Wheatsville Co-op Austin, TX

[Dan Gillotte <gm AT wheatsville.coop>]

Hi Wheatsville friends!

In this e-mail:
Earth Day stuff
Co-op Advantage Specials
Other in-store specials
Board meeting
Restaurant Poll

Thanks to everyone that came out for our member gathering on a beautiful Sunday! Check out the Breeze in May for some more feedback about the meeting!


Earth Day is an everyday event at Wheatsville. We do a lot each day to make better choices for the environment. This time of year does give us a chance to reflect on the ways that we try to minimize our impact on the environment:
Throughout the store:
We recycle internally generated:
paper, glass, cardboard, plastic, glass, and  aluminum. We actually spend about $6,000 a year in order to recycle and keep items out of the wast stream.
We advocate for customers to use fewer bags by having bulk items available. 
We also give shoppers and incentive to bring their own bags through our 5¢ back for bags program at the register.
We advocate local products whenever possible and carry a wide selection. Anything that you can get closer to where it's produced is almost always an environmentally better choice than product shipped from away. Look for our "Local Product" or "Miles to Market" signs throughout the store that indicate local or regional products that you can choose.

In the deli, specifically:
Most of our plastic containers come from corn, a renewable resource.
Our paper Co-op printed material is made using vegetable-based inks and an elemental chlorine-free bleaching process.

Almost all of the ingredients used by our Bakery are organic. The main ingredients such as flour, sugar, butter, soy milk, and the chocolate chips are organic.  
Baked tofu, southern fried tofu, and the ever popular popcorn tofu are all made with organic tofu.  
Black beans and brown rice are both organic, which means that the very affordable beans and rice that you can purchase from the deli are 100% organic. 
Our kale, beets, carrots, and sweet potatoes are also organic.
The amount of organic product that we use is actually quite high and more rare than you might think. Look closely at the other delis in town, or ask them what's organic to see for yourself.

At the registers:
Our plastic bags are 60-80% recycled content.
Our paper bags are 60-65% recycled content.
We save cardboard boxes (as possible) for shopper's use.

In the aisles:
We offer better environmental choices for cleaning supplies, bodycare and other items all throughout the store.

Wheatsville and the University Federal Credit Union have a fun Earth Day!

Join us this Saturday the 21st at the University Federal Credit Union at 4600 Guadalupe for a fun event . The festivities will kick off at 10:00 AM and are scheduled to go on until 4:00 PM. There will even be a live musical performance by Austin’s own Diesel Kings from 2:00 – 3:00.  We will have face painting, games, prizes and more while learning about green mortgages, green investing and other environmentally safe products and services.
Wheatsville will be offering samples of 7th Generation environmentally responsible dishwashing liquid and little chocolates called Earthballs and more…

Austin Energy will be there to tell us about green energy and green building, too!

Co-op Advantage Specials!
Yep, great savings throughout the store again this month! Here are just a few items in store for you (For the complete list in a lovely pdf http://wheatsville.coop/CAP%20flyers/SW0407final.pdf )

Clif Bar Energy Bar for 99¢ (Mojo, Builder's Bars and more!) Clif uses a lot of organic ingredients in their bars.
7th Generation Liquid Laundry Detergent for $12.49
Muir Glen Organic Tomatoes 28 oz. selected varieties for $1.89
Green and Black Organic Chocolate Bars are $2.69
RW Knudsen SImply Nutritious juice are 2 for $5
Westbrae Organic Beans for $1.19
Silk Organic Soymilk half gallons for $2.99
Cascade Fresh Yogurt for 65¢
Dr. Bronner's Liquid Soap 32 oz selected varieties for $9.99
Tom's of Maine Stick Deodorant for $4.49
Equal Exchange Organic French Roast Coffee in bulk for $7.99/ lb

In the meat department
Boneless pork cuts on special via coupons. Its  50 cents off the following: Boneless butterfly chops, boneless center cut chops, boneless ribs, boneless roast, and breakfast thin chops. These will be on special for 2 weeks.   

Fresh in the deli
Our Salsa of the Month is Sweet Serrano, a delicious hot sauce with the sweetness of peaches!

Check out the Mediterranean Chef pies in the deli full service case:  mixed veggies and potato are the newest flavors and Dana, our deli manager says, "They are yummy!!!!!"

In the land of Cheese

We are featuring Spanish cheeses this month including the mellow, rich tasting Manchego & Idiazabel, a smoked sheep's cheese.

Ever thought about coming to a board meeting?
As always, the board welcomes you to their monthly meeting in the InStep building behind Wheatsville. Normally the board meets the 4th Thursday of the month, but this month we will be meeting next Tuesday the 24th at 6pm. 

Vote Popcorn Tofu for king of the world!
We love to win things at Wheatsville and we would especially love to win a category or two in this year's Austin Chronicle Restaurant Poll. (Yes, we're not technically a restaurant, but they do seem to include takeout options in their polling, sooo....)
You can vote now! http://www.austinchronicle.com/feedback/restpoll/07/  Vote soon, though. The deadline is Monday April 23rd!

Here are a few possible categories that you may wish to select your favorite food co-op for:
Chicken fried steak- Southern Fried Tofu (I know it's not really Chicken fried steak, but it's a good vegetarian alternative, right?)
Tofu dish- Popcorn Tofu (Please select whatever tofu dish you like, but if inclined to join in on the Popcorn tofu bandwagon maybe we can win it!)
Grocery Store (We'd love to get this one!)
Takeout 
Mindy, our awesome baker, would like to put a plug in for Wheatsville getting noted for Best Vegan Baked Goods (Unfortunately, there isn't a category for this). So, think about us for a different baked goods category or as a write-in of some kind. Thanks!

Have a great week!
Dan Gillotte
Wheatsville GM and e-mail guy