration!
A: I apologize that you could not find any matzo at Willy West for Passover. We placed an order specifically for Passover products in the fall and then when the product was supposed to ship it did not come in. We scrambled to get more, but our luck has been pretty poor.
I appreciate your comments!! I will make sure to share them with the Grocery Manager at our West store. -Dean Kallas, Grocery Category Manager
Delicious Wraps
Q: Hi, Just wanted to say kudos, to the Middleton location and the Northside location for delicious wraps and breakfast burritos. Thank you to all of you at every location for your hard work, wonderful service and yummy meals to go.
A: How nice it was to receive your note! It is kind words like these that can make all the difference in challenging times. Please be assured that I will pass along your feedback to all of the staff. Many thanks for writing, Katie O’Connell-Jones, Owner Resources Coordinator—West
Shopping Carts
Q: Dearest Coop, Willy North has become my favorite coop site. But compared with East and West, it has a definite shortage of the small, easy-to-maneuver shopping carts, and a definite over-abundance of large, unwieldy carts. Many people, myself included, don’t need the ginormous carts, yet more often than not they are the only carts available, unless we want to retrieve the precious few from the parking lot ourselves. Yesterday I asked about them, was told “we don’t have many.” Later another customer asked the same question and got the same response. Obviously this is an issue. Bottom line, more small carts would be very welcome at Willy North. Thanks.
A: Thanks for reaching out. You are absolutely right; we don't have enough small carts. I am actually in the process of getting the necessary quotes to move forward with purchasing more small carts. Unfortunately, there is quite a long lead time on getting these, and due to COVID it will likely take longer than normal, but I assure you we'll be getting more in the coming months. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts, and for your kind words about Willy North! Best, Jenny Skowronek, North Store Director
Excellent Performance
Q: To whom it may concern, I wanted to call out excellent staff performance during a mask policy incident tonight. At 7:55 PM a shopper walked in without a mask. One cashier asked the shopper to put a mask on and the other cashier that saw what was happening paged the supervisor. The shopper had checked out behind me so I could see the supervisor and another employee calmly inform the shopper that their scarf, which wasn't really worn to cover the face, was unacceptable under co-op policy. A disposable mask was offered. I left before I could see the conclusion, but I was so impressed with how each staff member handled the situation. From my perspective it was a flawlessly executed response; exemplary teamwork and de-escalation. With the pandemic going on for a year I'm sure staff has had their practice. We're all tired of the precautions and want to get back to normal. That's why I'm especially appreciative of how at the busy end of shift, towards the end of a long winter, during a seemingly endless pandemic the staff didn't give up. They stuck it out and they stuck together and I'm not sure if there's much more than you can ask for. Thank you for your amazing staff.
A: Thanks for the positive feedback, it is so, so welcome and our employees will surely appreciate the validation for this challenging work. I'll be sure to pass it along. Have a great weekend! -Kirsten Moore, Cooperative Services Director
Everyone Welcome
Q: I'm a big Coop fan. I drive over an hour to shop at Willie's! I'm not pro mask nor am I anti mask. I think your purple eggplant signs in your store and in your newsletter that say "Everyone Welcome" is misleading because really you won't let someone enter the store if they didn't have a mask on. In a time when we are all being supportive of people and their culture, race, beliefs etc. there are those who judge people on masks. I just shake my head. It doesn't matter what science says on the masks. If you support a person no matter the gender or race, you should support whether they chose to mask or not. But science but science is what everyone says. Scientists also tell us about global warming and look at how we still let people use plastic and gas etc. come into our lives. Be more inclusive!
A: My, you travel a long way to shop with us. Thanks so much for your support! We also appreciate your feedback and your interest in acceptance. We agree, being inclusive makes space for a variety of viewpoints, but we do not believe applying policy in accordance with regulations is related to holding that space. Our face covering policy is not a philosophy or view, it applies to everyone, same as our other store policies related to paying for groceries, making returns, food handling and safety practices, etc. People can have different beliefs about whether or not they agree with the policies, and it’s up to the customer to decide if they can reconcile their beliefs with the policies to use the services we have to offer. We do not judge if someone decides that our policies, and therefore our store, do not work for them. Store policies do not mistreat people based on culture, race, or beliefs unless we apply policies or portions of policies differently because of them. While we do make modifications of that policy (and others) to address conditions related to medical or mental health and disabilities, when it comes to beliefs, we need to apply the policy neutrally and equally regardless of them. Everyone is welcome along with their opinions, and we are not interested in debating them. Our face covering policy is a safety measure equally applied to everyone in accordance with regulations, and nothing more. We also look forward to a time where COVID-19 is less of a threat to public health and thoughtfully relaxing or putting this policy to rest altogether. I hope you are having a good day, and that you will visit Madison again soon! -Kirsten Moore, Cooperative Services Director
Wellness Discount
Q: We were told the Wellness discount has been dropped. I was surprised to hear it. When did it happen? Why did it happen?
A: Thanks for asking. We suspended Wellness Wednesday at the beginning of the pandemic because we did not want to draw a number of people to the stores on a certain day of the week. When we did that, we temporarily replaced Wellness Wednesday with a once a month Wellness Any Day coupon that offered Owners the ability to do their monthly Wellness Wednesday shop any day of the week. As time went on and the protective measures pertaining to social distancing still have not changed, not only have we been unable to consider restoring Wellness Wednesday, but we also have been unable to afford to continue offering the replacement Wellness Any Day coupon long-term.
We announced in the January 2020 Reader that we were suspending the Wellness Any Day coupon in February. This is due to the financial health of the Co-op and the difference in the way Wellness Wednesday and the Wellness Any Day coupon functioned in practice. When we run a promotion tied to one day of the month, the increase in sales and transactions that result create operational efficiencies that support the labor for the sale and cover the cost of offering the promotion. Offering a coupon that can be used at any time does not incentivize stocking up, and does not support any labor efficiencies. That means that instead of benefiting from the efficiency of greater sales during a promotion, we saw regular income loss by offering this coupon.
Our intention is to review our ability to bring Wellness Wednesday back as we see both pandemic and economic recovery. If you have other questions, please do not hesitate to reach out. Thanks! -Kirsten Moore, Cooperative Services Director