January/February GM Report
PS: hoping for no snow this year. 😉
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.
January/February Update on Store and Progress on Ends
Working Together to Nourish our Community
Store Update
Inside the store, we continue to refresh and reset to improve flow and functionality.
We’ve been making space in the lobby to allow us to feature our great deals on produce and grocery items. First, we moved the shopping carts back outside where they used to live before the expansion in 2018, which has greatly improved access. Next, the 2-door cooler will move to the meat /seafood department, where it’ll snuggle in between the current seafood/poultry case and the egg case. This will require we twist the egg case 45 degrees, opening the flow in that area as well. The 2-door cooler will house seafood, while the large case will focus on poultry. More changes will be coming as we continue this work.
In January, we reset our cookie selection on aisle 5, adding 15 new items. In February, we will refresh the baby products. We will also be adding 10 new Field Day Co-op Basics to our shelves—canned fruit, canned tomatoes, and miscellaneous baking items. The deli, under its new manager, has been busy adding recipes to the hot bar, growing our sandwich selection, and generally working to improve our vegetarian and vegan selections.
Lastly, our Change for Change donations in November and December were dedicated to the Jefferson County Food Bank Association. This year, Co-op members raised a total of $23,891.35! Starting in January and running through September, we return to raising funds for our local farmers and producers. Then October donations are dedicated to cooperative development and help raise funds for our GROW fund—another way we help strengthen our local food system.
Ends Update
Local
Our Community Engagement Committee (CEC) comprised of board, staff, and members-at-large have been working hard to allocate the $83,488 we raised in 2025 for farmers and producers with the register round-up program. They expect to finish their deliberations and share the results later this month.
It is time for garden seeds already! We will be stocking seeds from four Local 5 vendors: Deep Harvest, Saltwater Seeds, Inside Passage, and Friends of the Trees. Uprising Seeds from Bellingham will not be providing us with seeds this year, as they have chosen to focus on their markets closer to home.
For the beginning of this year, we have an aisle end cap dedicated to local items, featuring beer, wine, hop water, cider, and shrubs from ten of our Local 5 vendors, and more than doubling our purchases from these vendors compared to the previous year.
Sadly, Iggy’s Alive & Cultured, from Kingston, decided to close their business. We stocked their kraut and kvass for more than 10 years, and added their kombucha several years ago. While we ordered extra kombucha when we received the news, we will likely be sold out by the time you read this.
People
Troy, our Director of Training and Development, has been learning the store from the ground up. Already he is on-boarding new staff and has enhanced the training program for new employees in Produce. Troy will be focusing on strengthening all departmental new-hire training programs and new-hire orientations during the first quarter.
Meanwhile, our Employee Working Group implemented their second quarterly pulse survey measuring our progress in communications, accountability, and training. Results were shared with staff in early February.
An all-staff meeting will be held 8:30 -11:30 am on March 10. We will kick things off with a light breakfast catered by Planted, followed by a fun, informative, and engaging agenda designed to reconnect us, grow our skills, and celebrate the work we do every day to nourish our community. The store will open at noon that day. We haven’t gathered as a full team since 2019, and we thought it time to bring back the energy, connection, and shared purpose that come from being together in one room.
Safety: On January 13, we conducted an emergency evacuation drill for the store. Overall, the drill went well: the fire department participated and did not have any suggestions for improvement—fire doors operated as designed, dispatch was notified of our alarm within one minute, everyone had evacuated in just over 3 minutes, and the entire process took 11 minutes. Staff noted several areas for improvement in better coordinating our response and those will be addressed in the coming months by the Safety Advisory Team.
Beans for Bags: 2026 Recipients Announced
The Community Engagement Committee also reviewed 43 nominations and selected 12 organizations for next year’s Beans for Bags program. This beloved initiative supports local nonprofits while reducing waste and contributes more than $18,000 annually back into the community.
Here’s the 2026 lineup (the Food Bank is always one of the jars):
Winter Welcoming Center
REPAH (Real Estate Professionals for Affordable Housing)
Dove House Advocacy Services
Grey Muzzle Project
North Olympic Salmon Coalition
Habitat for Humanity of East Jefferson County
Reach Out
Community Tool Library
Just Soup (at St. Paul’s Episcopal)
Bayside Housing & Services
Olympic Peninsula Farm to Food Bank Fund
The Benji Project
As always, thanks to our members and shoppers—your everyday choices make these programs possible.
Lastly, it’s time for members to consider running for our Board of Directors. The board provides essential leadership and vision for the Coop, and this year’s work will be especially impactful as the directors lead the search for our next general manager. This decision will help define the Coop’s direction for years to come. So if you love the Co-op and want to see it continue to flourish, consider serving on the board. More information on what is necessary to run will be coming soon.
With gratitude,
Kenna
