by Kenna S Eaton, GM

Thanks to the many shoppers who have been using our new curbside pick-up program we’re calling Co-op2Go. As you may recall, this all started back in March with the outbreak of the Corona virus when three of our Board members offered to shop and deliver groceries at no charge (they’re our heroes!) two days per week for members who could not come to the store to shop for themselves. The need was greater than they expected, but luckily lots of members volunteered to pitch in, too.

Based on their experiences, Co-op staff were able to launch our own shopping program and offer it to members for parking lot pick up the other five days of the week. It sure has been a fun learning experience—shopping for others is just not that easy. And as expected, things are changing rapidly, both with our volunteer service and the Co-op’s shopping and curbside pickup service, Coop2Go. As we enter into phase 2, our volunteers are going back to work and Co-op staff are taking on all the shopping. With this newly added expense we will begin charging a 10% surcharge starting sometime in June.

Consequently, we are going to wind down our volunteer-based shopping and delivery service on Thursday and Sundays. That shopping and delivery service will continue for a few more weeks until mid to late June to give our members/recipients a chance to switch over to the Co-op’s curbside pickup in combination—if they choose—with a delivery service, such as Peddler Port Townsend, a new bicycle powered delivery service that we’re excited about. We think this should be enough time for any kinks resulting from changing over to be worked out. Lastly, our fantastic volunteers want to assure you that they will continue to be available to make sure no one goes without food. Please feel free to contact them with questions: boardsecretary@foodcoop.coop

For more information on delivery options, please visit our web site www.foodcoop.coop and look for the “coop2go” logo. We will be updating this page as it comes available. Thanks for your patience.