by Kenna S. Eaton

Each month, I report to the board on how we are progressing on our long-term goals, which we call our Ends. These Ends reflect our aspirations—what we want to accomplish—and they are what makes us different from a regular grocery store. We publish these reports as a blog to keep our member-owners up to date on what we are doing.

The reports are organized by our five Ends, although not all are discussed in every report. Our refreshed Ends say that, as a result of all we do—

- Our community is well-served by a strong cooperative grocery store, integral to the lives of our customers, our farmers, and our producers.

- Our community has a resilient local and regional food economy, supported by our Co-op and our community partners.

- Our staff and board have the knowledge, skills, and passion to make our cooperative thrive.

- Our members and customers are proud to shop at a local cooperative grocery that is working to reduce its impact on the environment.

- Our community is informed, engaged, and empowered to join us in making a difference.

December General Manager’s Report

Market Relevance

Sales remained relatively strong and the customer count stayed stable through the past month. Beginning November 17, given the changes mandated by the governor, we began staffing the front door to ensure the number of shoppers in the store at any given time did not exceed the new lower limits. Additionally, we extended store shopping hours, opening at 6 am the five days before Thanksgiving to help alleviate overcrowding, and customers responded well. Unfortunately, Coop2Go got a little swamped due to customers switching to our online shopping platform, and some frustrated shoppers were unable to submit their shopping lists because demand exceeded our capacity.

Given serious ongoing outages on pumpkin and stuffing (a must have at this time of year), our staff found extra product at Central Co-op in Tacoma and drove down there to bring it back here just in time for Thanksgiving. Way to save the day, Grocery Team!

Food System Development

We have a new Local 5 vendor, Katfish Salmon Company, based out of Port Townsend. Check out their canned Smoked Wild Alaska Keta Salmon, next to the Cape Cleare tuna. We preordered this product last spring, before the Alaska fishing season. We have three new Local WA products from an existing vendor, Uli’s Famous Sausage: cranberry, potato, and a bulk breakfast sausage. Perfect for the winter season.

Related to the continuing supply-chain disruptions, the Product Research Committee is currently working on how to best manage new products that may not meet our ingredient standards but could fill in when the natural or organic counterpart is unavailable. The specific product under discussion right now is the vegan egg substitute, which may include carrageenan as an ingredient.

Thriving Workplace

As the winter winds blew down on us, we knew we needed to find an alternative location for staff breaks. In the face of COVID restrictions, the new break room is simply too small to allow everyone to eat in comfort. While some staff eat lunch at their desks and others retreat to their cars, we still had others who needed a dry, warm shelter in order to refuel and refresh. After exploring many different options, our final solution was to purchase a 10x12 Hickory Shed and place it between the store and the turkey truck on the south side. A temporary shelter of that size doesn’t need a building permit, but we made sure it met any potential regulations before opening it up for staff use.

Given the new mandate, we also reduced the capacity in our other facilities to 25%, and more administration staff began working from home. Lastly, beginning November 27, all customers will be required to wear a mask in addition to a face shield, should they opt for one.

Outreach

The Jumping Mouse annual Turkey Trot went virtual this year, and we helped by giving fair-trade Alter Eco Chocolate and Food Co-op stickers for each of the participants. Sunfield Waldorf School and Farm celebrated their lantern festival in early November with our giant 650-pound pumpkin, which we donated after the “Guess the Weight” competition in October.

The Food Co-op also donated a gift certificate match with Habitat for Humanity to provide a $50 gift card for each of their 45 families this season. Also, as our nurses were needing some extra love this year, we partnered with the Jefferson County Public Health Department to provide some beauty care products for 25 deserving heroes.