You should get one of these for your car for the next time you go there:
I suspect you were in the nut section once you walked through the doors.
I’m not a yuppie or a trust fund baby. I just happen to like good food and what’s good for me.
Yes, it is expensive and $300 plus is not unusual. Just for me, I once spent over $90. But...when you are on a restricted diet, as I am, Whole Foods can be a lifesaver. Where I live, the supermarkets are starting to get into healthier food, but they don’t compare to what’s available at WF.
By the way, I understand that WF has consistently ranked as one of the top employers. And these stores do a lot for the economy. So I’m not going to knock WF.
Very well-written piece. I know what you’re talking about, I live in an area like that (Montgomery County, Maryland, a collar county of DC). You’re funny.
We call it "Whole Wallet" out here in AZ.
LOL! Was this the Bedford store or the Andover store?
I used to work near the Bedford store. A few weeks after 9/11, I and a co-worker went there to pick up lunch. The cashier was wearing a flag pin...upside down. Oh yeah, cost $75 for a couple of pre-packaged sushis, fruit smoothies, and a couple of pastries. Yikes!
My last visit to the Bedford store was after Christmas. The place is looking a little gray and dingy.
How very wrong you are.
Whole Foods is a grocery store. Yes, they have gimmicks to try and sell their wares; so does Walmart and every other store. Big whoop.
The difference between Whole Foods and other chains is that most of the food sold there is ACTUAL FOOD.
To be certified organic, a fruit or vegetable may not be perfect but it’s not covered with neurotoxins like the produce at other stores. You need to check the labels at WF too; not all their stuff is organic, but it’s the chain where you find the MOST organic produce.
You will have a selection of dry foods that do not contain hydrogenated fats or high fructose corn syrup. This is IMPOSSIBLE at your average store. Read the labels. You will find products including corn, anything from cereals to pizzas to frozen burritos, that contain ORGANIC corn, the only non GMO corn available. This again is not possible in a regular store. Nothing, NOTHING, is made from organic corn there. Corn is one of the most oversprayed, overprocessed grains around, and one of the most used in the American diet.
Why would anyone buy supermarket meat? You cannot if you read Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” (which I suggest you read) and know the difference between the steer raised for the standard slaughterhouse and the one from the free-range organic ranch. Pollan followed a steer designed for each kind of life, all along the chain. It’s an eye-opening read, and he writes brilliantly.
Only Whole Foods has a huge selection of wild, line-caught fish and tells you exactly where it was caught. Farmed fish is not even healthy. It’s fed with GMO corn or some other Chinese-made grain product. Not what the fish had in mind, or your stomach, either. Not only did your organic, free-range chicken have a better life and diet than the supermarket chickens, it tastes so good only salt and pepper are needed when you roast it. You don’t need it to be injected with MSG like all the rotisserie chickens in every other place are.
If you see me in a mainstream grocery store, know that I am buying paper products or maybe something that doesn’t need to be organic, like bananas. There is not much real, un-franken-food in there.
I spend that much EVERY WEEK at Whole Foods. I am happy driving old cars and saving on other things. I will not compromise on my family’s diet, because what you eat actually does become your body, and we only get one body on this planet. Who cares what the shoppers look like? There are also moms like me in there, who are trying to raise their families on actual food that nourishes and heals, and not junk that causes deficiencies and chronic illness.
"Let the great unwashed who would allow such pedestrian products into their homes shop at the Stop & Shop (or Wal-Mart). That seems to be the general attitude at the Whole Foods, anyhow." ~ sounds like the one with the attitude problem is you! I meet very pleasant people at Whole Foods. Glad you've decided not to shop there!
Get story telling, LOL.
As to some of the touchy replies you’ve generated, I have this for you:
“May those who love us, love us; and those who don’t love us, may God turn their hearts; and if He doesn’t turn their hearts, may he turn their ankles so we’ll know them by their limping.”
So typical and at times hilarious. Well done. I sometimes drop in when I’m driving through La Jolla (the only place I can go and see a movie without a car chase) to get a fresh sandwich or such for lunch. They do have good soup. I would use your story to populate the scene.
You should get one of these for your car for the next time you go there:
My little oval sticker says FUBO.
Thank you for your very entertaining post! I’ve wanted to stop in a Whole Foods for years. The closest one, though, is several hours away. Usually when I’m in A Big City, I’m just too busy with other stuff; I’ll have to allot some time on my next trip. It sounds like a hoot.
The point I take away from all this is that we are becoming a more tribal nation by the day. And that tribal members can identify one another and identify “enemy” tribe members on sight. Not too different then if a Lakota Sioux walked into a Commanche supermarket back in the day.
I personally think the disconnect is that while we have no trouble identifying members of other tribes while we tend to be mildly surprised when they identify us. And we shouldn’t be.
My wife says:
I happen to love Whole Foods Market (Fairfax, VA), especially since I am on a restricted diet (gluten-free). I have been eating more organic, whole foods in the past 3 years since being diagnosed with Celiac Disease. These foods are not too much more expensive than Giant or Martins; however, they are much tastier and healthier—I am middle-aged, slim, and healthy. Concerning the crowd that shops at WFM: I have observed a wide variety of patrons, from businessmen to “aging hippies” to everyone in between. They do cater to a variety of religions, such as selling mini Bhudda statues, crystals, and incense. I am an open-minded, relatively conservative Christian and am not offended, as I shop there for the food and other organic products, such as soap and vitamins.
The many interesting organic brands (usually not found in a regular grocery store or in limited stock) are delicious, as is the changing selection of GF Whole Foods Bakery baked goods. Yes, some prices are higher, but I am fortunately able to pay a little more for foods I can find nowhere else (I drive 70 miles just to shop here).
To sum up, Whole Food Market is the best grocery store around!
ping
I was at Whole Foods once, just to see what’s there. Bought milk and french bread. Of course both were “organic” - no preservatives. Upon returning home (30 minutes later) I discovered that the bread is now fit to drive nails with, and the milk is bitter. Preservatives are added to food for a good purpose. I managed to use most of this stuff without much harm to myself, but I will never repeat the mistake of setting foot into that store.
I love WF’s and if I have a choice would much rather fill my shopping cart with their meats, produce and seafood, dairy products, plus specialty items not available at other grocers.
While hubby isn’t “happy” about the bill, he takes great pleasure in wearing one of his Conservative t-shirts while walking through the aisles of a WH’s. Not once has anyone made a negative comment, although he keeps trying!
I’d never pass up Trader Joe’s for Whole Foods.