Free Curbside Pickup

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We’ve expanded our curbside grocery pickup program to anyone who wants to shop from the comfort and safety of home, seven days a week. This is a free community service your co-op is offering during the pandemic.

Some important tips:

  • The platform we’re using, Mercato, offers delivery in larger cities, but not in Astoria. Make sure you select the “I’ll pick it up” option, then you can choose a day/time that works for you.
  • Check the box “replace out of stock items” if you would like us to find comparable replacements on out of stock items. You can then choose whether you’d like to be contacted or not to verify whether the replacements are suitable.
  • Our store is located at 2350 Marine Drive in Astoria. We have dedicated curbside pickup parking spots near the entrance. Let the staff person stationed outside the store entrance know you’re here and we will bring your groceries out to your vehicle.
  • If you have any questions about online ordering, please call the store (503) 325-0027 or email [email protected].

Shop Mercato.com

If you need your groceries delivered, one option would be calling Downtown Taxi at (503) 791-6728 to arrange to have your order picked up at the co-op and delivered to your home. The company is charging a flat rate of $5 for delivery in Astoria-Warrenton.

New Doughnuts!

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If you’d like to sink your teeth into a freshly baked co-op doughnut, you can reserve a box by emailing our prepared foods manager, Andy Catalano [email protected]. Doughnuts are only available weekends at the co-op and they’ve proven to be such a hit that we’re taking orders, with just a limited about available first come, first served. A mixed box of six costs 9.99. Email Andy and let him know if you’d like our bakers to set some aside for you, specify Saturday or Sunday and please plan on picking them up before noon (we open at 9am). Thank you and enjoy!

Mask Requirement

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The co-op will require shoppers, staff and vendors to wear masks or other face coverings beginning Monday. To continue serving our community, we must stay healthy and public health experts say wearing a covering over your nose and mouth is one way to prevent spreading Covid-19 to others.

There is a renewed sense of anxiety among our staff with a virus outbreak at a local seafood processing plant and the state easing stay at home restrictions. Our decision to require masks did not come lightly as we realize it may not be popular for some, but after seeking staff’s input and hearing from customers, we know there’s strong support.

“Nearly all staff have been voluntarily wearing masks; it’s not fun to wear them eight hours a day, but we’re doing it because we feel it is the right thing to protect co-workers and customers from potential asymptomatic spread,” General Manager Matt Stanley said.

The co-op’s mask requirement begins Monday, May 11 until further notice. The requirement does not apply to children under the age of two or individuals who are unable to wear face coverings due to a medical condition. As a courtesy, we will have paper masks available for free at the entrance and will maintain this supply as much as possible.

Of course, masks and face coverings do not replace social distancing, thorough hand washing, and staying home as much as possible. This crisis is an opportunity to come together cooperatively to protect workers who provide vital groceries and to save lives of vulnerable community members. We truly are in this together and are incredibly thankful for your support.

If you have questions or comments about the mask requirement, please contact our general manager, Matt Stanley [email protected]. We ask that you do not direct any comments toward our staff unless it’s positive feedback.

Click here to see other steps we are taking to stop the spread.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation regarding the use of cloth face coverings.

May Owner Appreciation

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For safety, we don’t want to concentrate a large amount of shoppers in the store during a one week period as we normally do for owner appreciation week, so co-op owners will have all month to choose a discount shop.

Here’s how it works: get 10% off a purchase under $100, 15% off a purchase of $100 or more or 20% off a purchase of $150 or more. Equity must be up-to-date to receive discount. Applies to items in stock and does not stack with case discounts.

Thanks so much for your support!

Not a co-op owner? You’re always welcome to shop. Learn more about becoming a co-op owner.

Owner discounts must be redeemed by shopping in the store as we don’t currently have a way to do this with online shopping.

Double Up Food Bucks Launch

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Our co-op will be the first grocery store in Oregon to launch the healthy food incentive program Double Up Food Bucks starting this May. After success at farmer’s markets, the program is extending to a small number of grocery stores.

