Greetings and thanks for writing. As usual, suggestions and responses may have been edited for brevity, clarity and/or comedy. In addition, no idea, concept, issue, remark, phrase, description of event, word or word string should be taken seriously. This also applies to the previous sentence.

Last month, I discussed what the top sellers in our grocery department say about our shoppers’ values.

Afterwards, I had some conversations that got me thinking I should report some other sales info that shows, despite all the bottled water and the San Pellegrino, that our members also value health, sustainability and ethical sourcing.

Counting all departments, not just grocery, which is defined in the business as shelf-stable food, generally packaged — such as bottled water— the perennial overall, all-star, No. 1 top seller is:

Our bananas.

I say “our” because we mainly stock bananas from Equal Exchange, a worker-owned co-op that deals with producer-owned co-ops growing crops that are organic and Fair Trade. Our produce supplier tells us we sell more Equal Exchange bananas than any of their other accounts. This is something we can be a proud of; many other brands of bananas exploit both people and the environment. So our No. 1 seller does embody our values, and is a fairly healthy food to boot.

That brings us to the No. 2 bestselling item: bagels. Bagels are fairly cheap and not so great nutritionally, since they are primarily white flour. Ours are local. What does this tell us about ourselves — that we value convenience, affordability, flexibility, tradition and mouth feel?

No. 3, 4 and 5 are lemons, avocados and limes. Apparently we also value sourness and high-oil-content fruit. Maybe Weavers Way shoppers are making margaritas and mojitos every night to go with their smashed avocado and banana on a toasted bagel. By the way, we also stock Equal Exchange avocados when we can get them; Mexican avocado growers have also been exploited, and have to put up with both drug cartels and NAFTA.

These days many foods seem to have unexpected back stories. Avocados and drug cartels? Avocados and deforestation? Yep. You could look it up.

Regular readers of this column may have noticed a decline in suggestions over the past couple years. The number of written suggestions in the book in Mt. Airy has dwindled from about 20 per month to fewer than five. Chestnut Hill never got a lot of suggestions and never had a book, the managers there preferring a fill-out-a-slip-type system, some of which would get posted on a bulletin board so other shoppers could see them. Then, a couple years ago, both stores started collecting “Snapshots,” where staff members are encouraged to jot down things they observe or hear that are relevant to improving our business. Snapshots are then reviewed by relevant staff, and followup actions are taken as appropriate.

It seems many comments that members used to write in the Suggestion Book now become Snapshots. While the Snapshots program has merit, one difference from the Suggestion Book is Snapshots are not viewable by shoppers. Some Snapshots are presented to store staff at weekly meetings for review, but no one is reviewing and publicizing the ones that may be of interest to everybody.

Anyway, I’ve concluded it’s time for this column to evolve and try to incorporate at least some of these Snapshots for the edification of all. Here’s a first crack.

Suggestions, snapshots & responses:

Can we get more sushi with brown rice? Staffer: “I’ll ask.”

Shoppers are always asking about marshmallow location. Can we change where they are? Rick, MA store manager: “Let’s change location.”

No one knows which coffee beans are low-acid. Staffer: “We will educate bulk and grocery staff on this information, or staff should Google answers as needed.”

First Instacart shopper in the Pet Store. Anton, pet supply buyer: “!!”

Do sale items that are subject to the city beverage tax still have the same tax despite the sale price? Should we note that on the sale tag? Staffer: “The tax is by the ounce, so it does not change. We need to keep the regular tag alongside the sale tag, so shoppers can see tax they’re paying.”

Gluten-free oat cakes (Nairn’s is one brand). Matt, MA grocery manager and bakery buyer: “I’m sure we can find a way to squeeze them in next to other Nairn’s.”

Liberte brand pomegranate yogurt (available @ Target! for $1.69!).& Matt: “I’ll look into it, thanks for the suggestion.”

LUHV Black Bean burgers. We don’t seem to carry them anymore. They were THE BEST. I hope we can restock. Matt: “We do still carry them. If they appear to be out of stock, we’re likely awaiting our delivery. But just ask.”

Tahini-free hummus please! (sesame allergy). Matt: “I’m having trouble finding a commercially available hummus without tahini apart from Trader Joe’s — which we can’t get. Do you know of any brands we should be looking into?”

Kudos:

• One shopper likes our apple guide: “It’s so helpful.”
• Thanks to Prep Foods staff who made a platter at the last minute for Henry School’s silent auction.

Congressional hearings seem popular these days. As a democratically run organization, how come we never have hearings? Norman: “We tried to have hearings about whether to stock Nestlé products like San Pellegrino sodas but it turned out everyone had to recuse themselves because apparently Weavers Way and Northwest Philadelphia are so full of highly opinionated people that no one is impartial enough to participate in a proper hearing. Maybe we could get some scientists to conduct hearings, but rumor has it that many scientists lack the social skills to interact with non-scientists.”