September GM Update
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.
September Update on Store and Progress on Ends
Working Together to Nourish our Community
Store Update
The store has been busy lately, which we love, but it has led to some new challenges in keeping the shelves full. Thanks for your patience as we adjust our ordering levels.
Our late September shelf refresh focused on packaged beans/grains/rice and coffee. We added five new items in both categories. We also have three new Field Day oats on the shelf and Field Day semi-sweet chocolate chips have returned to the shelf just in time for baking season.
At the end of September, we painted a mural on the side of our storage container, out by the patio. This container was bought to house turkeys for the holidays; however, our produce team has also been using it to back stock large quantities of produce, such as peaches. The painting crew did a great job of making our outside area look as bright and cheery as inside the store.
Ends Update
Local
October is Co-op Month and we want to recognize Puget Sound Food Hub, our local co-operative distributor. We receive weekly deliveries, sourcing over 60 items, many from Western Washington. As a result, we have increased our Local WA purchases from them, year to date, over 25% from last year. Tony’s Coffee from Bellingham is a new Local WA brand for us. We have four whole bean varieties sold with our other packaged coffee. Tony’s has been roasting coffee for more than 50 years.
We have a new Local 5 vendor, Castle & Crown Cellars of Port Townsend, with two wines to choose from: Madrona Hill Pinot Noir and Red Willow Old Vine Riesling. We have also expanded our tincture line from East West Apothecary with three new products.
Every September we get to enjoy the bounty of our LOCAL farms. We celebrated our bounty of the sea with Fishtember deals and features on local fisheries. We shared the joy of local farms by sponsoring the annual Jefferson County Farm Tour, each year building on the last with a vibrant weekend of fun activities. And we helped share the message of Eat Local First with information on how to use the Local Food Finder.
The Community Engagement Committee recently met to decide the 2026 Grow Fund recipient, and this year the funds will support the Jefferson Teen Center located in Chimacum. This little nonprofit offers a safe place for teens to hang with peers, learn, share food, and access supplies needed for school.
People
Staff continue to dig deeper into customer service—this month they worked with Usawa for a 3-hour customer service with a DEIB (Diversity, Equality, Inclusion and Belonging) viewpoint workshop. And cashiers retrained on the Responsible Alcohol Sales course.
Internally, Dave, our Front-End Manager, has taken on a new role with us, that of Grocery Manager. As one might imagine, this is causing an internal ripple effect as we move staff into new positions within the Co-op. New data shows we currently have 122 staff, with an average tenure of 5.8 years and a turnover rate of 17.3%, a historic low for us.
na
Planet
We retired our electric vehicle charging station after ten years of service. Originally installed when public charging options were scarce, the charger helped support EV adoption in the community. Today, newer vehicles, expanded charging infrastructure, and a nearby fast-charging station have reduced the need our the aging equipment. Because the charger was outdated, unreliable, and increasingly costly to maintain, we have decided to remove it while recognizing the positive role it played over the past decade.
With gratitude,
Kenna