“Double Up Food Bucks puts more healthy food on the plates of low-income families, while supporting local growers,” said Astoria Co+op General Manager Matt Stanley. “We’re supporting our customers while helping grow a healthier community.”

Double Up matches the value of SNAP spent on fresh fruits and vegetables providing shoppers with credit for future produce purchases, up to $10 per shopping trip. SNAP stands for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps.

The Oregon Legislature approved $1.5 million in the 2019-2021 biennium budget to continue and expand Double Up. The Oregon Food Bank is administering the Double Up grocery pilot program in cooperation with the Fair Food Network and Farmers Market Fund.

“Double Up Food Bucks is proven to be a model that supports low-income families to bring home more fruits and vegetables, local growers to sell more produce, and more food dollars to stay in the local economy, not just in Oregon, but around the country. Expanding the program to retail outlets, like Astoria Co+op will further support local businesses and growers while providing low-income community members with year-round access to quality fruits and vegetables,” said Ryan Schoonover, Oregon Food Bank’s, Double Up Grocery Coordinator.

According to program leaders, only 11% of Oregonians consume enough fruit and vegetables for a healthy life. For the one in six Oregonians experiencing food insecurity, eating the recommended servings of produce is not affordable. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables lowers the risk of many serious and chronic conditions including heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.

If you have any questions about the program, contact Astoria Co+op Marketing Director Zetty Nemlowill at [email protected].

Click here for a printable Double Up Food Bucks flyer.

 

Clean Air

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We’re keeping everything in the store extra clean right now including the air you breath. We’ve installed air scrubbers on all of our HVAC systems, both for the retail sales floor and the back of house staff areas. These air scrubbers use photocatalytic oxidation and UV lights to safely sanitize and reduce particulate in the air. They do not produce ozone, a harmful gas that some air purifiers use. Our HVAC system will be on continuous cycle to keep air moving through the co-op clean. Over time the process sanitizes surfaces too.

General Manager Matt Stanley explains in this short video.

Special thanks to P&L Johnson Mechanical for helping make this happen!

Open Later

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We’re staying open an hour later starting today. Our new hours are 9am–8pm. This will still allow us dedicated stocking time in the a.m. while giving you extra time to stock up on essentials. We are calling these hours “temporary” because it’s totally possible that we will expand hours post pandemic.

Masks & Hand Washing

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By Matt Stanley/General Manager

Another week in our new landscape has passed, and we continue to be inspired by the positivity and incredible adaptability shown by customers and staff alike. These adaptations continue this week:

  • We continue to follow the World Health Organization and Center for Disease Control for our primary information for how to best respond to CoVid. Late last week CDC shifted its stance on wearing masks and is now giving guidance indicating the use of cloth masks in public. The CDC has specific instructions on their webpage on how to do so properly so as to reduce risk of exposure. We are working with several local sewers and craft folks to source masks for co-op staff. By the end of the week we will have supplied all co-op staff with two cloth masks so that they can keep them washed daily. Please understand that we are not requiring staff wear masks and that some people have underlying health conditions which make it dangerous for them to do so. We strongly encourage all shoppers who can wear masks to please wear them while shopping at the co-op in order to protect each other and co-op staff as much as possible. It is now reported that up to 50% of cases are asymptomatic so masks protect others from the wearer.
  • We are now sanitizing all touch points in the store with an 80% alcohol and hydrogen peroxide solution made locally by Pilot House Distilling per a WHO recipe. Thanks Pilot House Distilling for changing gears so quickly to fulfill this local need!
  • We have also installed two hand washing machines in the store. One upon entry and one by the bathroom hallway. Please use the hand washing machine before shopping. It provides an FDA and CDC approved hand wash in 12 seconds. It uses a very mild scent free soap.
  • We are exploring making the center aisles one way traffic to assist in the physical distancing. You have all been doing an excellent job maintaining six feet of distance and we appreciate it! We are working on new floor decals to assist in this process.
  • Our supply issues have normalized and we are seeing less and less out of stocks with each delivery.
  • The co-op continues to remind staff that they should not come to work with ANY flu or cold symptoms. We are also asking them to be on the look out for the strange loss of taste and smell that has been reported. I am acting as the gatekeeper for when folks return to work and we are following CDC guidance for that timeline. The absence of testing requires us to assume that anyone with cold/flu symptoms could be carrying the virus. The co-op is working with staff being asked to stay home for extended periods so that they do not see major financial impacts, either through the Families First Coronovirus Response Act or internal PTO flexibility.
  • I encourage you all to write to our governor and state representatives to implore them to support essential workers in the grocery store industry by providing reduced income taxes or some other incentive. Co-op staff are putting themselves at risk everyday in order to provide healthy food to our community. Here is a link to an industry letter to the house and senate.

