Living the Dream: Jeff Yapp

Over the past several months, we’ve observed and participated in many regulatory changes to prioritize safety for employees and customers. We have also seen a shift in demand that focuses more on the health and wellness benefits of our products. Having dispensaries designated as essential businesses brings a renewed focus to plant-based medicine as well as generally increasing the credibility of this industry nationwide. Our customers have been understanding of the changes we’ve made in order for them to access our products, as we’ve implemented online ordering and an in-house delivery service, as well as express pick-up options to minimize time spent in stores.

We’re continuing to see growth in our edibles segment, reflecting an influx of new customers, and significant growth in our flower and pre-rolls. We’ve seen jumps in products designed for individual consumption and in products with designated effects in the overall wellness spectrum. In addition to groceries and toilet paper, people have been loading up on cannabis and spirits. It’s more than cannabis being that glass of wine or beer at the end of the day to unwind; for a lot of people, it’s for their medical needs and mental health.

Above all, we want to serve our communities and support businesses through this time of uncertainty. We launched a community initiative where each of our seven Chalice Farms stores selected a restaurant in their community to purchase meals from, to be donated to local hospitals, fire departments and paramedics. We’ve now donated more than 1,000 meals to first responders and are continuing our efforts to support local restaurants moving forward.

We want to be there for people. We want to be there for our employees. There’s a secondary disease to this pandemic, and it’s in the millions of people who are now out of work. We are making immediate changes in our industry not just for our consumers, but to give our hard-working employees a safe workplace that is fulfilling a community need. And despite scheduling changes and quick adaptations to new regulations, our staff has come together as a team and is working tirelessly to prioritize safety and fulfill orders.

We look forward to further strengthening our team and industry moving forward, as well as supporting our communities in a variety of creative ways.