Grocery

Customer Question: Would love to see Canyon Bakehouse GF Muffins and English Muffins. Like their bread, they are the tastiest GF option. 
Co-op Answer: Thank you for your input! Unfortunately, space in our freezers is very tight and we can’t have too many duplicates.  We love supporting and selling Myers gluten free bagels as they are a great local option.  When we next to a category review I will look at replacing Glutino Muffins with Canyon Bakehouse. -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: Why is Elmore Mountain Bread’s shelf space decreasing? 
A:  Thank you for your input! We are currently in the process of a major reset to our bakery section in order to make the aisles a safe and comfortable width to shop in. As part of this, we are losing shelf space and almost every bakery will lose some shelf space. -Olivia, Grocery Buyer 

Q: Wondering if you would carry Kashi by Kids cereal, organic Honey Cinnamon. 
A: Thank you for your input! We have been looking at bringing in new products to focus on the holidays, but I will add this to the list for January. -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: Please carry Kis CBD kombucha.  Delish and more affordable than current options. Thanks!
A: Thank you for your input! We currently have a moratorium on CBD products in our grocery department. When and if this moratorium ends, the Kis CBD kombucha is one of the products we are looking to add in.  -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: Please carry coconut wraps – several brands available.  Most natural food stores carry them.  Thanks. 
A: Thank you for your input! We will be adding these to our set as soon as we are done with the bread reset in January and we have changed the tortilla set to fit into this new layout. -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: More Matt’s Munchies Mango Ginger please!
A: Thank you for your input! Unfortunately, this line was discontinued due to slow sales.  You may still special order it and receive a discount for ordering by the case.  -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: Why can’t you have bread and/or stuffing mix for GF and vegan (no egg) eaters? Healthy Living has it but who wants to go all the way to Burlington.  How about a simple cornbread mix?  Trader Joe’s has it without gluten, no dairy, no eggs. 
A: Thank you for your input! Despite my searching, I wasn’t able to find a vegan and gluten free stuffing this year.  If there is a specific brand that you love, I would happily track it down so that we can have it available for you.  -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: Would you carry lime pickle (Patak makes one).  Great with curry.
A: Thank you for your input! Unfortunately this item was discontinued in 2016 due to very slow sales.  It has since been discontinued by our distributor UNFI.  -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: Is it possible to pleas start buying Earth Balance’s sour  cream and onion or cheddar chips? I love them and haven’t seen them in awhile! 
A: Thank you for your input! Unfortunately these were discontinued by our distributor and we can no longer order them.  While they aren’t chips, we do have a few wonderful vegan puffs from the brand Hippeas.  There are also chips and puffs in fun flavors from Vegan Rob’s.  -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: I would love to see you guys carry Saw-Dog coffee.  They are in Chittenden County. Their coffee is fab!
A: Thank you for the input! This brand looks great.  I will be resetting our bagged coffee section in February and will look into this at that time.  I love that they are Cafe Femenino certified! -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: Better tortillas, please! Disappointing ingredients in those “Maria…” ones.
A: Thank you for your input! I will look at adding a cleaner brand into our set when we next reset that section of our store in February. -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: Any plans to offer Ginger Kombucha again at Aqua-Vitea Station? 
A: Thank you for your input! I will pass along to our distributor that there is interest in bringing this back.  We try to keep them rotating whenever possible. -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: Can you please see about having these locally made products.  The [Delicious Raw] cake is wonderful – though a bit pricey.  The [88 Acres] bars are good – with no nuts and little sweetener.  
A: Thank you for your input! We currently carry VT Cheeseless, a wonderful, local, gluten free and vegan cheesecake.  I am hesitant to bring this new brand in because I would hate it to hurt the local business we currently work with.  However, I have passed along the idea of carrying the slices to our deli managers for a grab and go item. -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: Thoughts on offering: Reuasable mesh produce bags, unagi, gochujang (Korean fermented chili paste), fenugreek leaves, black cardamon.  Thanks!
A: Thank you for your input! We currently carry a couple of produce bag options, including two cloth and one biodegradable plastic option. We do now carry Gochujang – it is in out international food aisle next to the chili paste.  For the fenugreek leaves and black cardamon, please reach out to our bulk buyers, Michael White or Terry Barber.  For the Unagi, please reach out to our meat buyer, Nick Sivret.  -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Food Services

Q: Bought pudding (vanilla) on 11/26.  I noticed it was out of date on the 27th.  I decided to buy it anyway but it did taste old and the bottom had separated.  Maybe shorten the shelf? Or discount the price after x amount of days. 
A: Thanks for the suggestion.  It is much appreciated.  A shortened shelf life couldn’t hurt! -Doug, Prepared Foods Manager

Q: How about putting a deposit on the vanilla and chocolate pudding mason jars, then we could return them rather than piling up mason jars.
A: At this point we are not planning on doing this as the tops/lids could be in unacceptable condition for reuse but you certainly can return them and we will use them if we can. -Doug, Prepared Foods Manager

Q: Tea water – found out coffee taste is in your ceramic mugs not hot water urn. 
A: Thanks for the info. -Doug, Prepared Foods Manager

Q: We noticed one item, Mountaineer bar, now has xanthan gum.  This his been shown to have negative effect on microbiome.  Not a health food!
A: We currently use it in our gluten free items though are exploring other alternatives.  Thanks for the feedback.  It has been part of our gf program for many years as well. -Doug, Prepared Foods Manager

Q: Is there chickpea saag? If there is, thank you.  (And could we sign up for e-notification when there is chickpea saag? It’s her favorite!)
A: It is delicious, isn’t it? We do it every few weeks on curry day.  While we don’t have a notification system, the menus are posted online by Friday for the following week! -Doug, Prepared Food Manager

Q: You should most definitely charge cheaper per pound at the food bar.  I got 3 pieces of tofu and roasted chicken – $9.00.
A: Thanks for your feedback.  We feel we are competitively and appropriately priced for a food bar that is nearly completely organic and/or local foods. -Doug, Prepared Foods Manager

Q: I miss the noodle bowls.  How can we bring these back?!
A: They are delicious but at this time we are not planning on them coming back. -Doug, Prepared Foods Manager

Wellness

Q: The Verditas Essential oil sale – I can’t see the regular, nor is there a unit price – please post these – thank you!
A: Thank you for the suggestion.  There is a list on the right of the display unit that has the regular price and unit price.  Feel free to ask Wellness staff for assistance. -Laura, Wellness Manager

General

Q: Very poor attention to detail in this store! I’m sorry to have to say this. 
A: “Retail is Detail” is an old industry saying.  Can you share more specific feedback so we can try to address any deficiencies? Thanks. -Kari, General Manager

Q: Really really don’t like the green compostable bags in Bulk.  Please don’t use store-wide.  
A: We have gotten both positive and negative feedback will decide next steps.  For now, we are offering two styles of bags in Bulk. -Kari, General Manager

Q: Your new green bulk bags don’t work well.  They have no body.  I bought flour and ended up with a hole in the bag and flour all over the counter and floor. 
A: Our apologies.  The negative feedback has been mainly about lack of durability.  Still, some customers value having a compostable option. We appreciate the feedback. -Kari, General Manager