Letter Writing Campaign & Fact Finding Mission

After talking with a Safeway store manager, I went home armed with a website and a corporate address and, honestly, thought that was all I would need to reverse Safeway's policy to remove condoms from their shelves. I imagined them receiving a flurry of letters from concerned shoppers, realize how silly they had been and restock their shelves, apologizing for our inconvenience and maybe giving me some valuable coupons for my time and feedback. I knew there was a chance that would not happen but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that there would be NOT ONE SINGLE RESPONSE from the Safeway corporation about this issue. Not one. I alone sent several emails, letters and made a couple of useless phone calls. Then I reached out to friends, family and acquantances who sent dozens more letters and emails. None of them got a response either. I encouraged a Safeway boycott (which really annoyed my husband since it is the closest store to us - I think he snuck there sometimes just for a gallon of milk), waited a few weeks then sent more letters. Nothing.

I was asking basic questions and expecting basic answers. Questions like: how many stores have adopted this policy? When did this go into effect and why? Is this nationwide or local? Silence. One afternoon, while my daughter was sleeping and my son was watching Nemo (I know, I hate the electronic babysitter, too, but it was for a good cause), I called 50 Metro Denver Safeways and asked them where they keep their condoms. Almost half of all stores (nearly 25!!) had removed condoms from their shelves and placed them, under lock and key, behind either the pharmacy or customer service counter. I looked at my resulting spreadsheet with all of the phone numbers, addresses and yes's or no's in their respective 'Condoms on Shelves?' column and noticed a troubling trend. It appeared that all of the no's went with addresses in the city - stores in lower income areas or near high schools or colleges. The yes's fit comfortably with the more affluent, suburban locations. It occurred to me that Safeway's Business Ethics Department might want to know about that. They were only mildly interested. You can read the correspondence in the correspondence blog.

Now with a list of Safeways who have restricted condom access and dozens of unanswered letters, I felt that it was time to reach out for help. I contacted Planned Parenthood and recapped the previous month's efforts. They were alarmed, to say the least, and were able to provide ideas, experience, knowledge and resources that I had exhausted. They suggested we start a coalition. Not only does that sound cool but it is a tangible step to getting, at least, a response from Safeway. They also helped me with some research and found that not only does this affect Safeway stores, but Alberstons stores, too - almost half of them in the Metro Denver area, as well! After digging around online we discovered a few other small, grassroots efforts nationwide that have begun to take notice of stores removing condoms from their shelves. Our next step then: to build a local coalition and reach out to other efforts nationwide. Stay tuned! Safeway might even answer one of my letters!