A big milestone reached in a relatively short amount of time at the Briar Patch Coop Market.
According to Marketing Manager Stephanie Mandel, the store has been tracking bag use by shoppers.

Click here to listen to Stephanie Mandel

BriarPatch was the first grocery store in western Nevada County to adopt a policy of charging 10 cents each for large single-use paper grocery bags. The charge brought the community-owned grocery store in step with other forward-thinking food co-ops and stores in the state.

Click here to listen to Stephanie Mandel

Mandel says that when customers do not bring a re-useable bag, there is a 10-cent charge for a new paper bag.

Click here to listen to Stephanie Mandel

Since BriarPatch’s new bag policy went into effect, cashiers have been keeping track each time shoppers pack their groceries in re-usable instead of new bags. In mid-November the total reached 100,000. The Co-op is making a donation on behalf of its members.

Click here to listen to Stephanie Mandel

Mandel says Briar Patch will continue to celebrate as the number of re-used bags increases.

Click here to listen to Stephanie Mandel

It took around 7 months for the store to hit the 100,000 bag mark.