By: Anya Firszt, General Manager
Hello Co-op Owners. 2026 is here! Happy New Year.
Thinking of making a New Year’s Resolution?
If expanding your culinary skills is on your list, consider taking a cooking class at the Co-op. You can learn how to prepare pork belly in three different ways or discover how to create a traditional Turkish meal. Additionally, you might be interested in a series of classes focused on Taiwanese street food or the cultural influences of gumbo. My mouth is watering just thinking about this! Happy cooking (and eating).
Find your wellness at the Co-op
Wellness Wednesday is on January 7 and, as an additional Owner benefit, we’re offering a 15% discount this month on your health and wellness purchases. See you in the wellness aisle. We’ll also have sales on organic citrus, salmon, and Willy Street Co-op packaged salads. See page 16 for more information.
Change at the register
The idea that the penny would ever be discontinued seemed to me as far-fetched as enjoying a delicious vegan donut. However, Level 5 Donuts has created a delightful vegan donut you can truly sink your teeth into, and the minting of American pennies officially ended last November.
Starting December 29, all cash-back from Co-op transactions will be rounded up to the nearest nickel, applicable at both staffed registers and self-checkout stations. This rounding will benefit the customer.
What’s not affected by this change:
- The prices of products on shelves or online
- Transactions made with credit or debit cards, checks, Google Pay, Apple Pay, Wisconsin FoodShare/QUEST, WIC and gift cards (basically all non-cash transactions).
FY25 Patronage
I am sharing this update yet again to emphasize one crucial way cooperatives differ from other businesses: patronage. We are excited to announce that we can offer patronage refunds for the fiscal year 2025 to you, our Owners.
Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) ran from June 30, 2024, to June 29, 2025, and was a profitable year. We had net income of $579,723 before provision for income taxes. This surplus allowed us to continue operating on a sound financial basis and to return a portion of the profit to Owners. We greatly appreciate your part in making it a successful year for your Co-op!
Per bylaw 6.5, your Board of Directors voted to allocate part of the surplus, or profit, as a patronage refund, with a portion distributed as a store credit.
Those Owners who are receiving a store credit will be sent an email by January 5 or a letter by January 14 with details about their refund. Store credits for eligible Owners will be available at the registers starting on January 12. You can apply the credit towards a purchase, request cash back, or donate it to the Double Dollars program. To ensure that only the primary (or secondary, for household accounts) Owner uses credits, you need to sign for the refund. If you request your store credit as cash, you must provide a photo ID. Owners must claim their patronage store credits by June 28, 2026.
If you prefer to receive Co-op notifications via email, please make sure we have your current email address, which can be updated at Customer Service or by sending an email to ora@willystreet.coop.
2026 Community Reinvestment Fund (CRF)
The Community Reinvestment Fund annual granting cycle deadline is only weeks away. CRF applications are available online and due on January 15. Find more information at: www.willystreet.coop/crf.
These grants are funded by abandoned and donated equity. The funds are deposited into a separate foundation, held in our name, and withdrawn to support qualified 501(c)3 nonprofits and cooperatives incorporated under Wis. Statute 185.
This year, the Co-op will award a total of $85,000 in grants to selected recipients. Out of that amount, $20,000 is specifically reserved for up to two recipients who will make larger capital purchases or investments that will support our local food system.
FY2025 Annual Report
The FY2025 Annual Report was sent out last month to Owners either by printed copy or electronically. If you missed it, you can check out the report on our website here: willystreet.coop/fy25-annual-report.
Dates to think about:
- January 1: New Year’s Day – closed
- January 7: Wellness Wednesday – 15% off
All the best to you in this new year.
-Anya
