Your Co-op’s Response to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Pandemic

Wheatsfield Cooperative remains ready to adapt to changes happening during these unprecedented times. Thank you for supporting Wheatsfield  Cooperative and your Community! We are monitoring the development of the pandemic closely and will consider all recommended precautions to protect the health and safety of customers and staff. We will closely monitor guidance from the CDC and local health officials in our area. We will rely on their recommendations and expertise to inform our decisions.

In addition, staff are working to ensure quick responses to changing product needs and availability.

Additional Resources & Helpful Links

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• CDC’s “What you need to know”
• World Health Organization (WHO)
• World Health Organization’s Mythbusters Page
• Iowa Department of Public Health’s page on Novel Coronavirus

What We Are Doing at Wheatsfield Co-op

We already have many procedures in place to help maintain food and product safety. To complement those procedures, we are implementing more frequent sanitization of carts, baskets, tongs, handles, cash register stands and more. As the situation evolves, we remain vigilant and ready to implement further actions.

Updated Hours | Reserved Shopping | Curbside Pickup

• Updated store hours: 8am-7pm, effective March 19, 2020
• Reserved Shopping Time: 8-9am Reserved for senior shoppers (age 60+) as well as those with compromised immune systems and expectant mothers. This gives those higher risk shoppers an opportunity to shop when the store is less crowded as well as to shop first after our closing and morning sanitation procedures. Please respect this request to the extent possible to allow shoppers who are a higher risk of contracting severe illness the ability to shop safely.
• Curbside Pickup: 9am-3pm, MONDAY – FRIDAY, effective March 19
  • To support our shoppers and keep our employees safe, the Co-op is now taking orders via our website form, email, and over the phone. You can come to the Co-op, park in the EAST parking spaces by the deck, and we will bring your groceries out to your car. You do not need to be a member-owner to participate. Orders placed after 1pm are not guaranteed to be ready same day.

Around the Store

• Increased precautions in Bulk department including providing gloves, hand sanitizers, and limiting aisle to 3 customers at a time.
• Signs have been placed at store entrances asking customers who are sick to not enter the Co-op.
• Temporarily discontinuing redemption of all bottles and cans. We will continue to take Sheeder glass milk bottles back for now and revisit this decision as the week progresses.
• Customers will no longer be able to use their bulk containers from home. We ask that they use the options available in the store.
• If a customer brings in their own bags to take purchases home in, they are asked to bag their own groceries at checkout.
• Self-service coffee has been moved behind the counter and will be served by Deli staff.
• All reusable coffee cups, dinner plates and metal silverware have been removed from the sales floor. Compostable plastic ware will remain available at the Deli front by request.
• Stanchions are in place at the Deli counter to create space between customers placing orders and Deli staff.
• Installed additional automated hand sanitizers throughout the Co-op.
• Stopping any passive sampling of products in the store to help prevent the spreading of germs.
• Temporarily Discontinuing our Co-op Explorers Kids Free Fruit Program.
• Discontinuing Self-service Salad, Soup, and Hot Bar (pre-packaged options are being made available).
• Discontinuing the use of refillable personal cups and mugs at the Deli Front Beverage Bar.
• Individually wrapping all baked goods in the Bakery Department.
• Discontinuing wellness, health & beauty product testers on shelves.
• Posting reminders about proper hand washing in all restrooms and at hand sinks for staff and customers.

Staff Wellness

• Encouraging staff to stay home if they have symptoms. We are monitoring the application of the new Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R.6201 was signed into law on March 18, 2020) for full ad part time employees and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (S.3548 – CARES Act was signed into law on March 27, 2020).

Product Supplies & Case Orders

• We are no longer accepting special orders, holding items for customers, or accepting returns due to ongoing supply issues and out of stocks.
• Monitoring availability of products and staple items from our vendors. At the moment, we are experiencing distributor out of stock issues on all hand sanitizers and Seventh Generation Disinfecting wipes and spray cleaner.
• We will do our best to maintain our stock of all items, but there could be things we run out of in between orders and deliveries or if they become unavailable for us to order.

Updates

• Watching for updates from National Co-op Grocers, our suppliers, the CDC, Paylocity and other entities. There is a lot that is not known at this point so this information will probably change and get updated as we move forward.

Classes & Events

• Canceling or postponing events: $5 Dinners, Earth Week Celebrations
• Canceling all upcoming classes and will reschedule for later dates. Other events and may be affected so please watch our e-news, website, and social media for notices.

Staying Prepared

• Preparing for future actions as they are necessary. We will make those decisions if or when the situation worsens locally.

If you would like to contact the Co-op at any time, please email [email protected] or call 515-232-4094

How Soap Kills Viruses

By Adam Calder 

On March 13, the New York Times ran an article written by Ferris Jabar on not only how effective soap is at cleaning away dirt, but also how the physical properties of soap actually destroys viruses.

Soap achieves these feats by virtue of its chemical structure.  Soap molecules are made of two ends. The head of the molecule bonds readily with water (hydrophilic) and the tail repels water (hydrophobic).  The tail prefers to bond with oils and fats (lipids).

When soap molecules are mixed in with water, some of them float about individually, some interact with molecules of dirt and debris to form small balls called micelles.  When these micelles form, they have their hydrophilic ends facing out and the hydrophobic ends all pointed in to the center of the ball of soap molecules.

