A few of our customers and Members have reached out to us with inquiries and concerns regarding our vaccination policy here at the Co-op. At this time we do not have a mandatory vaccination policy in place for our employees. We are waiting to hear from OSHA as they develop such a policy for businesses with more than 100 employees. 

For privacy reasons we do not divulge the vaccination status of individual employees, just as we would not divulge any other personal health information. What we can tell you is that our current vaccination rate is well above the state average. We have had multiple in-store opportunities for our employees to receive a free vaccination. We have a mask mandate in place for our employees and still do our best to practice social distancing. We haven’t had any community-spread events inside our store, and the few cases we have had most likely originated outside of the Co-op.

We know that Covid-19 can be transmitted among vaccinated people. Our employees wear masks to protect each other, to protect our customers and Members, and to minimize the spread of the virus in our community. We urge you to do the same and wear a mask when you shop here at the Co-op.

If you have any specific questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to reach out to Ed King, General Manager, at ek***@***********op.org

To Our Members & Community,

In the interest of transparency, we wanted to inform you that yesterday afternoon (Thursday October 14) we learned that an employee from our store tested positive for Covid-19.  

This employee works in the Produce department, so we are being extra vigilant since they have had contact with the public. They last worked at the co-op on Tuesday October 12 and are self-quarantining at home as recommended by their healthcare professional. To our knowledge, the employee has not exhibited symptoms while at work, and very likely contacted the virus outside of the store.

As an added precaution we’ve done extra cleaning and sanitation in that area of the store. We have also identified all staff members who may have been in close contact with the affected person, and we are supporting those employees as they self-monitor. At this time we believe this is an isolated case and there is no communal spread in the store. 

We are encouraging anyone with concerns to contact their healthcare professional and get tested when appropriate. As part of our daily Covid-19 screening practices we ask that any employee who exhibits symptoms to stay home, contact our HR department, and notify their physician. Our co-op has a generous sick leave and vacation policy, and we are working with staff members on a case-by-case basis to ensure they have the support they need. 

Our co-op prides itself on its cleanliness, social distancing, and safety standards, and we are taking multiple steps to best serve you, care for our staff, and be a responsible member of our community. 

• Employees are required to wear masks inside the store.
• Our staff self-monitor for symptoms and do not come to work if they are sick.
• All employees are asked to maintain a 6-foot distance from customers and coworkers.
• We practice social distancing in our work areas and have installed reminders throughout the store.
• We have installed extra sanitizer stations for staff and customers throughout the store, and encourage good hygiene and frequent hand-washing. 
• We’ve installed plexiglas safety barriers at our registers, and marked off spaces on the floor to help everyone maintain a safe social distance.

If you have any further questions, please contact us at in**@***********op.org.

Our Management Team recently met to discuss a plan for lifting the store’s COVID restrictions, including our current mask policy. We have been continually monitoring NH State and CDC guidelines, as well as the latest COVID-19 case counts and hospitalization data for our market area. Overall, we have seen a steady decline in COVID numbers in our region, as more and more of the local population is vaccinated. Currently, 75.5% of the staff here at the Co-op have been vaccinated, which is a milestone we are quite proud of. 

We also discussed feedback from employees, customers, and other members of our community, and as usual, the perspectives vary widely. Some urged us to end restrictions immediately or very soon, while others felt it was important to wait longer. From these conversations it is clear that some of us need time to adjust to changes in our policies. We hope to proceed in a way that is not only transparent, but also allows our customers, employees, vendors to feel comfortable here at the Co-op. 

With these things in mind, we felt it was important to give the community notice of our change in policy. As of July 2 2021, we will be relaxing our mask policy for customers as well as employees. As of that date, anyone who has been vaccinated is not required to wear a mask at the Co-op. We are encouraging anyone who is unvaccinated or has health or safety concerns to continue to wear a mask. We offer our online Curbside Pickup service for those who are unable to shop in person.

On July 2 we also plan on re-opening our Cafe space to the community, and we will also resume our regular in-store tastings, classes, and events. It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to host these kinds of activities, and we’re really looking forward to reinstating that vibrant, busy, community-minded atmosphere in our Co-op.

As always, thank you for your support and your cooperation!

Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom and emancipation, and while it’s been a well-known holiday in Black communities in many parts of the country, it’s not as widely recognized in other areas. It was just recently declared a federal holiday, and is often celebrated as a second Independence Day on and around June 19.

So let’s learn: what is Juneteenth all about?

First, a history lesson: Although the Emancipation Proclamation was declared in 1863, word traveled slowly, and not every enslaved Black person knew they were free right away. It wasn’t until two years later – June 19, 1865 – that 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas and announced that slavery had been abolished.

Learn more about Juneteenth’s history here.

For years Juneteenth has been widely celebrated with parades, music, festivals, storytelling, family reunions, and of course lots of great food. Cookouts and potlucks are traditional, along with traditional southern food like beans, black-eyed peas, catfish, potato salad, fried chicken, and greens.

Toni Tipton-Martin wrote a great article about Juneteenth food traditions.

Red foods are a special Juneteenth tradition since the color red symbolizes the strength and resilience of enslaved people. Hot sauce, red velvet cake, strawberry soda, hot link sausages, watermelon, and strawberry slab pie are all common foods at Juneteenth gatherings.

Here’s Nicole Taylor’s recipe for Strawberry Slab Pie! 

Most importantly, Juneteenth is a day to uplift Black voices, celebrate their achievements, and listen to their experiences! 

To Our Members & Community,

In the interest of transparency, we wanted to inform you that on the evening of Monday, December 28, we learned that a staff member from our store tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).  

Upon learning of the result, we spoke with our local health department. We immediately performed additional sanitizing and disinfecting procedures in all areas of the store where that employee had worked. This employee works in the Pricing and Receiving department and has minimal contact with the public; they last worked at the co-op on Wednesday, December 23, and are self-quarantining at home as recommended by their healthcare professional. To our knowledge, the employee never exhibited symptoms while at work and had minimal contact with customers and other employees.

The Littleton Food Co-op has identified all staff members who may have been in close contact with the affected person and is supporting these employees as they self-monitor, although at this time we believe this is an isolated case and there is no communal spread in the store. Our co-op has a generous sick and vacation policy, and we are working with staff members on a case-by-case basis to ensure they have the support they need. Across our co-op as part of our regular policy, we ask that any staff exhibiting symptoms of respiratory illness or fever stay home, contact our HR department, and notify their physician.

Our co-op prides itself on its cleanliness and food safety standards, and we are taking multiple steps to best serve you, care for our staff, and be a responsible member of our community. We have implemented rigorous daily cleaning practices throughout our store.  Since March, every other hour each department performs a sanitation rotation, disinfecting all common touch areas in all parts of the store.  Each night, a professional store-wide disinfection is done by our janitorial services to all common touch areas, shopping carts, offices, electronics and floors.  

Furthermore:

• All staff members are pre-screened for temperature and symptoms daily before work
• All staff self-monitor themselves throughout the day and stay/go home if sick
• All employees are required to wear masks (worn correctly, fitting tightly to the face and under the chin) at all times
• All employees are asked to maintain 6-foot social distancing from others
• All common areas such as offices, bathrooms, and shared electronic equipment are disinfected and cleaned routinely every day.

To learn more about the steps we are taking, please visit  www.littletoncoop.com/covid19.

If you have any further questions, please contact us at in**@***********op.org.

Thank you!