September 13, 2008

Common Ground has been open for only 3 weeks, but we've been getting some great comments and suggestions from our customers!

Comments and Suggestions from September 15

"Please carry baby food and rice cereal for babies!"
We've literally had dozens of requests for these items and we are bringing them in! Look in aisle 1 by the diapers, we'll have these items in stock by Monday, 9/8. Thanks for letting us know you want these items, we're happy to bring them in. - Jacqueline Hannah, general manager

"I'd like to see Izzy soda or Gus soda or some other new and exciting soda in the cold case."
You are not the only one, we are looking into this and should have something in the case by Thursday, 9/11. We'll start with a few Izzy sodas and see what the demand is from there. Thanks. - Joni Wong, assistant grocery buyer

"What about carrying Sammy's millet and flax bread? Its soooo good and a great wheat-free option."
I've not heard of this one before, and upon looking into it, none of our current distributors carry it. I'll keep looking for a source for it. We do have Kinnikinnik gluten-free breads in the freezer case as well as locally-made, fresh gluten free bread on our bread shelf, over by the refrigerated section, and I've gotten great reviews on both, especially the local bread. Let me know what you think if you get a chance to try them! - Jacqueline Hannah, general manager

"Thanks for getting in the skim milk, but I'd rather see it in gallons."
We've gotten more than one request for this and I will be bringing in gallons of skim milk to meet the demand by 9/12. - Joni Wong, assistant grocery buyer

"Real, live, catnip please!"
While we don't currently know of a source for fresh catnip, we'll keep our eyes out. We are asking our friends over at Tiny Greens about whether they can grow some small trays of cat grass and we're going to keep asking around about the catnip. Thanks for asking!
- Jessy Ruddell, produce manager

"Reed's ginger ice cream is fabulous! Let's carry it!"
I checked into this and, unfortunately, no one currently distributes it in the Midwest. It sounds *amazing*, I will keep my eyes peeled for it when ordering. - Jacqueline Hannah, general manager

"More varieties of Amy's pizza, like soy."
I just brought it in and its selling so fast I can’t keep up – I am ordering several cases more soon!
- Jacqueline Hannah, general manager

"Please carry Weetabix cereal."
I'll keep this on the list of cereals to try as we find out what cereals are selling and which are not. Right at this moment, we don't have the room in the section to add any more cereals. – Joni Wong, assistant grocery buyer

"I'd like to see:
Ciao Bella vanilla ice cream
Boulder Ice Cream green tea flavor
Cascadian Farm Cereal"
Thanks for the requests. We carry a *lot* of Ciao Bella gelato and ices because they are, by far, the best loved by co-op shoppers but I don't, yet, have room to add any more. It'll take a little time to see patterns of what folks do and don't want in this new location, but if I find there is one that isn't going very fast on the Ciao Bella shelf I will look into this vanilla next.

I love green tea ice cream too, yum! I talked to Sierra today, a sales person for Boulder Ice Cream, and told her I’d gotten a request for their ice creams. She said, unfortunately, they did not have distribution with any company in the Midwest as of yet but were definitely working on it. I’ll keep checking in with them periodically to see if the situation has changed.

Cascadian Farms is owned by General Mills. While we do carry some of their products that are in high demand or when they are the only source we can find for a particular item, we are committed at the co-op to supporting companies that have great staff treatment policies and a commitment to the well being of the environment that is sincere - and our owners and customers love supporting independent companies! We have many great options in our cereal aisle that are from companies with terrific labor and environmental practices. You can find more information on General Mills and their ethical and environmental practices here:
http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/company.cfm?id=23...
As I said above though, we will keep our ears open and if there is enough demand and a free space in the cereal department, we will definitely consider it. - Jacqueline Hannah, general manager

"Big things, like the chunks of energy items, are hard to get out of the bulk bin with spoons, maybe we could get some sort of clawed tongs?"
By health code, we have to have our spoons or tongs for bulk items attached by a short cord and all parts of it must be made on non-permeable materials - no tape allowed! We do have tongs that attach to the plastic cords but they are pretty small and just as frustrating as the trying to use the scoops. We're looking for another solution, but don't have one as of yet. - Joni Wong, grocery buying assistant