Thank you for your ongoing support of your local co-op. We will not see the normal influx of tourist traffic this Spring and Summer most likely so it is imperative that folks shop co-op as much as possible so that we can financially sustain our business. We will continue to adapt to the pandemic in the store and provide you with updates as needed.

You can reach Matt at [email protected].

Stop the Spread

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A message from our General Manager, Matt Stanley

We continue to navigate our new reality operating a grocery store during a pandemic. We’ve received an overwhelmingly positive response to all the measures we put in place. Thank you so much for adhering to them!

These times certainly call for cooperation as our health depends on everyone else. As a grocery shopper you can play your part by not coming in many times throughout the week. Try to do shopping trips that will get you through a nice chunk of days. We also ask that you don’t shop in groups. This isn’t the time to bring in your whole family to shop. Send someone here, keep everyone else at home and that’s going to slow the virus down.

In the store, we’ve put green stickers on the ground. These are going to help everybody maintain the six feet. “Six feet of distance determines our existence” is a slogan I’m saying. All our staff members are wearing buttons that say, “I’m happy to help from six feet away”. Please do your part by maintaining that six foot distance and having the patience to wait to go to the next section if somebody is already there.

Some other precautions we’re taking include limiting the number of shoppers in the store, asking that you sanitize hands upon entry, only touching items you wish to buy and no reusable containers or bags of any kind (including cash and returned items). We’ve temporarily reduced hours to 9am–7pm to allow for more time to restock and sanitize.

Thank you so much. Together we can stop the spread!

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Co-op General Manager Matt Stanley can be reached at [email protected] or by calling the store, (503) 325-0027.

Grocery Pickup

More Coronavirus Precautions

New Hours & Other Safety Precautions

Fundraiser for Guy

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Update: It is with heavy hearts, we share the news that Guy passed away. We’re glad he had the opportunity to hear from so many of you and to know his final medical costs won’t burden his family. Thank you for all the expressions of love you have sent his way. They meant the world to Guy as community was everything to him.

Our beloved cashier Guy Rabe has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. We are raising funds to help his family with medical bills and other expenses. Our general manager, Matt Stanley has set up a fundraiser via Go Fund Me. We know this is a tough time for everyone, but if you’re able to spare anything, we know Guy and his family could use the help and we’re grateful for any contribution. Here’s the link to the Go Fund Me account.

Guy has worked as a cashier at the co-op the last two and half years. Over that time we’ve seen him demonstrate a true love for people and our community. He prided himself on building relationships with shoppers.

Many folks may not know that Guy spent 20 years working with the chronically homeless of Portland. Helping them connect to resources, giving moral support, and so much more.

Guy moved to Astoria in 2017 and bought a home with plans of living out his life here on the coast. He recently sustained an injury and was diagnosed with a terminal illness that will not allow him to work anymore.

Guy is a very private person, but cared very much for our community and regulars he interacted with, so if you have a message for him, please reply to this email and we will share it with him. We’re all very sad about this news and miss seeing Guy at work. We want him and his family to be as comfortable as possible right now. Thanks so much for you love and support!