Holiday Turkeys at the Co-op

The Co-op is pleased to announce that we will have an abundance of Diestel Family Ranch turkeys available for purchase for the holidays. CNFC has partnered with Diestel as our turkey provider for many years because they share our passion for sustainable agriculture and high standards of animal welfare. Learn more about these turkeys below, and don’t forget about our great turkey special this year: spend $150 or more in a single transaction between 11/14 - 11/24, and save 50% off your turkey!

We will be carrying four varieties of Diestel turkeys this year:

No Antibiotics Ever Whole Turkey: $3.29/lb

The Original Diestel turkey. These all-natural, slow-grown birds are given the time and space they need to develop naturally to produce the tender, juicy, bold flavor you’d expect of a Diestel bird.

Non-GMO Whole Turkeys: $3.49/lb

Diestel’s classic, delicious, slow-raised turkey, raised on an entirely Non-GMO diet. It’s Non-GMO certified, so you don’t have to worry! Save an extra 50% on your Non-GMO certified turkey when you spend $150 or more at the Co-op!

ORGANIC HEIDI’S HENS: $4.69/LB

Treat yourself and your family to a humanely raised, organic turkey this year. The Heidi’s Hens line of turkeys from Diestel is USDA certified organic as well as Non-GMO project verified.  They are the popular Broad Breasted White turkeys, which guarantee ample amounts of white meat. Spend $150 at the Co-op, and get your Organic Turkey for half off—the best deal in town!

ORGANIC AMERICAN HEIRLOOM: $4.99/LB

Heirloom turkeys are prized by chefs around the world for their superior flavor. Diestel raises a mix of Auburn, Black, and American Bronze Turkey breeds. These breeds predate the Broad Breasted White which currently dominates the market. They grow slower, allowing them time to pack on the fat that enriches their flavor. Diestel’s Heirloom turkeys are also USDA Certified Organic and Non-GMO project verified! This is a previously frozen bird. And don’t forget—you can save half on this turkey if you spend $150 or more at the Co-op!

WE BEGIN TAKING RESERVATIONS ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1ST 
CALL (530) 891-1713 or come in the store to place your turkey order.

No deposit is necessary at the time of ordering.

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Roasting intructions from Diestel Family Turkey Ranch: 
http://diestelturkey.com/roasting-instructions/

Owner Drive!

Starting next week, the Co-op will be having an Owner Drive! If you (or a friend or family-member) have been thinking about investing in Chico’s only community-owned grocery store, there is no better time than the present!

For the next two weeks (September 5th - 18th) new owners (and fully investing existing owners) will receive a gift bag full of amazing local products. The first twenty-five new owners to sign up will receive free local items from:

Chico Chai
Nor-Cal Nitro
Salsa de Oro
R.W. Knudsen
Sierra Nevada Creamery
Lundberg Farms

The contents of these all-local gift bags will change throughout the length of the drive. What won’t change is that there is no better time to go all-in on Chico’s Co-op!

Fond Farewell To Laurie Niles!

All of us here at the Co-op are wishing a proud, fond farewell to Laurie Niles, who is leaving our Board of Directors after seven years of service. In that time, Laurie has been an absolute superstar. She's held just about every Board office--including president! Laurie's leadership and dedication wasn't limited to BOD meetings: she was always ready to volunteer for a project, to help lead Owner Meetings, to show up in the store to promote the Co-op, Board Activities, the Capital Campaign, and whatever else she was needed for.

Laurie helped guide the Co-op through many transitions and changes during her long tenure on the BOD. She was a rock-solid supporter to countless new Directors over the years and was a reliable source of institutional knowledge about the governance of the business. She helped lead CNFC through years of great growth and of challenging sales, of the Capital Campaign and COVID, of owner drives and customer surveys. Through it all, everyone in the community knew that Laurie had a deep knowledge and an infectious energy for everything Co-op.

Laurie's dedication to improving Chico goes beyond her role at the Co-op. She brings her resolute determination, genuine joy, and glowing enthusiasm to all her endeavors, from promoting cycling in Chico to running several garden programs at local schools. Anyone who has worked with Laurie on a project (and that's a lot of folks!) can vouch that she brings so much to the table. The Co-op has been blessed to have her on the Board for so many years, and we will continue to work hard in all aspects of the store to live up to the high standards she has set for us.

The Co-op Is Remodeling!

All of us at the Co-op are committed to making sure that your store is as excellent as it possibly can be. To that end, we have long been planning to remodel our building at 818 Main Street, in order to make the space even more welcoming, effective, and pleasant. Back in late 2019 and early 2020, we had big plans for a community-wide capital campaign to finance a massive remodel, but the COVID-19 pandemic derailed that endeavor.

The Chico Natural Foods Co-op, however, is resilient. While adjusting to the new reality of operating in a global pandemic, we planned how we could still improve the physical infrastructure of the store In June of 2021, we fully replaced our floors. The floor remodel was a huge endeavor, but the end result was a more beautiful, safe, and clean Co-op. Now, a year later, we are ready to move onto the next step: remodeling the front of the store.

