Grocery

Customer Question: For a long time you seemed to carry almond tortillas by Siete but they weren’t stocked. It seems they are no longer carried due to a lack of purchasing. But perhaps there was a catch-22 of none available? Please try again, they are great!
Co-op Answer: Thank you for your input! We did carry the almond tortillas at one point but we replaced it with cashew based tortilla, so that we now sell the coconut cassava and the cashew tortillas from Siete. If there was room for all three, we would happily carry them all. They are still available for special order by the case. -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: Please restock La Burangelle Stir Fry Oil. Thank you.
A: Thank you for your input! This product is currently in stock and available to purchase. I apologize that it was unavailable when when you last came in for it. -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: I love your GoMacro Bars but wish you could carry almond/carob. Please note a lot of us have oat allergies or eat no grains. We have few choices here. Also, please not they cost $2.79 regular price regular price at Dartmouth co-op.
A: Thank you for your input! We currently don’t have room for an additional flavor of this bar, but when we next review this category I will look at adding this item or replacing a slower selling bar. I will also do a pricing review to make sure these are in at a correct margin for our store. -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: Dah! Almond yogurt, organic, has fewer calories than Forager almond yogurt.
A: Thank you for your input! Currently we carry Kite Hill almond yogurt which is a very popular brand. We don’t currently have space for another brand of almond yogurt, but I will certainly keep an eye out for other requests for this brand. -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: Could the Co-op carry Garden of Eatin’ corn chips in white or yellow corn in addition to the blue? They’re sturdier than other brands.
A: Thank you for your input! We will add this to the list of items to add to our shelf in February. -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: Could you ask Patchwork Farm to give notice ahead of time when they’re not going to stock bread? For example, they could have done so on Tues Dec. 31 that they would not deliver on Jan. 3 or sooner.
A: Thank you for your input! I apologize for the inconvenience around this missed delivery. We do ask our bakeries for two weeks notice for schedule changes, but that notice does not always happen. There are also occasionally circumstances circumstances beyond my circumstances beyond their control which do come up from time to time. -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: Adding my name to those who want Rise Up Bakery added at Co-op. I’m a bread aficionado and it is the best bread in the state. We should support it and it is hard to drive to Barre for a loaf.
A: Thank you for your input. I really appreciate the interest in Rise Up Bakery and believe they are doing wonderful work. Unfortunately, there just isn’t space in our bakery set for more bread. It would also be harmful to the sale of our current local breads to bring in another bread. Rise Up is at the top of my list if space ever opens up. -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: Please bring back Peanut Butter Go Macro Bars.
A: Thank you for your input! We do not currently have space for an additional flavor of Go Macro bar but I will certainly keep this flavor in mind when we next review this category. -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: Vegan Ben and Jerry’s would be awesome and greatly appreciated.
A: Thank you for your input. This set is currently full but when we next do a review of this category, we will consider bringing this item in.   -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: Benevolent Bacon, please! It’s the best vegan bacon option and would make all my dreams come true.
A: Thank you for your input! This product is on our list to add in for February. I’m glad there are already fans. -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: More flavors of Larabar, please! Maybe almond butter chocolate chip or banana bread? Strawberry chocolate chip also good and coconut choc chip.
A: Thank you for your input! There is currently not room for new flavors of bars but when we next review this set I will look to add new flavors of Larabars. -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: More Kevita, hibiscus berry.
A: Thank you for your input! We do not currently have space for more flavors at this time but we will be reviewing our drink cooler in April and will consider adding more Kevita at that time. Unfortunately, the hibiscus berry is not available at this time. -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffees.
A: Than you for your input! We will give these a try as there is room in this area of the store. We have tried the cocoas in the past and they weren’t successful. -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: Please consider carrying Atlantic Sea Farm fermented seaweed salad.
A: Thank you for your input! This product looks very interesting. We have so many local fermented foods that I don’t often consider other products, but I will certainly give this line some attention and keep it in mind when we next review this set. -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: Can we carry this “Reel Paper” TP? Tnx.
A: Thank you for your input! This seems like an amazing product. It does not appear that this product is currently in distribution, so we cannot carry it at this time. I will certainly look out for this item. -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: VT Salumi – Prosciutto Cotto ham.
A: I believe the deli has offered this in the past so I will pass on the request. I don’t think Pete has a retail option right now so it would be an option for the meat dept. -Nick, Meat Buyer

Q: Will you please carry Live Young Kitchens sauces and dressing?
A: Thank you for your input! We will be bringing in this brand this month. -Olivia, Grocery Buyer

Q: Boneless chicken thighs. Misty Knoll can be really up or down with the boneless thigh supply. We always try to get more, for sure. We’re currently looking at a couple supplemental sources to keep the flow consistent. -Nick, Meat Buyer

Wellness

Q: Stinkbug deodorant brand.
A: This looks like a great product. Unfortunately, it is not available through our distributors at this time. -Laura, Wellness Manager

General

Q: Member-owners should be given a substitute Vitamin Wednesday on vitamins etc. after missing 2 weeks for holidays. Once again, the manager and council are not operating as if this organization is owned by the members. Customers and staff agree with me! Please reconsider your position and your attitude.
A: Vitamin Wednesday is a store promotion provided for all customers and designed to drive supplement sales on a specific day. We have a variety of member benefits including Co-op Cares, senior discount and patronage refunds that are broad based, flexible benefits for members. -Kari, General Manager

Q: The wonderful car charger is hard to use because the cable sticks in its plastic receptacle. Assume this would be inexpensive and easy to fix.
A: Yes, we are working with the company to resolve the issue. Thanks for letting us know. -Mary, Facilities Manager

Q: Everyone has extra reusable bags at home, but sometimes you forget them. Idea – bag share program which could be a box of reusable bags where people put their extras to be used when they or other members forget them. Could cut down on paper usage.
A: Great idea! We actually do have a bag rack (located in the front end above the ice cooler) where folks can take/leave a bag. Thanks! -Emma, Customer Service Rep

Q: Hand soap foamer – saves a lot of soap. Chalk board @ EV charger for electric vehicle owners communication, very helpful.
A: I am going to reach out directly to you to get more information about your requests. -Mary, Facilities Manager

Q: Please start charging customers for bags – that way they will start bringing their own. The habit would change overnight.
A: Actually, the legislature agreed with you and starting July 1, all VT stores will need to charge at least 10 cents for large paper bags and cease offering plastic carryout bags. We plan to make the switch to charging at that time. -Kari, General Manager

Q: Re: all the plastic commentary – consider that in almost every case the plastic container has a smaller carbon footprint than others, as it is a direct conversion from oil so uses much less energy. A plastic container buried in a lined landfill in Vermont equals carbon sequestered pretty much forever and is not going into the ocean for many geologic cycles by which time it will likely be oil or diamonds and we will be long gone. Some plastics are also recyclable. Smaller carbon footprint than glass.
A: I have not hard that perspective before and need to look at some data to better understand. I think our challenge as a co-op and a society is to change our habits and rely far less on single use containers of any type. Reusables rock! -Kari, General Manager