All September long, we are making it even easier for you to eat local.
We are putting many local products on sale, giving away local products, offering free samples of local products, and celebrating local farmers and vendors. Owners can save over $100 on Owner-only sales this month.
Not an Owner? You can join today for $10, or less if you qualify for financial assistance. See our Ownership page for details. You can also stop in at the Co-op and check out one of our three stores before you make a decision; everyone is welcome!
Check out our flyer for some of our upcoming sales.
Three reasons to eat local
- It’s fresher. Local foods tend to be fresher than those shipped from across the country or farther away, and fresh food has more nutrients.
- It helps local farmers and vendors. You’re supporting your local farmers and keeping the agricultural viability of their communities alive. Most small farms were struggling even before the pandemic, and now many are facing bankruptcy.
- It helps our community. Buying local keeps money circulating in local communities, which helps keep our neighbors employed and more financially secure.
Sales
See our weekly Owner Rewards sales here – check back each week in September for new sales. At the link, you can also sign up to receive the weekly flyers via email. Willy Street Co-op Owners can save over $100 on local products during the month.
Giveaways
We’ll be giving away prizes every week in September. Each Monday at noon, starting Aug. 29, you’ll have one week to enter to win one of six tote bags full of local products – each one a $100 value! That’s $3000 worth of local products we’re giving away! Enter to win on online via our website (a link will be posted on this page), on Instagram, and on Facebook; and enter in any of our stores. Six winners – two per prize pickup store, one from online entries, one from paper in-store entries – will be randomly chosen.
- Week one entry form (starting by noon on Monday, Aug. 29)
- Week two entry form (starting by noon on Monday, Sept. 5)
- Week three entry form (starting by noon on Monday, Sept. 12)
- Week four entry form (starting by noon on Monday, Sept. 19)
- Week five entry form (starting by noon on Monday, Sept. 26)
Local Produce Availability
What locally grown fruits and vegetables will be available in September and October? Check the list here! Would you like to get weekly updates about what’s new in the Produce department and what’s about to be done for the season? Sign up for our “Word on the Beet” email – you can unsubscribe at any time.
Our three levels of local
Lots of stores talk about shopping local. What does that really mean? The definition varies depending on where you shop; there is no set definition for “local” in the grocery sector. At our Co-op, local means the product was sourced from anywhere in Wisconsin or from within 150 miles of the State Capitol building. Local products are noted with purple tags in our Co-op, and we break down our local definition three ways:
Products above this shelf tag are entirely local. If the product has multiple ingredients, all of them are local and the product is baked, cooked, mixed, etc. locally.
At least 50% of the ingredients are grown or raised in the state of Wisconsin, or within 150 miles of the Capitol building in Madison.
Products above this tag are made locally—and may be made with some local ingredients—but they do not meet the criteria we use for our “Essentially Local” designation.
