July GM Report
By Kenna Eaton, General Manager of The Food Co-op
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 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.
July General Manager’s Report
Working Together to Nourish our Community
Market
We had lots of great deals for members during June and on into July—hopefully everyone got a chance to stock their pantries with our “buy one, get one free” specials, like olive oil from the cooperative that produces La Riojana olive oils and wines. Plus we have nine new Co-op Basics on our shelves: two canned beans, raisins in a canister, brown rice spaghetti, fruit cups, three boxed cereals, and Niman Ranch ground beef. The cereal section also had a mini reset to incorporate the new Field Day cereals and a few others.
Food System
There are some changes on the horizon for our Local 5 producers. At the end of June, Mystery Bay stopped making yogurt to focus on chevre, Redcoat Goats sold their animals and made their last delivery, and White Lotus bakery is taking a break—look for their bread to return in the late fall.
We have seven new Local 5 items from La Cocina: tortilla chips, two salsas, a mole sauce, and three varieties of tortillas! The cheese case has several new Local WA items: three varieties of fresh mozzarella from Ferndale Farmstead; Sawtooth, a semi-soft washed-rind cheese from Cascadia Creamery, which they describe as having “savory, meaty flavors balanced by a fruity funk”; plus Samish Bay’s extra-sharp gouda has returned. We also brought in Samish Bay Greek yogurt in a glass jar (no deposit needed) from the Puget Sound Food Hub.
Thriving Workplace
The Fun Committee is back and working to make sure we have a healthy and thriving workplace. Thanks to their efforts, this summer we will host our first all-staff & BOD party since 2019! We look forward to showing off our love for everything local at our party. We will be celebrating together at Raincoast Farms and Vineyard, enjoying the talents of one of our favorite local bands, Kalan Wolfe & The Shift, eating, playing yard games, and enjoying professional face painting with a local artist. We will close the store early at 5 pm on Tuesday July 25th so all of our staff can attend this celebration.
Environment
Coming up in August we’ll be resealing and re-striping of the Co-op parking lot. This is a huge undertaking, which is why it hasn’t been done in a very long time, but we decided it was desperately needed—so here goes. The BIG news is that to complete this work we will need to close the parking lot and the store for 24 hours. Mark your calendars now for Tuesday, August 8th. We will close the store at the regular time on Monday and re-open on Wednesday at 8 am.
While the parking lot is closed, PLEASE honor the signs, the staff, and any other warnings that the parking lot is closed, as we endeavor to get this work completed quickly. Do not try to park! And while we’re working on the outside, work will be happening on the inside, too. We’ll be re-grinding the store floors—another project that needs to happen every few years.
In other news, we have heard that the roundabout work planned at the intersection of Kearney and Sims Way (SR 20) is scheduled to begin August 1 and be completed by September 30. The work is being done by WSDOT, but the City of PT also has plans to work on the area around that intersection. It’s still not entirely clear how this will impact access to the Co-op, but we’ll try to keep everyone updated.
Outreach
In June, we sponsored summer events such as The Production Alliance’s Field Day at Fort Worden and the Olympic Pride Festival, plus we gave many smaller donations supporting organizations such as the Dove House and the Benji Project.
As school wrapped up, we sponsored the 8th grade dinner dance with Chef Aaron Stark, and the PTHS graduation with a stack of gift cards for the new graduates to win at GRAD Night. And in late June we made a presentation at an online Chamber Café, hosted our Annual General Meeting (also online), and opened our Board Elections.
Our summer issue of Around the Table came out with summer recipes and home detox tips as well as our Annual Report with a look at local and our “Giving by the Numbers.”
Lastly, our Community Cook course continues to be a success, and we are excited to be working on our next issue, “The Italian Summer,” set to roll out this month.
