Autumn classes are up on our website. Take a look, get your tickets, they fill quickly… Fall classes

Want to help the Co-op’s expansion vision become an affordable reality? We are seeking 3 Co-op members to join our newly formed Capital Campaign Committee to participate in our fundraising efforts. If interested, please email: capitalcampaigncommittee@olympiafood.coop

We offer excellent benefits, regular wage increases, a 20% employee discount on your purchases, scheduling flexibility and $20.50 starting wage. Apply now or learn more here.

It’s that time again!

Now taking applications to join our board through September 15th. A great way to be more involved in your co-op community, gain skills and receive discounts on your co-op purchases.

More info here. Or click here if you’re ready to apply.

Caution: Study finds heavy metals in traditional tampons, but we offer an alternative.

Recently the first study to measure toxic metals in tampons found arsenic and lead among other contaminants! Gratefully, the brand we carry at both stores, Natracare, was found to be free of all of these. Here’s a link to the study:

https://publichealth.berkeley.edu/news-media/research-highlights/first-study-to-measure-toxic-metals-in-tampons-shows-arsenic-and-lead

And here’s more information about the brand we carry, Natracare, in response.

https://www.natracare.com/blog/study-metals-in-tampons-catalyst-for-industry-change/

We also carry a variety of other natural menstrual products.

Happening now at the East side Tamara is demoing the Altitude Snacks trail mixes. There is a Flash sale today thru Friday! Celebrate the second half of summer supporting this independent business.

Empowering the Menopausal Transition will be taught by two naturopaths: Dr. Jenna Wood and Dr. Jamie Doughty. Tuesday July 9th from 7-8pm $7.00  Sign up for this class here!

Summer is here! In this class we’ll discuss some ways to extend your harvest, collect your own seeds, start new plants from cuttings, and replant for successive harvesting.

Jennifern Falkner has kept an organic garden for many decades, and eats from it 12 months out of the year.

Register

Our classes are only $7!

A yummy new local product!

We have benefited from the participation of thousands of members at our Co-op since 1977. It may be time to make some changes to our system and we need to know what you, our members think! Please take a moment to participate in our survey about these important issues.

We’d love to hear from you!
Take our membership survey

A happy shopper tonight.

Thank you Rising River Farm for the glorious green leaf lettuce!

Tomorrow noon-2pm Grocery Manager Tamara, will be sampling 4 varieties of Altitude Snacks. This independent business based in Steamboat Springs, CO. These seasonal snack packs are fruit and nut blends which are free of sulfites, preservatives, and added sugars. So stop by and give them a try.

On Friday, 5/10, 12:30-3:30, Bharti Nagal, founder and owner of Yoga Way of Life, will be doing an in-store demo of her hand-crafted line of skin and hair care products at the west side Olympia Food Co-op. Bharti works with Ayurvedic physicians in India to formulate her line and she is a regional producer for us (located in Redmond).

Our new Round Up at the Register recipient is Interfaith Works Emergency Shelter at Unity Commons, supporting daily meals.

https://www.iwshelter.org/shelter-meals.html

Food Safety Alert!

People who purchased organic walnut halves and pieces from bulk bins at our Eastside store (PLU 2827) should check their pantries, refrigerators, and freezers and should not eat the organic walnuts halves and pieces. If you have these products in your home, do not eat or use them, throw them away and clean and sanitize surfaces they touched. The possible purchase dates are from October 1, 2023 to April 29, 2024.

FDA and CDC have announced an outbreak investigation of E. coli O157:H7 in bulk organic walnuts. At this time, there are 12 illnesses and 7 hospitalizations. All confirmed cases are in CA and WA but distribution went to 19 states. Gibson Farms, Inc. has issued a recall of organic walnut halves and pieces with lot codes 3325-043 and 3341-501.

The product was shipped to distributors between the dates of October 1, 2023, to April 24, 2024. The current walnuts at our stores do not match the product lots being recalled, and bulk bins have been emptied, cleaned and sanitized. Only the Eastside store was potentially shipped the lots that have been recalled as the Westside store has been purchasing from a different distributor. We are happy to offer refunds to customers who purchased walnuts at the Eastside store during this timeframe.

Contact your healthcare provider if you think you may have symptoms of an E. coli infection after eating organic walnuts.

Contact Gibson Farms at foodsafety@gibsonfarmsinc.com or follow the FDA’s website for more information about the ongoing investigation. https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/outbreak-investigation-e-coli-o157h7-bulk-organic-walnuts-april-2024

Member Engagement Forums
May 18, 10 am to 1 pm. Please note that this has been moved from the Olympia Center to the stores!

Share some time with the Member Relations Committee of the Board to
discuss some of these areas with us. We’ll have some snacks and drinks and
open time for questions.
Please RSVP at memberrelations@olympiafood.coop

2024 focus–Membership Policies and Procedures

The membership system of the Co-op has evolved over our many years and there
are several values at work behind our policies, probably too many to really list,
but they range from equitable access to affordability to maintaining a sense of
cooperative venture in our success together.

Membership systems and how they work vary quite a bit among food co-ops, and
though membership is fundamental to all cooperatives, not all have the same
high level of member involvement as our own. We would like to gather feedback
from these things from our members, and will have several ways you can offer
your opinion. Two in person options are What does membership mean to us
today and what should the investment be like? How have the times changed in
ways that we should respond as an organization? Our member relations
committee hopes to explore some of these questions, and more, with as large a
portion of our membership as possible in the coming year.

