Because we are responsible for keeping our employees and our community safe, we are not making any exceptions to our mask policy. Every person in the store who is older than five must wear a cloth or paper face mask that covers both mouth and nose at all times. People who are unwilling or unable to wear a mask, for any reason, cannot enter our store.

Please note that mesh masks are not acceptable, as they are completely ineffective at containing the virus. We reserve the right to ask customers to leave the store if they enter wearing an item obviously intended to undermine our policy.

We understand that there are many reasons why someone might refuse to wear a mask. For those who do refuse, we offer curbside shopping as a reasonable accommodation. If that option does not work for you, other stores offer a delivery service.

Our policy is based on advice from medical professionals in our community, as well as state and national health authorities. All of them agree that wearing a face mask is the simplest way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 when in public.

While our shoppers spend approximately 10-15 minutes in the store once or twice a week, our employees are exposed to hundreds of people every day. Some of our staff members are medically vulnerable, and some live with elderly or medically vulnerable family members. We will not endanger them. In addition, if the virus were to spread to our employees, it would be impossible for us to keep the co-op open for our community.

Thank you for wearing a mask. We appreciate your kindness. Most of all, we hope the virus can be brought under control until enough people are vaccinated – and then we can all meet each other face to face again and see each other smile.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact Rich Rosenberg, General Manager, or members of our Board of Directors.

• Wash your hands frequently and properly.

• Take care of your own health – and don’t come into the store if you’re sick.

• Come by yourself if possible, so fewer people are in the store at once. If you must bring someone else, have that person wait in the car while you check out. We have limited the number of shoppers in the store to 10.

• Help us help our vulnerable community members by being mindful of when you shop. We’ve reserved 8 to 9 a.m. Monday thru Saturday for seniors and medically vulnerable people.

• We are wearing masks to protect you. We would appreciate it if you would wear a mask to protect us.

• Bring a shopping list. Make your visit quick and purposeful.

• Try to stay at least 6 feet away from anyone who isn’t in your immediate household. We’ve put down yellow floor stickers to help you visualize the distance.

• Don’t be offended if an employee steps back when you’re talking. We’re encouraging staff to practice safe social distancing, too.

• Touch items only if you intend to buy them.

• Bag your own groceries if you bring your own shopping bags. We’ve got tables set up along the front windows to give you room to do this.

• Buy only what you need so that your neighbors can get what they need, too. We have to limit purchase on some products, such as toilet paper.

• Be kind – to other shoppers, to our staff, and to yourself.

Now that business has returned to a more normal pace, we’re adjusting our store hours to better meet the needs of our shoppers. We will continue to reserve a shopping hour for seniors and medically vulnerable people, and we are maintaining a rigorous cleaning schedule. Effective today, our new hours are:

Monday thru Saturday
• 8 to 9 a.m. — reserved shopping hour for seniors/medically vulnerable people
• 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. — open to the general public

Sunday
10 a.m. to 7 p.m. — open to the general public

We no longer need to take a two-hour break midday for cleaning and stocking. We found that many people were confused by it, and we were turning lots of shoppers away.

We are continuing our heightened cleaning schedule throughout the day, and we’ll be closing one hour earlier to do more deep cleaning and stocking for the next day. In addition, we have contracted with a professional cleaning service to take care of the heavier work.

We are so grateful to our community. Your patience and loyalty have helped us make the changes necessary to keep our employees (and you) safe. Thank you!