Some viruses, including the coronavirus, have lipid membranes that are structured with two hydrophilic heads surrounding two hydrophobic bands.  As you wash your hands properly with soap and water, any microorganisms that happen to be on your hands get enveloped in soap molecules.

The hydrophobic ends of the soap molecules are repelled by the water, and during that process the lipid-loving end of these molecules work their way into the lipid shell of viruses.  The opposing forces of the two ends of the soap molecule actually pry apart the protective shell of the virus.

Once the virus shell is compromised, the whole virus is destabilized.  The genetic information of the virus coded inside proteins within the protective shell begins to spill out into the surrounding water.  This leaves the virus useless at propagating itself, and it soon dies.

Viruses and bacteria have a chemical structure that makes them stick to surfaces.  Soap molecules interfere with that bond and allows these microorganisms to be lifted off the skin.  Micelles form around the bits of dirt, broken virus pieces and whole viruses and enclose them in floating bubbles.  When you rinse your hands after scrubbing with soap and water, all of that flotsam gets washed down the drain.

Alcohol hand sanitizers work similarly to defeat viruses by attacking their lipid membranes, but hand sanitizer is not very good at lifting the viruses off of your skin the way soap does.

Some viruses and bacteria do not rely on a lipid membrane, and instead rely on protein or sugar shells.  Soap isn’t as good at killing these types of microorganisms, but it is good at lifting them off of your skin in a way that alcohol sanitizers cannot.  For these reasons, soap is a more reliable and effective way to remove pathogens from your skin.

With proper use, soap can help keep you, your family and your community safe.  The power to do this rests literally in your hands.  All you need to add is a little soap and water.

Made from scratch | Baked fresh Daily | Updated March 19, 2020

Curbside Pickup Available (9am-3pm | Monday-Friday)

To support our shoppers and keep our employees safe, the Co-op is now taking orders for CURBSIDE Pickup. You can come to the Co-op, park in the EAST LOT spaces by the deck, and we will bring your groceries out to your car. You do not need to be a member-owner to participate.

1. Fill out the form below*, email [email protected] or call the store to place your order. *Form is preferred, you will receive an email confirmation when submitted.

2. Co-op staff will pick your order and call you with a total when the order is ready. You will pay with a credit card over the phone.

3. Arrange a pick up time. Call the store when you are in the EAST parking lot next to the deck, and a staff person will bring your groceries out to you. We will place groceries in your car, no need to exit your vehicle.

Helpful information: Please be as specific as possible about the products you would like. We do not currently have an online product list.

· Name of product / Brand / Size / Flavor

· Dietary restrictions: vegan, gluten-free, low-sodium, etc.

· 12-digit barcode number (UPC) located on product package or Bulk item PLU number if known.

*Be aware that product availability may be very limited. We will do our best to fill your order and get you the products you request. If you are okay with substitutions, please specify that in your notes.

Some things to keep in mind:

· Orders will be taken and filled between the hours of 9am and 3pm, Monday – Friday ONLY. 

· Orders will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. We may not be able to fill your order the same day you submit it, but we will try our best. Orders placed after 1pm are not guaranteed for same day pickup.

· Please do not place an order you do not plan to pick-up within 24 hours, we lack the storage capacity to hold your orders for longer than one day.

· Depending on customer demand, product availability, and staff capacity, we may have to limit how many orders we can fill each day.

· Please provide your member number (if you are a member-owner) and phone number in your email.

· The Co-op reserves the right to decline to fill any order.

CURBSIDE PICKUP FORM

• Buy a share in the Co-op! You will literally own the Co-op! Join 6,300+ other member-owners in ownership.
• Full Benefits & Discounts
• One-time purchase
• $100 purchase – can pay all at once or over 10 months
• Fully refundable!

• Open to college or high school students
• Most of the Benefits and Discounts of equity membership
• Yearly Fee
• Not refundable
• $20 purchase

WHAT IS NEWSPAPERS IN EDUCATION?
NIE (Newspapers in Education) is a nationally recognized collaboration between corporate and community sponsors, local newspapers, and schools providing students with the opportunity to become more literate and knowledgeable citizens. NIE provides local schools with the newspaper and educational materials to enhance learning through real-life experiences relevant to students’ daily lives.

Teachers receive class sets of newspapers delivered to their school, packed with news and information relevant to every grade level and subject area. The newspaper is an exciting, real world supplement to traditional classroom resources. It’s a “living textbook” that gets updated every day!

WHAT’S IN THE NEWSPAPER FOR STUDENTS?
Many issues and topics in the daily newspaper mirror student interests, making the newspaper relative to their world. NIE makes teaching and learning with the newspaper even easier with sponsored newspapers and specially designed curriculum guides. NIE provides students with hands-on learning activities and innovative ideas that turn the newspaper into a multipurpose tool. Newspapers provide students with an exciting addition to textbook learning.

WHY BECOME INVOLVED?
NIE sponsorship is a low-cost, high-value way to give back to your community and invest in the next generation. Sponsorship helps schools stretch their budgets and meet literacy requirements. NIE sponsorship is good for business because it generates visibility and excellent public relations. Becoming an NIE sponsor benefits students, schools, and the community, while providing exceptional recognition and advertising for the sponsor.