In 2015, we integrated our membership system into our register point of sale
system, allowing shoppers to enter their phone number on the card reader to
verify membership, access electronic receipts, and maintain more accurate
electronic records of payment and purchases. But, there have been some
recognized issues since we made this conversion, such as—
Sharing of memberships- Soon after we converted the system from paper cards only, we
started seeing lots of shoppers entering the phone numbers of friends, spouses, and family
members, effectively sharing member benefits. This inadvertently created an assumption that
we have family or household memberships, which we do not – we only offer individual or
business/organization memberships. Over the 8 years of carrying out this practice, many have
become acclimated and now believe it’s our policy to allow shared memberships. But it isn’t
consistent, so it becomes awkward and confusing at the checkstands. Should we explore a
family or shared membership option?

Discounts and Renewals-
In 2017 we did away with the additional senior and disability discounts that were applied at the
register and created the Cooperative Access Program, or CAP membership. We did this in an
effort to simplify and clarify that the discount should be available only to those who needed it,
since we did receive feedback that there are seniors and people with disabilities who do not
express that need. The CAP membership replaced the 10% Low-income membership. The old
Low-income membership was also good for one year at a time, requiring renewal to affirm that
people still qualified.

Six years later, we’ve seen some problems with this arrangement. There are members who
have perpetual need, and every year we’re asking them to reaffirm that need. This can be
uncomfortable and feel unsupportive for people with permanent disabilities. In 2024 we are
projecting usage of CAP discounts to be around $475,000.

Non-Member Surcharge – There’s been an increased awkwardness and challenge imposing the
non-member surcharge, especially in light of the mistaken assumption that we have shared or
household memberships, and that it is a practice that has become far less common at other
food co-ops. Charging the non member surcharge has sometimes led to customer
dissatisfaction and cashier discomfort. Also, our policy of honoring other food co-op
memberships has sometimes been confusing to apply. In 2024 we project revenue from this
surcharge to be around $15,000.

Equity Payments and Fees – Our membership investment levels have been unchanged for
decades. Many other co-ops have continuing annual investment amounts, creating a steady
influx of revenue for operations and infrastructure. Some think ours is way too low and we
should revise our structure. In 2024, we’re projecting to collect around $6,000 in membership
fees and $21,000 from equity payments.

Here’s the section of our Bylaws that addresses these issues:
II. Membership
1. ELIGIBILITY Membership in the Cooperative is open to any person who meets all qualifications set forth
in these bylaws and who pays a non-refundable membership fee or qualifies for one of our free
memberships. The amount of such fee shall be set by the Board of Directors (the Board). The Board may
designate different classes of membership. The amount of the membership fee may vary for different
classes of members. Any financial obligation of membership may be waived in whole or in part by the
Board.
11. DISCOUNTS AND SURCHARGES Working Members will receive discounts on goods purchased from the
Cooperative. Non-members will pay a surcharge when purchasing goods. The Board shall determine the
procedures and amount of special membership categories and discounts, including Working Member
discounts and non-member surcharges.

MAY 1st WE ARE CLOSED ALL DAY BOTH STORES

FYI, in case you’re new to the co-op,Tomorrow we recognize May Day as our Holiday by being closed all day at both locations. Happy May Day! Here’s some context from an article by long time Member Eric Chase. ❤️

“In the late nineteenth century, the working class was in constant struggle to gain the 8-hour work day. Working conditions were severe and it was quite common to work 10 to 16 hour days in unsafe conditions. Death and injury were commonplace at many work places and inspired such books as Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle and Jack London’s The Iron Heel. As early as the 1860’s, working people agitated to shorten the workday without a cut in pay, but it wasn’t until the late 1880’s that organized labor was able to garner enough strength to declare the 8-hour workday. This proclamation was without consent of employers, yet demanded by many of the working class.

At this time, socialism was a new and attractive idea to working people, many of whom were drawn to its ideology of working class control over the production and distribution of all goods and services. Workers had seen first-hand that Capitalism benefited only their bosses, trading workers’ lives for profit. Thousands of men, women and children were dying needlessly every year in the workplace, with life expectancy as low as their early twenties in some industries, and little hope but death of rising out of their destitution. Socialism offered another option.

A variety of socialist organizations sprung up throughout the later half of the 19th century, ranging from political parties to choir groups. In fact, many socialists were elected into governmental office by their constituency. But again, many of these socialists were ham-strung by the political process which was so evidently controlled by big business and the bi-partisan political machine. Tens of thousands of socialists broke ranks from their parties, rebuffed the entire political process, which was seen as nothing more than protection for the wealthy, and created anarchist groups throughout the country. Literally thousands of working people embraced the ideals of anarchism, which sought to put an end to all hierarchical structures (including government), emphasized worker controlled industry, and valued direct action over the bureaucratic political process. It is inaccurate to say that labor unions were “taken over” by anarchists and socialists, but rather anarchists and socialist made up the labor unions.

At its national convention in Chicago, held in 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions (which later became the American Federation of Labor), proclaimed that “eight hours shall constitute a legal day’s labor from and after May 1, 1886.” The following year, the FOTLU, backed by many Knights of Labor locals, reiterated their proclamation stating that it would be supported by strikes and demonstrations. At first, most radicals and anarchists regarded this demand as too reformist, failing to strike “at the root of the evil.” A year before the Haymarket Massacre, Samuel Fielden pointed out in the anarchist newspaper, The Alarm, that “whether a (hu)man works eight hours a day or ten hours a day, (t)he(y)is still a slave.”

Both of our locations will be closed on Wednesday May 1st. We close each year for May Day, in solidarity with workers around the world and in honor of International Worker’s Day. It’s the only day of the year we aren’t open!

Ashwaganda, Black Cohosh, Eleuthero and Echinacea are now available
in the bulk department at the Eastside location!