Co-op shoppers and owners –
A few short updates on stock levels and some exciting news about our co-op. Since the last update I sent on 6/13, our main wholesaler UNFI has managed to get most ordering systems back online. We’ve received trucks on 5 of the last 7 days that we were expecting deliveries, which is certainly an improvement over nothing. We’ve restocked a majority of the store from the levels on 6/13, but there are still a number of products that have been out of stock. We’re continuing to use additional suppliers wherever possible to keep things stocked, including a large order of local produce in today from Lancaster Farm Fresh Co-op. You should find the vast majority of what you’re looking for when you come shop at your award winning co-op.😀
Some of you may have seen on our Instagram that TPSS was recognized at the Consumer Cooperative Management Association (CCMA) conference with the Cooperative Innovation & Achievement award for our tent operation during the remodel. This week’s heat wave has brought me acutely back to this same week last summer when we were clearing out inventory and preparing to erect a 900 sq ft tent in the parking lot. The recognition of our co-op from our industry peers is an honor for all of us from members to staff to the Board who helped to make that operation successful while we invested in our future. Difficult work doesn’t always earn recognition, so I’m encouraging the staff and Board to earnestly accept the kudos that have come with this award.
A few more words on the store then I promise I’ll let you get back to thinking cool🧊 thoughts. Since my last email looked at the downside of wholesale giants and consolidation in the industry, all of which is true, I wanted to provide some balance. I was walking the store to see stock levels on items in the latest Co-op Deals flier, which features a number of buy-one get-one discounts. We receive the benefits of Co-op Deals through our membership in National Co-op Grocers (NCG). We are able to get increasingly impressive sales deals through NCG thanks to the strength of the member co-ops and our long-standing relationship with large wholesale partners.
As I was checking aisle by aisle, the sales themselves struck me as impressive. I started googling each item and clicking on Shopping. I was unable to find any other retailer, at least via that method, that was offering prices on those items that beat Co-op Deals. I’m not naive enough to think the co-op can always be the best price in town, but there is tremendous value available at our store and co-ops around the country thanks to the collective scale of our purchasing power.
Along those same lines, don’t forget this summer about Provisions. Provisions is a case ordering system available only to member-owners of TPSS that allows you access to any item that we can order from our wholesalers, not just what is available in the store. Items on Co-op Deals and Co-op Basics are easy to find from the homepage. All case and bulk orders through Provisions receive a 10% discount when you check out. If you haven’t activated your Provisions account, please email tpss@provisions.coop and we will send you the activation link. Provisions was created by a fellow NCG Co-op Orcas Food Co-op in Washington state, and I promise that’s the end of my blathering for today about how wonderfully co-ops work to help support one another.
tl;dr store is full, won an award, got good deals, stay cool
-Mike Houston, TPSS General Manager
