Do you ever carry any apples that are waxed? No, our main distributor (Organically Grown Company) does not supply any apples with wax on them. When apples get stressed, they can sometimes extrude a waxy like substance on, which may be what you are noticing if an apple ever looks waxy. Patrick Monroe, [...]

I've had some trouble getting my bike with a trailer/cargo carrier into the bike parking area at the southern entrance of the South Store. Would it be possible to improve accessibility to that space? Thank you for pointing this out to us. We will be more diligent with the placement of the pallets [...]

Would it be possible to get paper envelopes for spices and more efficient non-plastic options for bulk? Thank you for your suggestion. The South Store will begin providing small, grease resistant paper bags in our bulk spice and tea area soon! Amy Bassett, South Store Manager

Are the poinsettias you sell local & do they contain any pesticides? Poinsettias are a tropic plant native to Central and South America, and traditionally have required a lot of pesticides and hot weather to grow. Our poinsettias, however, are sourced locally through Peoria Gardens in Corvallis. They are purchased as seedling starts from [...]

Will there be any improvements to the electric car charging stations in the near future? We currently have Blink charging stations are our North Store location. The infrastructure & capacity of the current building at this location provides some limitations on upgrading to higher power charging stations. We hope to be able to apply [...]

The new Produce display cases look great! Why did you rearrange the produce in the new cases? We are excited to have new Produce display cases at both stores, which will improve our ability to provide even better, high-quality, fresh produce for our shoppers. During this update, some areas of the Produce Department [...]

Do you carry Freestone peaches? We try to source Freestone peaches whenever we can! Freestone peaches are a specific variety that are only available for select periods during the season. Due to how the growers communicate the variety, it can also sometimes to be difficult to identify which items are of the Freestone [...]

Is the Co-op participating in the Benton To Go Program? Due to different regulatory oversight and rules for grocery stores as compared to restaurants (grocery stores are regulated by the Oregon Department of Agriculture and restaurants are regulated by the local health department), First Alternative is not currently able to participate in the [...]

Why do you require a key for the public restrooms at the stores? Bill Genné, North Store Manager & Amy Bassett, South Store Manager We understand it can be inconvenient to have to get a key for the public restrooms at the store, but have implemented this process to help resolve issues we [...]

I recently saw a study from Consumer Reports that found evidence of heavy metals in certain brands of dark chocolate bars. Can you share more information about this? A recent report from Consumer Reports states that potentially harmful amounts of heavy metals lead and cadmium have been found in 28 popular dark chocolate [...]