Prepacked Bags For People, Dogs and Cats

You've probably noticed the prepacked grocery bags at our stores.  These bags are full of nonperishable foods.  Two different bags have food and supplies for dogs and cats.

Our Helpful Harvest program, available in each of our stores, offers customers the opportunity to provide a direct food donation to their local food bank.  Our complementary program, Helping Paws, does the same with bags for either cats and dogs, with the bags purchased going to local animal shelters.  Customers can read about each of the organizations receiving their donations from information  we've placed on the bags.

Since the program began about eight months ago, over 2,500 bags have been delivered.  At this time, dog donation bags are leading cat donation bags, but of course, donation bags for people top both!

We have all noticed the ever-growing numbers of hungry people in our communities.  If you can make a difference by purchasing a Helpful Harvest or Helping Paws bag, it will go to make life a bit easier for those in need. 

We also are pleased to help our local food banks by making daily and weekly donations of food and product for their clients.  Regular donations to community charities who serve meals on the street are also part of our commitment to feeding the hungry.  We hope you can join us.

Stores Support Relay for Life Gatherings

If you've had a family member or friend or coworker who has been affected by cancer, you are likely familiar with the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.

Relays are community gatherings where many people join to fight cancer.  Teams of people camp out for 24 hours, taking turns walking or running around a track or path.  Beyond the symbolism of being on the track 24 hours, since cancer never rests, the teams compete to raise money.  The money supports cancer research, services, advocacy and education.

When the sun goes down, hundreds of luminarias light the way to remember those who lost to cancer, those fighting cancer and those who have defeated cancer.  The ceremony of light symbolizes the hope and perseverence with which we fight this dreadful disease.  Listen to the roll call:  you may be surprised at familiar names.

Our stores have long been supporters of Relays in their community, and this year is no different.   We will be participating in some Relays, donating refreshments and also raising money in our stores.  You can help us defeat cancer by donating $1 or $5 at our checkstands to purchase a sun or moon card.  The money goes entirely to the Cancer Society, and you are encouraged to write down the name of someone affected by cancer.

Our store teams have been raising money through a variety of ways, and will be present at Relays this summer.  If you're in the area, please stop by.  Like all of us, you will be moved by the community effort, by the faces of your friends and neighbors, and the determination to make a difference that characterizes the Relays.

Our Relay participation this year includes:

Grant/S. Adams County:  Moses Lake Food Pavilion   May 29

Skagit County:  Mt. Vernon/Sedro Woolley Food Pavilion  June 6

Lynden:  Lynden Food Pavilion   June 19

Whatcom County: The Market, Cost Cutter, Food Pavilion   July 10

Selah: Selah $ave-On-Food$   August 1

To learn more about the work of the American Cancer Society and the Relays, go to www.cancer.org

New Store Opens Its Doors in Birch Bay Square

The eagerly-anticipated  Market at Birch Bay will open Wednesday, May 13 at 9 a.m. 

The all-new store, located at Birch Bay Square just off Interstate 5 at the Birch Bay-Lynden Road, is a community market for great food and value.

Visit the store and you'll discover it's unlike any other store in our area.  Some of the features include a service meat and seafood counter, with certified tender beef and pork, guaranteed.  Bulk frozen seafood makes it easy to stock up on convenient products. 

The Produce Department highlights the freshest, local produce.  We are a Washington State Department of Agriculture certified organic retailer.

The store features many choices for quick meals.  DaVinci's Classic Subs are made fresh for each order.  The Hot Wing Bar with several sauce choices and the Cheese Kiosk features selections from around the world.

Italian food and Italian-inspired products are all in one place.  Gusto d'Italia makes putting together an Italian meal simple and fun.

The Money Board is a touch screen that prints out instant coupons on the spot, another great way to save money at The Market.  Rent a DVD for only $1 while you're shopping.  If you haven't already, sign up for Pump Perks and save on gas, too.

The Market at Birch Bay is all about the prices you want, the quality you trust and the variety you love.  Come see how great food and value is for everyone at our new Market at Birch Bay.

Donate Your Nickel: Bag Rebate Adds Nonprofits

When you bring your own shopping bag to our stores, we rebate you a nickel for every bag, every time you shop.  This includes our reuseable plastic bags, our Northwest-themed organic cotton bags, or any bag you bring from home.

The nickel is deducted from your grocery total, but you can choose to make a donation to a local nonprofit organization.  While a nickel doesn't seem like much, it can add up to big some change for worthy groups that are scrambling for funds these days.

We have added the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust (www.cdlandtrust.org)  for our two Wenatchee stores, the Boys and Girls Cub of the Columbia Basin for Moses Lake Food Pavilion(www.bngclub.org) , and the Prosser Senior Center for Prosser Food Depot.

Earth Day is April 24th, but you can make a difference every day by bringing your own bag and making a donation to these organizations. 

The Market at Anacortes was certified in March as an organic food handler for our Meat Department, joining the store's Produce Department, which carries the same designation.

The Washington State Department of Agriculture issues certification as a way of ensuring the integrity of foods listed as organic.  It has established standards and a rigorous checklist for retailers to pursue before certification can be issued.

