General Manager’s Covid Update

Dearest Members,

Speaking on behalf of all of us on the front lines of retail, thank you for your kind words and patience as we navigate this ever-changing landscape of safely nourishing a community. Thank you for helping us do our jobs by working with our staff to keep you safe; from washing your hands before shopping, to lining up to access the bulk room, to speaking clearly so we can hear you across the counter through our protective curtains. The vast majority of our shoppers have been mindful in keeping a ‘social distance’—and we’re mighty appreciative of that. We’d also like to ask you to limit the size of your shopping group to two and if you do need to bring your little ones to the Co-op please keep them corralled for everyone’s safety.

While our store has been understocked recently, we’ve heard that could be changing. We have been limited by some distributors as to how much we were able to order in addition to increased out of stocks (for example last Saturday we got only 2/3 or what we ordered). Now those limits have been raised and we should start to see more packaged and bulk groceries in the store. On a happy, related note farming isn’t cancelled! Our local farmers are out there growing great produce for us and we are super excited to see fresh, local produce rolling into our store.

My thanks also extend to our wonderful new group of volunteers who are helping everyone by shopping and delivering grocery to those in need. It has been truly amazing to see all of them stepping up and working with us to keep everyone fed. Behind the scenes staff are working on making ordering even easier (through our website), to adding another shopping day, and towards offering a parking lot pick up. As you probably already know shopping for others is incredibly hard—but I love the way our Board of Directors were able to work with staff to launch the program and get us up and running. Most importantly I want to express my gratitude to all of our staff who come to work and give their very best, every day. We are asking a lot of them and they are meeting that call with kindness and grace. Frankly, I’ve seen a lot, but I can’t remember ever having seen a greater display of courage and selfless service in my 40 years of cooperative retail. Thanks to all our Community Superheroes!  

 Be Well,

Kenna Eaton, General Manager