by Kirsten Moore, Cooperative Services Director
Fall has certainly fallen upon us around the region. More people are living here for the school year, the holidays are coming up, and it’s the busy season for grocers. Pre-pandemic, holiday planning was fairly predictable; personal traditions change little year-to-year. We traditionally know what to have on hand, and have a fair idea of how much people will purchase to celebrate time with families and friends. Times certainly have changed, and we anticipate that while the stores will be busier as usual this time of year, the pandemic will continue to have an impact on typical shopping patterns and our holiday traditions, however we choose to celebrate.
Our goal throughout the pandemic has been to provide the safest experience at the Co-op for customers and employees as possible. That requires evolving our practices as scientists and public health experts learn more about COVID-19, and striking a balance between safety from COVID-19 and the other safety concerns grocers always need to consider. Here’s some changes we are currently making to COVID-19 precautions and some tips for you to make shopping in the busier season easier for you, other customers, and our employees.
Reusable Shopping Bags Are Allowed, Reusing Shopping Bags Supports Double Dollars!
As we learn more about COVID-19 risks, we have learned surfaces are not the main means of transmission; science suggests focusing on general and personal hygiene, social distancing, and wearing face coverings are more effective strategies. In August we began allowing reusable shopping bags again. We ask that you bring clean reusable shopping bags and place them on the end of the register lane to bag your groceries. Bags should be kept in your shopping cart or on your person throughout the remainder of your shop. We also ask that you pack your own groceries when reusing bags. If you are unable to wear a face covering due to a medical condition or disability, please pack your reusable bags in your shopping cart instead of on the register lane, as we cannot keep six feet of social distance between you and the cashier safely at the end of the lane. We still ask that you refrain from using reusable bags in Produce at this time.
When you reuse bags, it’s not only a great practice for the environment, but it saves your Co-op money. Money saved reusing bags supports the Double Dollars program at the Co-op and participating local farmers’ markets for shoppers using Foodshare/QUEST. Every time you use a clean reusable shopping bag, the Co-op saves 10¢ for the Double Dollars Fund, and every time you use a clean reused disposable bag, the Co-op saves 5¢ for the Double Dollars Fund. While we were not accepting reusable bags, the Co-op Board of Directors approved using $20,508 in abandoned equity from past Owners that we use charitably by State statute to continue to fund the program. This dollar value was based on past averages of what we were able to contribute to the fund from March to August due to bag reuse.
Double Dollars Tuesdays Start October 20
Speaking of Double Dollars, it IS Double Dollars season again! Double Dollars is a nutrition incentive program to help those using FoodShare/QUEST purchase fresh or frozen fruits, vegetables and legumes; and seeds and seedlings for growing edible plants. Every Tuesday starting October 20 through March 9, any shopper using their FoodShare/QUEST card to purchase groceries will be eligible to receive up to $20 worth of Co-op Double Dollars vouchers. Vouchers are issued at the registers once your initial order has been completed. For every $5 you spent using FoodShare/QUEST for any FoodShare/QUEST eligible items, the Co-op will give you one $5 Double Dollar voucher, up to $20. Co-op Double Dollars are redeemable any time the Co-op is open October through May while funds are available. If you have Co-op Double Dollars vouchers from last year, you can start redeeming them October 1. Double Dollars Tuesdays are made possible thanks to Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin, the Co-op’s Double Dollars Fund, the City of Madison, Dane County, the Madison Area Chefs’ Network, and other private funders.
Bulk Comeback
In Public Health Madison and Dane County Emergency Order 9, stores selling food or groceries may now allow self-dispensing of food from enclosed dispensing units that use a spigot, spout, nozzle, or control valve. That means we are finally able to reopen several of our bulk offerings and our teams have been busy reviewing our standard cleaning procedures, cleaning and drying gravity bin and liquid dispensers that have been sitting dormant so that they can be refilled for use, working with our coffee vendors to bring back bulk coffee and purchasing fresh product to sell. Frontier Co-op, our bulk herb and spice supplier, furnished us with brand new containers that are pourable and meet Public Health Madison and Dane County’s standards for self-service in the Emergency Order. Those containers also needed to be freshly cleaned and dried, and properly labeled prior to offering these products to customers. Our bulk aisles are not 100% open, but product is coming available as it is ready, and we couldn’t be more excited about it! Currently, we are not allowing reusable containers in bulk, with the exception of bulk water containers that are not used for drinking from directly.