"How about carrying Chicago Soy Dairy ice cream? It's vegan, it's local!"
You mean their Temptation ice cream? You are not alone in asking, I am working on making space for it in the ice cream case as we speak, keep you eyes on that case, it should appear soon! - Jacqueline Hannah, general manager

"I recommend that we carry the following gluten-free items - pecan nut thins, Kinnikinick sunflower flax bread (they have the best products!)"
Your wish is our command! We have room in the gluten free section for one more cracker so we'll add Blue Diamond's pecan nut thins to our collection of their other crackers we carry. I didn't know about the sunflower flax bread, but we do carry Kinnkinick frozen gluten-free breads and their white bread is proving not to be so popular so once it is sold out I will give the sunflower a try. It is in the co-op freezer case as of this week. Thanks for the suggestions! - Jacqueline Hannah, general manager

"It would be helpful to include the ingredients on the granolas."
You are not alone in your request. We are working away at getting all the information together to re-do our bulk department tags and get ingredients on all items, we hope to have them all redone soon. Until we have the ingredients on the bulk department labels, there is a print-out of the ingredients at the bulk counter in the special order form box, and another copy at the register. - Joni Wong, grocery buying assistant

"Will we be carrying Nancy's yogurt?"
I will try to fit some into the case soon. Thanks for asking. – Joni Wong, grocery buying assistant

"What about having hoisin sauce?"
Great idea, I'll start looking for a source and see if we can bring it in soon. - Jacqueline Hannah, general manager

"I'd like to see dandelion root and gotu kola herbs in bulk, what are the chances of that happening?"
The chances are 100% - we are excited to announce that we have just set up a bulk medicinal herb section in our body care and supplement department and we have ordered in both those herbs!
- Shasta Homel, body care and supplement buyer

"Will the co-op still be drop off spot for Triple S's meat buying club this winter?"
We are just checked with the management at Lincoln Square and they are happy to allow us to invite Triple S Farms to use our parking lot as a drop off point for their meat buying club this year. So, the answer is a resounding, ‘yes!’ - Jacqueline Hannah, general manager

"I'd like to see dried blueberries in bulk."
I have considered carrying dried blueberries. They are quite expensive, though, about 24 dollars per pound. Please let me know if you (and, hopefully, others) would still be interested in buying them at that price. – Joni Wong, grocery buying assistant

"Would like to see fresh chipotle peppers and fresh mozzarella balls."
Chipotle peppers are smoke-dried jalapeño peppers, so they can't be obtained fresh, but we do carry the dried ones in our bulk herb section. We are looking for a source for the canned variety.

I have not found a source for fresh mozzarella balls (which I also love), but will keep looking. – Joni Wong, grocery buying assistant

"Where is the hot salsa?!"
We do carry a hot salsa--Frontera's Chipotle. It is with the other salsas. We also carry a very nice fresh, hot salsa in the refrigerated case. I hope you like them. – Joni Wong, grocery buying assistant

"We need trays for carrying our deli lunches outside.”
We’ve noticed! These are being ordered within the next few days, thanks for letting us know. – Luke Dorsey, deli manager

"The muffins are kind of pricey for the size, can you make them bigger?"
Thank you for writing. I have been working on making the muffins a bit bigger, I think you will be happy with their new, larger size. Our muffins cost a little more than the average muffin because these are no average muffins – they are made almost entirely with organic ingredients, often have local ingredients, and they are made fresh daily. If you see a muffin in our pastry case it hasn’t been sitting around for days like at many coffee shops and delis – it was made fresh within the last 24 hours. We think the extra pocket change for the co-op’s muffins is worth it because it makes it possible for us to use the very best ingredients and to guarantee they are fresh. – Luke Dorsey, deli manager

"We need a big community bulletin board in the co-op entryway."
Absolutely! A member just installed the community board yesterday! This board is just one way that Common Ground will help "build community." Thanks! - Meagan Luhrs, outreach coordinator