This checklist includes inspection of the store's management practices in handling organics, including everything from recording product arrival in the store to equipment clean-up for organic products.

The Market at Anacortes is proud to be one of the only certified organic retailers in the state, and the only one in Anacortes.  Our Produce Department offers over 100 organic items daily, and receives fresh deliveries six days a week.  Like the Produce Department, the Meat Department follows stringent practices of separating organics, clearly labeling products and providing employee training in proper procedures. The goal is to handle organic produce and meat with the same level of care that is required to grow or produce it.

The Markets are committed to providing customers with exceptional food quality.  One of our Store Managers, Paul Shepard (Southside Food Pavilion) is a member of the Washington State Department of Agriculture's Organic Advisory Board.

The Markets are holding a job fair on Tuesday, April 14!

Join us as we begin hiring for our newest store, The Market at Birch Bay.  The Job Fair will be held at the Bellingham Airport Hampton Inn, Fox Hall, 3985 Bennet Drive in Bellingham, from 3 to 7 p.m.

Interviews will be held for positions including checkers, courtesy and helper clerks, night crew, deli and bakery staff.  Potential employees are encouraged to bring their resumes and come prepared to complete applications.

If you share our passion for great food and unmatched customer service, come see us on April 14th. 

Save on Groceries, Save on Gas

The Market in Anacortes and Everson,  and Whatcom County Cost Cutter and Food Pavilion stores have introduced Pump Perks as the newest, most innovative way to save on both groceries as well as gas.

Customers are invited to sign up at participating stores for a Pump Perks card.  Then, shop at these stores, purchasing products identified with the Pump Perks logo and receive the per gallon savings shown on the shelf tag.  There are thousands of Pump Perks savings in our stores every day, in every department.  There's no limit to what you can earn!

The per gallon savings are tracked on the customer's Pump Perks card, and add up with every visit. 

At participating local fuel stations, insert the Pump Perks card at the pump, and actually watch the pump price roll back, saving on gas!  

Participating stores are The Market at Anacortes, The Market at Everson, Cost Cutter at Meridian, Sunset, Lakeway, Ferndale and Blaine, plus Food Pavilon in Lynden and Southside. 

We'll Send 15 Kids To Camp This Summer

We just completed our partnership with the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), selling green shamrocks for the past month to raise money for this worthy organization.

MDA is focused on helping children with neuromuscular diseases.  These include a group of hereditary muscle-destroying disorders.  MDA, a voluntary national health agency aiming to conquer these devastating disorders, is familiar to many through the national chairman, Jerry Lewis, and the annual Labor Day fundraising telethon.

Our stores sold shamrocks in $1, $5 or $10 amounts to our friends, hoping to raise enough money to send  several children to MDA's summer camps. (The one closest to us is Camp Waskowitz in North Bend.)  The camps, which cost $800 per child(there is no cost to the child's family), provide a whole range of activities specially designed for young people who have limited mobility or use wheelchairs. 

Our great customers helped us  bring smiles to the faces of youngsters who have more challenges than most, and who have an opportunity to shine in a place where they can just be kids, instead of kids with disabilities.  For more information, check out MDA's website at www.mda.org  and thanks to all of you who made a donation:  it makes a difference.

Over $17,000 Raised This Holiday Season

The Markets have raised over $17,000 in this year's holiday food bank campaign, Food For All.

The following food-based charities received donations from The Markets this month:

• Senior Meals on Wheels
• Helping Hands Food Bank
• Oso Food Bank
• Arlington Food Bank
• Anacortes 100 Food Bank
• Nooksack Valley Food Bank
• Bellingham Food Bank
• Salt of the Earth Food Bank
• Lighthouse Mission
• Blue Skies for Children
• Ferndale Food Bank
• Southside Food Bank
• Blaine Food Bank
• Selah Civic Center Food Bank
• Wapato Food Bank
• Serve Wenatchee Valley
• Moses Lake Food Bank
• Children's Home Society
• Prosser Senior Center

The Markets also offer an ongoing donation bag program for local food banks and animal shelters.  The program, called Helpful Harvest and Helping Paws, features prepacked bags of nonperishable items purchased and then donated to the organizations listed below:

• Humane Society at Happy Paws Farm
• Whatcom Humane Society
• Skagit Humane Society
• Everett Humane Society
• Wenatchee Valley Humane Society
• Central Washington Humane Society
• Moses Lake-Grant County Humane Society
• Prosser Animal Shelter

Since this program began in October 2008, over 1,400 bags have been donated for food banks, 247 for cats in shelters and 287 for dogs in shelters.  Thanks to our generous customers and their concern for their fellow two- and four-legged friends and neighbors.

The new Market At Birch Bay is going through the permit process.  With final permits on the horizon, the store will complete its remodel, with a planned grand opening for April. 

The 25,000 square foot store, the largest occupant at Birch Bay Square (corner of I-5 and Birch Bay-Lynden Road) in Whatcom County, has taken a little longer than planned.  The building was originally designed for several smaller stores, so combining it into one servicable space for a new supermarket has required more design work.  Residents of Birch Bay have been looking forward to a grocery store in their neighborhood for several years.  The new Market will have many exciting features, many of which are unique to this area.

Watch this space for more information and details about the new Market.