General Manager’s Blog

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 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.

January General Manager’s Report

Working Together to Nourish our Community

Market Relevance

We wrapped up a challenging year with an abundance of good cheer in the store! Staff ordered more poinsettias than we planned, so the Co-op was packed full of color, and we shared that holiday cheer by giving members a special deal on our flowering plants. Staff also put together an abundance of holiday gift bags, making it easy to give gifts with a difference. And everyone pitched in on our some of our busiest days ever to help make the holidays as special as possible.

Food System Development

Our new local products in December included Lummi Island Wild (a co-op!) shelf-stable smoked keta and sockeye salmon as well as Foggy Hog bacon and pork chops. Foggy Hog Farm (“A Pig With a Purpose”) is a friend- and family-run piggery, located in Port Townsend, which has mostly been supplying restaurants up until now. Foggy Hog Farm’s philosophy is to “foster a healthier, more humane and more equitable relationship between the people of this country and the food they put on the table.”

Thriving Workplace

At the end of every fiscal year, during a period called “Open Enrollment,” employees have an opportunity to change their benefits selection in the staff insurance the Co-op provides. This year we added a new feature called Bernie Portal, an online resource that houses all of our employee benefits including health, dental, vision, life, and long-term disability insurance, as well as our pre-tax Flexible Spending Accounts. We also posted reminders about flu and cold season (yes, it’s still an issue), gave away calendars, and congratulated Sierra on a promotion to bulk lead.

Environmental Sustainability

Several years ago, we paid for and installed an EV power station in our parking lot. This charger has been getting increased use, which is exciting, but unfortunately, not all e-vehicles are created equal, and apparently some (likely Teslas’) are causing the power adapter to melt. We recently replaced the outlet once again and added signage alerting users to double check that their EV is compatible with our system before plugging in. If you are a Tesla driver, please check your manual to see how to turn down the draw before you plug in!

Outreach

Our Community Engagement Committee met in early December to narrow down the Beans for Bags nominations for next year to 12. As usual, the decision was tough! Congratulations to the Jefferson County nonprofits selected—a full list is available on our website. We also did a FUN giveaway for two $25 gift cards—one for you and one to give to a friend—and the winner was ecstatic! Lots of holiday tips and tricks were shared in our Cooking with the Co-op Facebook group, plus a great article on figs was featured in the PT Leader. Finally, Eat Local First had an online holiday promotion and survey to learn how consumers heard about their “Eat Local for the Holidays” campaign.