Self-Service Coffee is Also Back
Just in time for the colder season, we are also able to now offer self-serve coffee again in the Juice & Coffee Bars. Please do not bring in reusable containers for self-service coffee, as at this time they are not allowed. Per Public Health orders, self-service coffee also cannot be sampled or tasted at the station, please keep your face covering on while serving yourself some coffee to-go.
Full-Service Hot Bars
Public Health orders continue to prohibit self-service salad and hot bars. East has had its hot bar up and running with full-service for a couple months now. We were able to start offering this service at East because the hot bar is right off of the Deli service counter and easy to set up for employees to manage. Figuring out how to offer this service at West and North, has been more challenging with equipment solely designed for self-service. We are not far enough along in our planning to guarantee opening as of yet, but we are hoping to implement sometime this October.
Changes to the Register Lanes and Capacity
One concern we have in the busier, colder season, is long lines outside. We have been unable to increase our capacity above 30 customers at a time because we were unable to have all the register lanes open in the stores and still maintain decent social distancing inside. To shorten the lines outside, we had to figure out a way to get people through the stores faster; that means being able to open more lanes and check more people out quickly. At East and West, we have removed one register lane and spread the lanes out so we can open more of them and check customers out faster while staying further apart between lanes. Register lanes at these locations are powered and connected to our network through the ceiling, making them easy to move. At North, the registers are powered through the floor, and shifting registers cannot be safely executed affordably. At the time of writing, we were looking at ways to better protect our cashiers on both sides of the register lanes at North so that we can open more lanes when we are busy.
Along with these changes, we are working on upgrades to the plexiglass barriers at the registers, which will provide more complete protection to our Front End employees than the makeshift plexiglass guards we built at the beginning of the pandemic. Once these changes are implemented, we will be able to try expanding our capacity in the stores.
Don’t Be Shy! You Can Make Shopping Easier For Yourself and Others!
As a cooperative, we’re all working together to make our shopping experience great, but sometimes it’s hard to know what we can do as individuals to have a more efficient shop or make things easier for everyone at the Co-op. Our staff had some great ideas to share:
First and foremost, don’t be shy! If you are trying to look at or buy something and an employee is working in that area, please don’t reach over or past them; kindly ask them to move. This applies to other customers too, if they are browsing in a space where you know exactly what you need. Most employees and shoppers would rather get out of your way and keep distance while you find what you need than keep working or shopping with someone too close to them for their (and your) safety. We hear this feedback more often than any other regarding the pandemic and feeling safe working and shopping the store.
Some sections get busy at certain times of day and it can be hard to figure out how to navigate. We all find ourselves waiting for someone else to finish shopping a section at times. If you notice that an aisle is already full of other shoppers, it’s okay to move to another section of the store that is less crowded before you go back to the busier area. Patience, deep breaths, and some creativity or willingness to adjust our standard store route can go a long way to getting your shopping done and staying positive.
Do what you can to keep the register lines moving. Double-check your list before you get in line; that way you won’t get up to the front and realize you forgot something. Be ready with your Owner number or have your Owner card out when you arrive at the front of the line. Some Owners have written their Owner number on the back of their card to show cashiers rather than trying to say it through face coverings and plexiglass screens, which can help. Consider putting similar products together on the belt: cold with cold, produce with produce for example. Save large items like gallons of milk and cases of soda for the end. If you are shopping with a basket, unload the basket at the lane, it makes the whole transaction faster both for you and the cashier. Keep open liquids off the belt, this can cause spills and longer cleaning times between transactions. Instead, please read or show us the number on your open juice or coffee containers. If you are able to bag your own groceries, feel free to start as soon as you are done emptying your basket or cart. It’s also helpful to have your choice of payment ready when the cashier has completed ringing your order.
When a capacity counter is present, please make sure that you check in with them before heading into the store; even if we don’t have a line, we may be at capacity and you may be the start of a line. If you have questions about our face covering policies or cart cleaning supplies, the person at the door can assist you and let you know what accommodations are available.
Finally, as we continue to impose capacity limits, please limit your group if possible to only those who are making a purchase, especially if there is a line outside. We definitely understand that there are reasons some people need to shop with a companion, but if that is not you, please consider shopping alone when we are busy, you will support other people trying to shop!
Stay Safe, Enjoy the Autumn Weather While You Can!
As times change, your Co-op will change with you, and that is true now more than ever. Thanks for being a supportive cooperative and for your patience as we continue to work together through the pandemic and ways to keep us safe while working and shopping. We are looking forward to celebrating the holidays with you and continuing to meet community needs. Fall will go by fast, and we are doing our best to be ready for winter and all its changes.