The fundamental layout of the Co-op has not changed significantly in decades. We’ve made some minor changes over the years, but haven’t given ourselves the opportunity to apply the full depth of our grocery retail experience to the layout of the store. We are now ready to make some changes that will allow us to better highlight the fresh items you love, streamline our checkout process, and create a more pleasant in-store experience for customers and staff.

The most noticeable change in our remodel is that we are moving the Produce department. The Produce department will now be on the south side of the store and will have more floor space to display the fresh, organic, and local items that the Co-op is known for. The main motivation for this remodel is so that we can elevate and expand on our already excellent Produce and Fresh departments, and this move is a key part of that change.

The Co-op’s checkout station will also be moving. Our Front-End clerks will no longer be in a “box” in the middle of the store—they will be moved to the north edge of the store. We will be saving space and streamlining the checkout process by moving all the checkout stations. The change will save space, open up the sales floor, and make the checkout process more efficient for everyone.  

Changing the layout of some of our shelving necessarily creates a domino effect on the rest of the store’s products. Therefore, we will also be adjusting shelving and product locations throughout the store. Our goal is to make our product selection and layout more intuitive and easier to shop. We know it can be sometimes be annoying when your favorite products aren’t where they used to be, and we hope you’ll ask for assistance from Co-op staff. We feel confident that once you get used to the changes we’ve made, you’ll agree that the new store layout is a definite improvement.

We also acknowledge that the remodel work will generate some short-term inconveniences while it is ongoing. Some items will be out of stock, or will be kept in the back of the store while shelving is being moved. Again, we hope you’ll ask for help in finding the items you are looking for. We will also be closing early on July 6th to move the Produce case. The Co-op will close at 7pm on July 6th to ensure that this important (and large!) piece of equipment is moved safely. We will reopen at our regular time (7am) the very next day, July 7th. The Co-op may also be noisier and more crowded than usual as some limited construction work takes place while the store is open. We’d like to ask for your patience with Co-op staff and the construction contractors as we make these important improvements.

Everyone at the Co-op is very excited about the changes happening here! Chico deserves to have the absolute best possible Co-op, and the work being done in this remodel is helping to make that a reality. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to ask a Co-op employee or submit a question through our website. And take a look below at an outline of further remodel steps we are planning on accomplishing in the next year!

Strawberry Recall

To our valued customers,

The Co-op takes food safety seriously, and the health and well-being of our shoppers is our top priority. As such, we consider it our duty to share with our customers that CNFC may have sold strawberries from a supplier that is currently being investigated in relation to a Hepatitis A outbreak. Here is what we know:

·         There are currently no known cases of Hepatitis A infection connected to the Co-op. However, transparency is important to us, and we want our shoppers to know how seriously we take this.

·         The items in question are 1 lb. packages of organic strawberries, packaged by “Fresh Kampo”, sold from 3/8 – 3/11 and 3/22 – 3/24.

o   In the time period in question, the Co-op sold 32 units of these strawberries.

·         If you have any of these strawberries still in your possession (for example, in your freezer) please throw them away and the Co-op will offer you a full refund.

·         No other strawberries sold by the Co-op have been connected, in any way, to the current Hepatitis A investigation.

·         The current Hepatitis A outbreak thought to be caused by issues at producer level, not with retailer practices.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, [LM1] if you have purchased and consumed the affected strawberries and are not vaccinated against Hepatitis A, you should consult with your primary care physician.

Fresh Kampo is a large organic strawberry seller. Their berries are carried in WinCo, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, Safeway, and many other grocery chains. While we have sold a relatively small amount of their strawberries, that doesn’t make it any less important to us or our customers. We take transparency and food safety very seriously. [LM2] Please know that we do everything in our power to make sure the food we sell is safe, fresh, and delicious.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out the Co-op.

 [LM1]Added a link to the FDA announcement, so folks can go right to the source.

 [LM2]I think you can nix this sentence, or revise. While it’s a small number sold, even 1 is a big deal to the people who bought it/ate it.

Why Join? With Sheila McQuaid

The Co-op is looking for owners to join our Board of Directors! You may be wondering, though, "What is the Board of Directors, and why should I join?" Who better to answer that then someone who has already served on the BOD? Read on to learn more about the experience of Sheila McQuaid.

(And, as always, if you want to apply, visit our website!)

We caught up with former member of the Board of Directors Sheila McQuaid to learn a little bit about her experience serving on the Co-op’s BOD.

Why did you decide to join the BOD?

Sheila: “I’ve been a member of the Co-op for a long time and thought joining the Board would be a way to support the great work the CO-op does for our community. I thought getting experience ona Board would be interesting, and it was!”

What were some of your takeaways from participating in Board work?

Sheila: I learned a lot about the exceptional values of the Co-op and lots more about the National Co-op organization [National Cooperative Grocers, or NCG]. The work is challenging, but the snacks are awesome! I would do it again and highly recommend the experience to other Co-op members who have the time to spare. I miss working with the other Board members, they’re such an inspiring group!

If you want to learn more about joining the Co-op’s Board of Directors, or are ready to run, download an application from our website!