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      • 6.3.1: Our Cook
      • 6.3.5: Our Chef/Fresh Foods Manager
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      • 6.4.1: Meat Product List
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      • 6.5.1: Sushi
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      • 6.7.1: Dairy Product List
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      • 6.8.1: Produce List
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      • 6.9.1: Grocery Products
      • 6.9.2: Frozen Products
    • 6.10: Bakery
      • 6.10.1: Product List
  • 7: Buy Local
    • 7.1: Local Farms
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  • 8: Community
    • 8.1: Shared Recipes
    • 8.2: A Community Calendar
    • 8.4: Food BLOG
    • 8.5: Local News & Initiatives
      • 8.5.1: Article Archive
    • 8.6: Resources & Links
  • 9: Featured Products
    • 9.3: Gifts baskets

Looking Back, Looking Forward

Our Co-op team leaders were asked to share their thoughts on 2009 and 2010. Highlights and what they are looking forward to for the coming year.

Rick Abt-Produce Team Leader: My highlight for the Christmas season of 2009 was the feeling of energy in the air as people hurried here and there. I enjoyed the friendliness and cheer of customers and they shopped.

My goals for 2010 are to keep our produce department as fresh as it can be, to provide more pre-packed, fresh cut fruits and vegetables and salads on a daily basis, and finally, to visit more of the farmers that we work with at the Co-op in order to build better, stronger relationships with each one.

If there is one product that I would encourage all my customers to try in 2010, it would be our line of Judy Foods Dips and Spreads. This new line can be found in our produce case which also holds our varieties of hummuses ad fresh salads. My personal favorite is the Southwestern spread, which is fantastic on Boca burgers.

Eleanor Ford-Customer Service Team Leader: I have too many highlights for the 2009 holiday season to list just one! First, I love the Strath Haven High School Silvertones holiday concerts at the Co-op! They appeared twice this year, and both excellent performances were well attended, and not just for the free hot chocolate. Silvertones, when you sing at the Co-op, please take a minute to glance around at the faces of the people gathered. I hope you can see what a glorious gift you give. Thank you to the director, Mr. Shankweiler and all the singers.

My second is about the whole fourth quarter Customer Service Team. I'd like to commend all the cashiers because I think, and I hope the Co-op customers think so too, that they did a great job keeping the lines moving at Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve. Everybody stayed focused on being fast and accurate while being pleasant and helpful. Many cashiers put in extra time to make sure we were well staffed on the busiest days. Thank you to the Cashiers for all your hard work!

My third highlight is also in the Customer Service area and is something that happens now and again. Routinely the cashiers thank the customers, but often, and very often at the holiday times, the customers will thank us for doing a good job, for being at the Co-op, and for being in their lives. Along those lines exactly, I want to reiterate my thanks to the Co-op Board of Directors who thoughtfully expressed their appreciation for all the employees by hosting a party for us in early December. There are other co-ops in the world with their own loyal customers, but the Swarthmore Co-op regulars are Amazing!

My last highlight is personal. I'd like to thank the following: my little friend Jeremy of the Blond Curls who gave me homemade cookies (thanks to his mom, too), to Jim for gifts of original poetry, 509 who completely spoiled me with a present full of carefully selected goodies, and extra special thanks to Barbara B. for bringing a holiday tea party for two - complete with table decorations and delicious Co-op chicken salad tea sandwiches - to my lunch break!

Looking ahead to 2010, means I have to look back a year for a minute and talk you about our biggest customer service improvement. In the last few months of 2008 and the first few months of 2009, Amelia, practically single-handedly, created the first editions of the Co-op Employee Manual and the Cashier Operations Manual. I believe "The Binder" has already helped us improve the level of customer service we provide for you throughout the store. All new employees now have immediate access to the basic policies and procedures that have been developed for general Co-op operations; and in addition, a new cashier has all the basic register training in a compact, readable format. We plan to focus even more on cashier training concepts in 2010.

Also in 2010 we're all going to learn more about the COOPERATIVE part of our name and begin to help the Co-op further develop as a community resource.

I'd be rich if I had a dollar for every time I've said, "There may be one more button for you to push", "Yes, the button is taped on, please push it!" or my favorite line (could get a smile if the timing were better), "At this time of night, they add another button!" But instead, I'm just happy to let you know that in mid-2010 there will be a long-awaited upgrade to Customer Service equipment. At this point I don't know anything about how it will work, but I'm positive it will all be for the best! A year from now we'll share a laugh when someone says, Remember all those buttons?

Best wishes to you for a happy year in 2010! Eleanor

Barbara Weismann-Co-op Chef: Holiday Highlights: Thanksgiving was a great success in our department at the Co-op. Transactions and order pickups when very smoothly. The team worked together like a well oiled machine! Our Holiday Tasting table was a hit and we found a great new way of organizing our event operations to keep our customers well fed and happy.

Goals for 2010: In prepared foods, we are planning on expanding our entrée selection, displaying beautiful platters of grilled and roasted chicken, flank steak, London Broil, meatball varieties, and a lot more seafood and fish options. In the deli, we will be introducing weekly specials for our cold cuts and cheeses. Watch for those! I'm also excited to introduce a new line of sandwiches that will be available during the lunch hour-grilled gourmet burgers, mini sliders, and of course, the ever so famous hot panini sandwiches.

A couple other initiatives our department is implementing include more direct communication with our customers. So, go ahead and tell us what is on your mind and what you've been craving next time you are at the Co-op to pick up dinner. We are also going to be adding employee favorites to our signage. Maybe you haven't tried our eggplant parmesan yet and all you need to know is that it's Co-op team member, Shamereah's, favorite dish! You will also see a lot more pre-packed salads in our grab-n-go case so that you can run in and grab lunch or dinner on the go.