Wheatsville Co-op Austin, TX

[Dan Gillotte <gm AT wheatsville.com>]

Hello Wheatsville friends!

March is a fun month here at your co-op. It's our birthday month in fact! Wheatsville is 32 years old on March 16th! Come in that week for some fun stuff!

Herb Fair is this Saturday March 15th 9am - 5pm.

If you've never been to Herb Fair, this is your year to join the fun as we welcome Spring! We'll have a bunch of local grower sand artists selling Herbs. flowers, native plants, vegetable starts, herbal products and yard art! Plus, we have a great line-up of live music and great speakers! 

Here is the schedule of events:

9:30 Danny Dolinger Great guitar and singing! A Wheatsville fave!

11:00 Ellen Zimmerman telling us about "Practical and Medicinal Uses for Local Herbs"

NOON The Vermeers More music!

1:00 Kim Lehman presents "Honey: Soul of the Flower Field"

2:00 The Bridge More music!

3:00 Nicole Telkes teaching a "Vitalist Approach to Herbal Medicine"

4:00 Chandra presenting some performance art for us!

For information about our great speakers, go to http://tinyurl.com/2536gn

That's some line-up, eh?!? Hope to see you here!

Wheatsville is 32 years old this month! We opened the doors at 29th and Lamar on March 16th, 1976! 

Look for special Birthday Cupcakes in the bakery this week. (They're for sale, not for free, but they will be a delight!)

Saint Patrick's Day is Monday March 17th and we've got some special activity in the store to help you get your Irish on! (Yes, I'll be wearing green on St. Paddy's day. My mom would be very disappointed if I didn't!)

We'll have delicious greens in the case, a special vegan Colcannon (traditional potatoes & cabbage), and Guiness Beef Stew

 

Soylent green smoothies…..We continue to have this special smoothie all this month, but last week's e-mail upset some people and I received the following response:

"We of the International Magical People's League (IMPL) demand a retraction of your recent statement regarding Soylant Green and Wheatsville smoothies. Attempting to puree Leprechauns violates code 3748.12, section F of the Fair and Important Requirement Indications Ethic (FAIRIE). However, actually pureeing Leprechauns is impossible, due to their infinite Elusivity Quotient. You are therefore both a liar and a cheat, and your hair will be pulled by Pixies until we receive a full apology and 67 strawberry acai fruit smoothies with oj (milk upsets our stomachs)."

So, I want to apologize to all Leprechaun friends and enthusiasts. Soylent Green Smoothie is not made of Leprechauns. It's made of people. (insert Charlton Heston here.)

 

Other Deli specials: 

The Deli is reintroducing cold beverages for the warming weather!!!! Look for iced Mate, chai, organic black/green tea, and some of the best iced (fair trade) coffee in town!

We've got Member coupons for acai smoothie, all cold deli drinks, and our deli snack packs!

Member Appreciation Day is Saturday March 22nd. Owners get 10% off of all their purchases all day long!!! We'll have samples from 12-4pm!

Help some folks in need of dental care!

We've teamed up with our friends at Tom's of Maine to gain some support for dental health for people in need and you can help! Just grab one of the $5 or $2 coupons at the registers and add it to your purchase and the proceeds will go to Manos de Cristo, Austin's only low-income dental clinic, and the Jack Sansing Dental Clinic at Aids Services of Austin. We'd love to raise some good money for these folks who are doing good and much needed work in our community!

We've got a lot of product information for you again this week!

Our March Co-op Advantage Specials are in full effect this month! Get the flyer in store, or download it here: 

http://wheatsville.coop/CAP%20flyers/SW0308.pdf

We're also trying something a little different this month, providing displays of full cases of a couple of the most popular sale items. Look for the following on display this month!

Imagine Rice Dream Enriched Original, Vanilla and Chocolate cases of 12 on sale for $20.29!

Blue Diamond Co-op Almond Breeze Almond Milk in cases of 12 for $22.68 (Original/ Vanilla/ Chocolate in sweetened or unsweetened varieties)

In the Beer Department!

Get a Dollar off on Dos Equis Lager 12 packs! (regular $14.99, now $13.99).

Don’t forget to stock up on quality Irish beers for St. Patrick’s Day!

 

 

NEW IN THE GROCERY AISLES!

 

Emergen-C  Health and Energy Water

From the makers of EmergenC packets, ready to drink beverages in four flavors: Dragonfruit, Lemon-Lime, Raspberry & Tangerine.

If you like Emergen-C, give one of these a try, they’re delicious and on sale for $.99 a bottle!

 

O.N.E.™ Coconut Water

Packed with potassium and only 60 calories, naturally sweet coconut water replenishes and hydrates with electrolytes.

