The Market is Open and Policy Changes Are Coming!

Good Morning Market,

Thanks so much to everyone that came out to the incredible new Whole Foods on Thursday! We don’t have final numbers yet, but the store was packed all day and it was wonderful to see so many friendly faces. Even after a week like this last one, the market is open with delicious local food, including new organic spice blends and even deodorant from Maison Terre.

Many of our long-time members can recognize how much ALFN has grown over the eight years since we started out of a garage on Victory Street. With growth comes new challenges, and so our Board of Directors has been working incredibly hard to figure out how to make Food Club financially viable moving forward. After weeks of thoughtful debate, we’ll be implementing a few policy changes beginning March 7th:

• Changes to Monday Pick-Up: Beginning 3/9, the new hours of Monday Food Club will be 5-6pm. In order to help cover our costs, all orders picked up on Monday will be charged a $2.50 convenience fee.

• Pay By Credit Card at Pick-Up: In addition to still being able to pay by credit or debit card through our website, beginning on 3/7, you will also be able to pay by card while at pick-up. If you do not have a form of payment, your order can not go home with you. To receive your food, you can come back during Food Club with a form of payment, pick your order up on Monday, or we’ll hold on to it one full week for an additional $10 fee. Though it may not seem like much, we can no longer bear the administrative costs of tracking IOUs.

These decisions are not made lightly and are only so that we can continue to provide this service moving forward. If you have questions or concerns about any of these changes, please do not hesitate to contact me at (501)291.2769 or arlocalfoodnetwork@gmail.com. We only exist because of the continued support of our members and want to make sure that this wonderful Food Club has its best days ahead!

Most Sincerely,

- Alex Handfinger
Director of Operations

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