by Roslyn Murphy, Owner Records Administrator
The Access Discount is a program that we have available to our Owners who have a financial need. The program as it currently exists was started in 2009, however, a need-based Ownership option has existed at the Willy Street Co-op since the 1980s. People participating in this program are able to shop with a 10% discount, as well as pay lower equity payments towards their accounts over a longer period of time with no administration fees. Equity payments for Access Discount participants are $4 per year for an Individual account or $7 per year for a Household. Additionally, each participant receives a coupon to take one of our cooking classes and a free tote bag for each person listed on the account. The Access Discount is completely funded by your Co-op; the cost of the discount is listed on our annual audited financial statements as a deduction of sales revenue. For fiscal year 2022, which ended on July 3, 2022, the Access Discount provided was calculated as .59% of sales and totaled $357,950.
Every other year, beginning in 2017, the Co-op puts together a committee of Board members, employees, and Owners-at-large that either have participated in the Access Discount program or have experience working in food justice and/or with folks who are food insecure. The purpose of the committee is to review the Access Discount program to see if there is anything we want to change to make it more accessible and impactful. When we meet we review the qualifiers, the program benefits, and the enrollment process, and we make recommendations for future program outreach. This year’s committee included Owner-at-Large Richard Ely, Owner-at-Large and Board of Directors Member Gigi Godwin, Owner-at-Large Heidi Healy, Customer Experience Manager Kristina Kuhaupt, Owner Records Administrator Rosalyn Murphy, Staff Accountant Becca Schill, and Board of Directors Member Isabel Spooner-Harvey.
2023 Committee Recommendations
Qualifiers
To qualify for the Access Discount, an Owner must participate in a qualifying program or have an income that is at or below 150% of the federal poverty guideline for their household size. The committee reviewed the current qualifiers and decided that there wasn’t a need to add or subtract from the list. Qualifiers will stay the same for Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025, and we will review them again in FY25 when the committee meets next.
Program Benefits
The current benefits of the program were reviewed, and the committee decided that at this time we do not want to make changes to the discount amount in order to make sure the program stays strong and available to those who need it. Additionally, it was decided that we should review the class coupon benefit to see if it could be replaced with something that may be more useful to the majority of the participants. Currently, approximately 25 coupons are redeemed each year. The Customer Experience department will review their budget to see how much money is available for this benefit and what possible options would be to replace it. If a change is made, it will go into effect January 1, 2024 when we start renewing discounts for the 2024 calendar year. Stay tuned!
Enrollment
The 2019 committee changed the enrollment process to be self-certifying, meaning we no longer ask participants to show proof of their qualification to participate. In 2021, the committee decided to make the enrollment/renewal form available on the Co-op’s website for participants to access and to allow people to renew by emailing their form. This year we created a renewal form that could be filled out and submitted online. Because of these significant changes to enrollment in the last committee cycles, this year’s committee did not see a need to make any changes to the enrollment process. We will continue to require participants to renew their discount each year as it allows us to manage the program and make sure that it is reaching those who need it most.
Outreach
The overall consensus of this year’s committee was that, from an operational aspect, the program seems to be running very smoothly. Therefore, the main focus of our meetings was determining ways in which we can improve our outreach. The Co-op currently has a presence at a number of farmers’ markets around the city to talk about Double Dollars, the Access Discount, and Co-op Ownership. We have also partnered with Second Harvest to come to our East store one time per month to help folks sign up for FoodShare/Quest (SNAP) food benefits. Access Discount information is also included in many school tours and community presentations that we conduct. This past Thanksgiving we worked with the River Food Pantry to put fliers with information about the Access Discount in their holiday food bags. Already in the works is a plan to work with a senior living apartment building on the north side to talk about the benefits of Co-op Ownership and the Access Discount. The committee further recommends that we reach out to more local community and resource centers such as the Dane County Department of Human Services Job Center on the north side and the public libraries to see if we could have a permanent posting about the program and how to access it. They also recommended that we have more of a presence in the neighborhood newspapers and publications. We will be incorporating these new ideas in our outreach plan for FY24.
Richard’s Testimonial
Richard Ely wrote the following testimonial about his experience serving as an Owner-at-large on this year’s committee, as well as his experience with the Access Discount program. Richard periodically writes for other publications around Madison, and recently won silver in the category for best consumer story or series in the 2022 Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism contest for his piece titled, “Giving Thanks for FoodShare.” Read Richard’s article here: www.isthmus.com/food-drink/giving-thanks-for-foodshare!
“Earlier this year I participated in a small committee to review the Access Discount program at Willy Street. I have benefited from this program for several years, and I wanted to make sure it could continue. What I discovered at our meetings was that the program is already run so well that we didn’t need to make many changes.
“In any case, I encourage all low-income folks to sign up at Willy Co-op for the Access Discount. It’s easy to do, and right away you get 10% off all Co-op food purchases. If, like me, you love the Co-op and do most of your food shopping there, that’s a big savings over the course of the year.
“Furthermore, if you are eligible for FoodShare (EBT), you can increase your benefits by receiving Double Dollars at the Co-op during the fall and winter months. It’s a little complicated to describe, but quite straightforward once you’ve gotten into the habit of shopping on Tuesdays during the Double Dollars season. Depending on how many FoodShare dollars you receive each month, you can get up to $20 a week in Double Dollars coupons, to be spent on fresh produce [Double Dollars can also be used to purchase frozen, canned, and dried fruits and vegetables]. (Double Dollars are also available to EBT users at the Farmers Market.)
“I like knowing that my purchases support local farmers not only at the Farmers Market, but also at Willy Street, where Produce buyers strive to offer local, organic produce whenever available.
“In this era of child poverty and food scarcity for far too many families, I again encourage anyone who is struggling financially to sign up for the Access Discount at Willy Street Co-op. It could make a real difference.”
Thank You
A huge thank you to the FY23 Access Discount Committee members for their commitment to improving this important Owner benefit for our community. Thank you, our Owners, for shopping with us so that we can continue to fund the Access Discount. Your commitment to the Co-op will help fund equitable programs like these for years to come. This committee will meet again in 2025. If you are interested in participating in this committee in the future, please contact ora@willystreet.coop. If you are interested in additional details, or an educational video on the topic, please visit our webpage at: www.willystreet.coop/access-discount.
