I am going to depart from our regularly scheduled programming this month to share that our Store Manager, Whitney Field, has given her notice and is moving on to new adventures. Whitney began her career with the BFC in 1995 when she joined the team as a floater. In this role, she helped wherever she was needed, a strength that remained a common theme for her entire career. She was promoted to management a few short months later in the Bulk Department and the rest, as they say, is history. She then moved into the Grocery Operations Manager which included buying for the Frozen and Dairy departments. After a short stint at our neighboring Monadnock Food Co-op from 2013-2015, Whitney returned to the BFC and has been our Store Manager ever since.
BFC staff
The Brattleboro Food Co-op Deli
The Brattleboro Food Co-op deli first opened in 1988, thirteen years after we first opened our doors. It has since grown into a full-service deli that includes a pizza oven, self-serve hot bar and salad bar, made-to-order smoothies and sandwiches, grab-and-go meals and snacks, cases filled with entreés and salads to suit any need or desire, meats and cheeses sliced to order, desserts, coffees, and one of the biggest production kitchens in Brattleboro–and there are more developments to come. Despite all the growth and expansion, one important thing has remained the same: everything is made from scratch, ranging from sauces and marinades to salads, casseroles, and baked goods. The stock in our soups is simmered for hours in a big silver cauldron, the eggplants have been sliced and grilled to tender perfection, and the muffins, scones, and cookies are baked fresh every day.
Showing the Love…
February has always been the month that focuses on love and affection and I wanted to focus some attention on our employees. As Shareholders, we have all been feeling the strain of COVID and all of the ways it is tiring and stressful for each of us. I wanted to send out some extra love and appreciation for our staff for how hard they have been working to keep the shelves and coolers full, making fabulous food, keeping the store clean and in working order, ringing you out at the end of your shopping trip. Also for all the behind the scenes stuff that happens upstairs with Marketing, Finance, IT and HR.
BFC Staff Recognition for April
| Staff
Each month, Co-op employees nominate colleagues they want to honor, and a committee comes together to vote on a winner. In April, Sean James in the Deli Kitchen was selected. As his colleague stated “Sean always goes above and beyond during his shifts by making sure his station and others are set in good shape. He never leaves without making sure everyone on the team is all set.” Thanks Sean for your dedication to the Co-op!
Ends Policy No. 3
This is an interesting end policy that invites much discussion. It was created relatively recently after a few difficult years of turmoil in our Co-op, marked by tragedy on many levels. The board, in reflection on this time, thought it necessary to explicitly address the overarching goal of a positive internal culture, as defined by cooperative values.
