The Co-op goes BYOB!

In January the Co-op rolled out their Nine Ideas Program.  Each Month Marc will be selecting the best idea proposed by a Co-op employee that supports one of the following nine ideas:

1. Be Distinctive – How can we set ourselves apart from the other grocery stores in this area?
2. Update the Store – Which areas can we expand or revamp to make better?
3. Capitalize on Publicity – What/How can we highlight to draw our customer’s focus to that area?
4. Create Personalized Relationships with Local Producers – Who can we visit, what can we do to increase the relationship with our local vendors and producers?
5. Support Other Local Businesses – What businesses can we support to increase our community connections?
6. Build Strength in Numbers – How can we build a collective local brand and engage the public through education and a unified voice?
7. Get to Know your Shoppers – How can we be better at cultivating our personal relationships with our customers and members?
8. Participate in Local Organizations – What local clubs and interests can we support that will show our customers we care about what they care about?
9. Make Pricing Competitive – How can we change or be sure we are active in changing the perception that our prices are too high?

 

Get the idea of the program?   With only two months in we have gotten an amazing amount of submission from our employees.  Marc has the tough job of picking which idea is the best and most practical for the store.  This past month (February) he selected an excellent idea submitted by Amanda Hunter.  Amanda suggested that the Co-op have a bag credit  to encourage members to remember to bring their usable bags.  Now, if you notice at the bottom of your receipt from the Co-op there is a reminder that the Co-op is now BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag).  So next time you go shopping make sure to bring your bags and you will receive a five cent bag credit per bag!   Check the blog in the next few weeks to see March’s Nine Idea winner, it’s going to be a good one!

Kitchen Harvest at the Co-op!

Have you ever wondered where all of our old/unsellable produce goes?  Well the answer is, twice week a local recycling business called Kitchen Harvest picks up our unsellable veggies and takes them back to their farm in Media to make compost.  Kitchen Harvest is a family run business that provides the local community with a variety of services including food and yard waste collection, compost producers, gardening and natural recycling.

The Co-op has also partnered with Kitchen Harvest’s Compost Cash program. “Compost Cash” is a currency used by Kitchen Harvest and can be used as actual cash here at the Co-op and several other locations.  For more information or to find ways to support Kitchen Harvest check out their website   http://www.mykitchenharvest.com/index.html

Check out the Swarthmore Co-op Conversation Wall!

The next time you are in the Co-op, be sure to check out our new interactive conversation wall in the back bathroom corridor.

Imagined and donated by the Swarthmore Employee Council this chalkboard paint allows creativity to run free.  Some of the missions of the Employee Council are to create a postive and pleasant work environment and to bridge the gap between the Co-op employees and the local community.

The Swarthmore Co-op Conversation Wall

The Employee Council’s next project is to give the employee break area a makeover.

Stay tuned for before and after pictures!

Help the Swarthmore Co-op Give Back on Mardi Gras!

Come help the Co-op celebrate Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) Tuesday February 21st, 2012. 

2% of the Co-op’s gross sales for that day will go toward the Make It Right Organization.

The Make it Right Organization is helping to rebuild the lower 9th ward in New Orleans, which was the ward that got hit the hardest when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005.  The Make It Right Organization is not only striving to rebuild, but to rebuild with purpose.  Their goal is to build 150 affordable, green, storm-resistant homes for the families in the lower 9th Ward.

“Today, the U.S. Green Building Council says Make It Right is building the largest, greenest neighborhood of single family homes in America.  [They] have earned their highest distinction for energy efficiency and sustainability, LEED Platinum, by integrating and aggregating a variety of cutting edge construction materials and techniques”  (makeitrightnola.org).

Check out their website for more details at: http://makeitrightnola.org/ 

*Above Image courtesy  of  GettyImages

Play with your fruits and veggies!

Valentines Day is fast approaching and what better way to celebrate than to make homemade valentines with your children!  Bringing fruits and vegetables into this artful display of love and affection will not only make you beautiful, homemade valentines, but will also help your children see their fruits and vegetables in a new light, shall we say?

Turning  your produce into stamps:

Many fruits and vegetables can be cut in half either horizontally or vertically, or kept whole in some instances such as for the mint leaves and the ear of corn.  For smaller children you may want to precut the fruits and veggies for them.

Materials you will need to create your valentine:

1. Fruit and vegetables of your choice (see list below for ideas)
2. Paper and/or another stamp worthy surface (such as an: apron, a canvas, a re-useable bag etc.)
3. Paint
4. Paper plates or bowls to put your paints in
5. A cutting board and knife

Here are some GREAT fruits and veggies to get you started on your project…be creative and have fun!

• Celery and Carrots
• Peppers
• Lemons
• Celery
• Brussel Sprouts (the more elongated the better)
• Mint leaves
• Button mushrooms
• Ear of corn!
• Onion
• Romaine lettuce stalk (will look like a rosebud)
• Potatoes (you can even make shapes using a relief method)

These are just a few to get you started.  Send us pictures of your innovative Valentines creations and we will post them here!

pictures are courtesty of : www.parents.com