Introductory sale: $.99 each!

http://www.onenaturalexperience.com

 

Cascadian Farms Maple and Brown Sugar Granola

This Granola tastes just like a hot bowl of oatmeal with fresh maple syrup and brown sugar on top but in a convenient crunchy granola. Yum!

On sale for $3.49/box!

 

News from Mike, the Refrigerated and Frozen Buyer!

A LETTER FROM KIM ALEXANDER OF ALEXANDER FAMILY FARMS

 

Mike Crissey, perishables buyer for the co-op, received the following letter from Kim Alexander, the man who brings us our pink carton eggs each week. Unfortunately, feed costs have prompted him to raise prices again. Beginning March 20, Wheatsville will raise the price of Alexander Family Farm eggs from $3.29 to $3.99 per dozen. We hope you will continue to support Kim Alexander and his famly.

 

Dear Friends and Customers,

 

As many of you may be aware, commodity feed prices are at all time highs. In just the last two years the price of: soft wheat has increased over 163%; hard wheat has increased over 130%; corn has increased over 134%; soybeans have increased over 122%.

 

The last two grains are the primary components of our custom-made poultry rations. The prices and increases of all these grains are inter-related because, to a certain extent, most of them can substitute for one another. These are the greatest price upheavals in feed grain markets in a generation. The price of corn is rising, even though farmers are planting more acres, primarily because of the government subsidized bio-fuels program.

 

This may be good for corn farmers, but it isn’t for livestock farmers. Corn is food for animals not fuel for automobiles and any government program that believes differently is backwards. Nevertheless we, and our customers, get to live with the consequences. …

 

Small farmers must maintain profitability. We don’t do you or us any good if we go out of business because we aren’t profitable. We believe that a white-collar income for producing Austin’s finest eggs is not only possible but also a necessity. The old farmer philosophy of “stack it deep and sell it cheap” may work for Wal-Mart but is not one we endorse. We’re crazy enough to believe that reasonably priced, clean, healthy food can be raised humanely and responsibly to benefit the animals, the land, the farmer and you.

 

Just over the last few months, our feed costs have gone up twice, over 15% each time to more than 30%. We’re doing everything we can to be more efficient and keep costs cut to the bone, but we simply can’t absorb another price increase. …

 

Those of you who visit the farmers’ markets know that eggs similar to ours sell for $4.50 to $5.50/dozen. We appreciate your business and are committed to supplying you here. Thanks for your understanding and continued patronage.

 

--The Alexander Family

 

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

 

One way we can help out Kim Alexander and Henry Ludwig (our other local egg supplier with the white cartons) is to bring back their Styrofoam egg cartons. Although they aren’t as environmentally friendly as cardboard cartons, both Kim and Henry argue that they are more durable, which allows them to re-use the cartons. Kim says he has used some of the cartons for as long as three years. The cartons cost them about 15 cents each; each one that you return to the co-op saves them money.

 

COLD CASES

 

Mike has made some changes in the dairy cooler, hopefully for the better.  Interim Merchandising Manager Niki Nash and Mike have been looking at the product selection in the dairy case to cull out slower movers and give faster moving items more space. Among the items that have been discontinued:

Lightlife Veggie Deli Slices

Two organic Miso Master flavors

The Sea Salted and Spicy Rejuvenative Foods Kimchee

Canoleo Premium margarine tubs

 

 

Discontinuing some items allowed us to give more space to kombucha; group deli items (Veganaise, pickles and sauerkraut) and goat milk products together; and give more space to our local tortillas. The Kimchee can be ordered one jar at a time, so it would be ideal for special orders. The Lightlife deli slices are also workable for a special order. They come eight to a case and can be frozen.

 

OVERSTOCK SALE IN FROZEN

 

We ordered a bit too much of the Cascadian Farms 10 oz. frozen Thai Stir-Fry mix last month when it was on sale, so the sale will go on ($1.89, reg. $2.39). Try it with Quorn Tenders which are also on sale this month for $3.69 (reg. $4.69) or White Wave Seitan or Stir-fry Strips ($2.99, reg. $3.49) in the dairy cooler.

 

JUST IN TIME FOR COOKOUTS!

 

The weather is warming up and the scent of charcoal is in the air. If you’re looking for some inspiration (and happen to be vegetarian) we have what you need. Grab some Gardenburgers (including original, grilled-style, black bean chipotle and vegan) for $3.49 (reg. $4.29) from the freezer.

Save the date!

Wheatsville Blood Drive Monday March 24th from 4-7pm in our back parking lot. More details next week!

I hope that you have a really great week!

We appreciate your incredible and continuing support!

Dan

Wheatsville GM and e-mail guy (who is 3/4ths Irish, actually)