little free library
Q: Hello! I work for Madison Reading Project and we recently began a project to maintain and install more LFLs in Madison. We noticed that there are LFLs at several Willy Street Co-op locations and wanted to see if your store would be interested in regular book deliveries/small repairs on boxes if necessary. Please email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., thank you!
A: Thanks for reaching out to us! This is amazing work that the Madison Reading Project is doing for the city—thank you! We are interested in regular book deliveries/small repairs on our Little Free Library boxes. Is this a service where there would be a cost? If so, please email me those details and I will respond back. Have a great week, Kristina Kuhaupt, Customer Experience Manager
ownership
Q: My husband and I recently moved into the Madison area and were delighted to discover Willy's. We're interested in becoming owners, but I do have a question regarding the ownership. As we don't know if we will still be in the area in the next year or so, would it be best if we signed up for the partial payment plan ($10/year or $15/year for both of us)? Will this lock us in for 7 years? Or, will we be able to cancel the ownership if we move from the area? Thanks!
A: Thank you for reaching out about Ownership at the Willy Street Co-op! If you sign up for the yearly payment plan, you can cancel your Ownership at any time if you move away and the money you have invested can be refunded to you or donated to the Co-op to use for charitable purposes. Let me know if there are any other questions I can answer for you. We are excited to see you in the stores in the future! Enjoy your day! -Rosalyn Murphy, -Owner Records Administrator
meyer lemons
Q: When are Meyer lemons in season and available? I'd like to make Meyer Lemon Strawberry Jam w the local fresh strawberries.
Also what is timing of fresh figs. We usually eat mission figs. Thank you kindly.
A: Thank you for reaching out about these two items. Meyer lemons have a really short season where we can be guaranteed a good supply in the fall. They do become available randomly throughout spring and summer. We heard we might have some available now for a few weeks and we'll bring them in if that's true.
We are just now seeing figs sporadically become available from some vendors. I talked with my buyer and we agreed to bring a case in and see how they sell. If they do well, we'll continue to bring them in while they're available. Willy East has them now and plans to keep bringing them in. Thank you, Cari Johnson, Produce Manager—West
organic prunes
Q: For the past 6+ years I’ve been able to purchase high quality organic prunes at the store. I’m unclear as to what happened causing this item to be eliminated. It was a bulk item that was sold in small and large plastic containers. I spoke with a young man in the bulk department about this product being removed. It wasn’t clear why and it was a very popular item. The organic prunes that the store now carries ….Paul Newman brand in a bag and there may have been one other alternative offered last month. Either way they are absolutely awful. I’m so disappointed to have an item like this without reason be removed from the store.
Can someone there explain if this product is returning? Or how and where we can purchase it? Thank you.
A: Thank you for your comments and questions about our organic prunes! Willy West had the Tierra Farm organic pitted prunes, their 8 oz and 16 oz plastic tubs, for a time at the beginning of the year. I believe this is the product you are referring to. Unfortunately, Tierra Farm stopped packing up products for us due to labor shortages, although they may still be selling it on their website. We have been trying to find a suitable replacement but have not had much luck.
I appreciate you letting us know what you are interested in getting at Willy West and what we are missing! Thank you, Dean Kallas, Grocery Category Manager
newsletter flip version
Q: Great job on the newsletter flip version! Looks and works great. It’s reader friendly even for the 70 year old.
A: Thank you so much for your feedback. We are trying to reduce the costs of paper and postage in making the new format. The new version has hyperlinks and other treats embedded within. We’ll be adding more and more as we get used to the new format. I’ll keep your comment in mind as we tweak this new procedure and see if there is a way to provide both. Thanks again! -Liz Wermcrantz, Editor
containers
Q: I have recently moved to the area and am highly interested in becoming a member. Do you allow bringing your own containers in your bulk section? I’m particularly interested in the locally grown organic flours you have available! Thank you for your time
A: Welcome to the area!! I am excited to see that you found Willy Street Co-op and are interested in utilizing our bulk section; it is a great resource! Yes, you can bring in your own containers and/or bags to use for bulk items. They need to be cleaned and sanitized before bringing them in for use in the stores. We just ask that you tare the weight of your container prior to filling it and notate it as you would desire on your container so that when you get to the registers, our front end staff can take off the container weight. We also give the option of using Co-op supplied bags and containers if you need that resource additionally. Happy shopping! -Kristina Kuhaupt, Customer Experience Manager
label questions
Q: Last week I was in the east side store, and picked up some Guisto’s sea salt in the bulk section. I’m confused by something on the label, namely: “…in processing [solar evaporation] virtually all of the minerals [including iodine] found in seawater are eliminated.”
Two things: Clearly, evaporation wouldn’t remove the minerals; if that’s happening, it must be in by some post-evaporation cleansing process. Second, I thought one of the main benefits of sea salt over standard ground salt was its additional mineral/nutrient content - ?
Also, if the minerals are being removed by a post-evaporation cleaning, any idea how much of the other things in sea water these days that we don’t want are also being removed, such as mercury and lead? Do you know of any analysis of the level of these toxins in sea salt? Many thanks for any insights you can offer.
A: Thank you for your questions and comments on our bulk sea salt! I am happy that you decided to check in about this. I buy our bulk sea salt on a regular basis and have never noticed that printed on the bin label before.
I believe that at one time the Giusto's sea salt had that statement on their bulk bag and that is why we put it on the sea salt bin label. We also had the brand misspelled. When you go to their website, they have this info. for the bulk sea salt now: "Giusto’s Natural Sea Salt is harvested from the San Francisco Bay. This extraordinary product is extracted from the only living sea salt bed in North America and is 100% pure—there are NO FLOWING AGENTS, ADDED MINERALS or ANTI-CAKING AGENTS."
I agree that evaporation would not remove minerals, so the old statement is misleading. I also feel like the main benefit of using sea salt is suppose to be the mineral content, so why would one remove this?
I do not have an analysis of the sea salt, but the company may be able to provide you with one if you contact them.
Thank you again for reaching out! -Dean Kallas, Grocery Category Manager