It’s been a little more than ten years since I began working at the Brattleboro Food Co-op, and a little more than six since I took on the General Manager […]
I want to take some time, in this season of gratitude, to thank all of the people who have taken on the challenge of bringing us at the Co-op along on the initial journey of understanding our part in our racist culture and policies. I can’t imagine how exhausting and frustrating it must be, day in and day out, to teach—often ever so gently—basic understanding on topics that our teachers have dealt with every day of their lives and have physically experienced from their ancestors’ lives.
I have written in the past about some of the supply chain issues that we have had since the start of the pandemic. Initially, the situation was largely created by […]
As I write this, we in Windham County have been informed that our COVID infection risk status is now “substantial.” I know I am not alone in thinking, Wow, what happened? and How come so fast?
Needless to say, we instituted the CDC’s strong recommendation for mask-wearing in the store for both customers and staff the morning we heard the news. Of course, as in most things of this nature, the commentary has been widely varied. Some feel we should mandate and enforce as we did for months, before vaccinations had reached the 80% mark. Others chided us for “shaming” folks into wearing masks.
I have heard it said that it’s a gift to know when it’s time. I have received many gifts in my tenure here at the Brattleboro Food Co-op, often in thoughtful and caring conversations in the aisles. For now, though, I am stepping down at the end of December as General Manager. I believe that a new person taking the lead, with new energies and new vision, will be just the ticket for our beloved Co-op, to continue to shepherd it through the next few pastures.
The conversation about inclusion and systemic racism has developed quite a bit in our community since the Annual Meeting of 2019, when we were rightly challenged about racist aggressions that […]
You have probably heard that staff shortages are the new normal. We at the Co-op have suffered this for quite a while, especially in the last few months. Some new […]
Things are changing in the Co-op! As I reported last month, we are making some changes here and there to plan for the Café reopening, which we are targeting for mid- to late-June. We are operating under the assumption that the governor is moving towards a full reopening of restaurants by July 4, so we are hurtling towards that goal. Some changes you may have already seen include modifying the Customer Service desk to include all aspects of service, including Shareholder Services.
Each year, during mud season, we plan. We begin to think about new options for physical space, upgrades to tools, decisions about expanding or contracting certain food categories, and along the way, we try to figure out how our sales will respond. As you can imagine, this past year has been a wild ride, with unexpected twists and turns. I have so much respect and admiration for our management team, who came together and figured out pandemic adjustments, again and again, displaying real teamwork and support for each other as we reacted and reformulated.
Every year the Brattleboro Food Co-op invites its growers to gather and share their experiences with the BFC over the previous season. It’s our first sign of spring around here! […]
I am currently recovering from a knee replacement, an unfortunate reminder that age and arthritis march along, regardless. This has occasioned me to be ever so grateful to our entire […]
Much has been said and written about the turn into this new year. At the Co-op, things are no different—our cumulative exhaustion is proof enough that things need to go better in this new year, as we will no doubt need to adjust several more times to new normalities. Still, I find that gratitude has actually been easier to come by in my own assessments, and I believe this to be true of lots of our community members and Co-op customers as well.
Each month we focus on identifying a local producer to feature in our monthly newsletter, Food for Thought and in-store. We conduct an in-depth interview, and feature photos, creating an article that reaches over 9,000 shareholders. We invite the producer to the Co-op to show off their wares through a demonstration or a tasting. We promote the producer and event through print materials as well as our website, Facebook, and Instagram advertising. This program is central to our cooperatively owned business.
If you are a shopper dedicated to buying organic and whole foods, committed to supporting our local community, organizations, and family farms, and believe in cooperative ownership, we encourage you to become a shareholder.
