Hello community!
As many of you have noticed, the co-op is looking very different these days. We are moving forward with our expansion and reset. This will be a multi year project and many things will change…hence Medusa with her many snakes which are often a sign of transformation. I just wanted to give you an update on what is happening now.
We are moving HBC into the corner up front where the cash registers use to live. It will take a couple of weeks to get this move complete but we so look forward to new shelves and a new lay out. It will take all of us a little while to acclimate to the new flow, but I think that the changes will be so lovely and hopefully you will end up with a much better shopping experience. With the move will come some new products replacing the old so let us know if there are products you would like to see on our shelves. We are most excited about a new mushroom line- Wholesun Wellness. All fruiting body extracts grown in the USA, and woman owned! Keep an eye out for those.
I also wanted to update folks on the ongoing sourcing issues with some of our vendors and products. The short of it is:
There is a shortage of products and it will continue for the foreseeable future. So many factors come in to play here:
- Raw material shortage due to covid and overall increase in sales (especially online sales)
- Huge increases in shipping costs
- Shortage of shipping containers to actually ship products in
- Staff shortages impacting all areas of shipping/receiving
The pandemic has really interrupted so much and it will take a while to smooth out. Please don’t panic and hoard. We have seen that so often with toilet paper and gas. I do think it is wise to prepare, and that includes prepare to use alternatives. If there is a shortage of quinoa, what other grain could you use. If elderberry is out of stock for a while, what other anti-viral herbs could you utilize? I think that this is a great opportunity to really question what we need and to utilize everything we can. I am constantly trying to reduce my food waste, plan better, and consume less. I also know that any long term sustainability relies on community. We are all in this together and my hope is that we will care not only for ourselves, but each other as well.
Thank you all for your patience as we tackle these growing pains and challenges. In the end we will be a more robust part of the community and more resilient.
Melissa
HBC Manager