October GM Report
by Kenna S. Eaton
Each month, I report to the board on what is happening in the store as well as our progress on our long-term goals, which we call our Ends. These Ends reflect our aspirations—what we want to accomplish—and they are part of 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.
Our Ends
The general manager strives to provide these benefits to our member-owners and community while operating a strong grocery store:
Strengthen and advocate for our local food system, with a vibrant culture of appreciation and support for local farms and producers.
Treat people well, increasing equity and access by providing a safe, welcoming, and educational environment.
Treat the planet well, by modeling environmental stewardship and regularly sharing our accomplishments and challenges with member-owners.
October Update on Store and Progress on Ends
Working Together to Nourish our Community
Store Update
Reminder: The store center re-set has been scheduled for October 14/15. The work will take place primarily in the evenings. We’ll be relocating dry grocery products to places that make more sense, as well as bringing related items closer together. A map of the new locations will be available at the Customer Service Desk with staff on hand to help everyone navigate the new layout. The overall intention of these changes is to make shopping at the Co-op more intuitive and inclusive, and we are excited to freshen up the aisles.
This past month we welcomed Kendra W. as our new Food Services manager. Kendra has many years experience in the industry and is also the owner of Two Crows Bakery, where she will continue to produce their popular gluten-free and vegan cookies.
Ends Update
Local
September was “Eat Local Month” and the Co-op was active in multiple ways, helping celebrate our local farmers and producers. Working with community partners, including WSU Regional Small Farms, we promoted Eat Local First both in and outside the store. The Jefferson County Farm Tour is a signature local event during this month, bringing people out to visit farms across the county, a great opportunity to connect with our local farms, visit some of our Farmer Fund grant recipients, and deepen our understanding of the local food system we’re proud to support. Many thanks to our staff and CEC members for volunteering their time to host a table at two farms.
In mid-September, late-season blueberries become available from Silva Family Farm on Whidbey Island. Depending on the weather, they’ll supply berries to us through October. The flavor this season is outstanding!
People
In mid-September, we held an information session for any full-time staff interested in learning about the history, costs, and trends of our health benefits. We shared some information on what to expect next year and posted that information for staff who were unable to attend the scheduled session.
In late August, about 30 supervisors attended a 4-hour workshop on accountability, one of the management areas we are in the process of strengthening. We sent out a follow-up questionnaire to attendees and got some great feedback for future work sessions.
After workshopping ideas for short video trainings with Kevin Henry, our DEI consultant, we agreed it wasn’t the best use of his skills and strengths. We are taking a short pause while we reconsider our options.
The safety committee is scheduling a fire drill for the fall, which will allow us to test the new evacuation Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). In the meantime, the safety officer invited Labor & Industries consultants to do an on-site assessment of our safety practices. The assessment was on Sept 10th, with a report expected in 30-45 days.
Planet
Over the years we have transitioned from running a rented diesel refrigerated truck for holiday turkeys to installing electricity to keep them frozen. Now we’re ready for the next stage—buying our own shipping container, which will run on electricity and hold dry storage in non-holiday months. We’ll paint the shipping container to match the store and tuck it back into the eastern slopes. In the meantime, we’ve sold the blue shed to one of our staff, who will haul it away sometime soon.
The second, and hopefully the last, round of lighting was installed mid-month. This project, left over from the expansion, addresses the dark spots in some aisles and brings additional light to our mural and End Caps. After the store center reset, we’ll readjust the spotlights as needed to further improve the shopping experience.
Yours in community,
Kenna
