How I spent $300 at the Whole Foods Supermarkets in Massachusetts (and lived to tell about it)

[Little Bill]

Hildy you don’t live in Mass, so don’t cast aspersions, Sam is on the money.

[norraad]

You can have fun with the young cashiers if they ‘ax’ you for a zip code say quickly I 8 1 U 8 1 2, most will try and enter it , then look puzzled and ‘ax’ again, and again quickly say I 8 1 U 8 1 2, never fails.

[surroundedbyblue]

Oh yeah, I’ve taken my kid in there wearing her two fav Tshirts: one says “weepublican” the other has a pic of Reagan and says “old school conservative”. No one has tossed me out and a few have actually winked at us.

[semantic]

That was a funny read.

If you're wondering where the people who shop @ WF get their money, why they get it from you! Either in the form of subsidized Sallie student loans, SNAP, or just good 'ole mortgage loan forgiveness.

The second point I would make is that WF is a marketing operation. They have cleverly taken basic food stuffs available at any of the major chains and re-packaged/presented to appeal to their targeted demographic: those that don't know the value (at least yet) of money.

To people who know, neither WF or TJs (both are within 2-3 miles of us) have high quality food. That title goes respectively to Costco & some of the local regional produce markets. Yes, you can buy bulk crap @ Costco - I'm talking about the gourmet sections (like prime NY steak) that charge around 1/2 the price of regular store prices.

There is one new very professionally operated produce market that siphoned off every thinking person from WF & TJ. You'd be hard pressed to spend over $20 on around 30 lbs of produce. Yes, fruit (apples, etc), high quality veggies, etc all avg under $1/lb.

That's the beauty of capitalism. For every faux WF, there are real wholesome food markets that will clean their clocks.

[Chesterbelloc]

I'm in the nut section now and...

I suspect you were in the nut section once you walked through the doors.

[fatnotlazy]

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.

[who knows what evil?]

...Sam is on the money.

He sure is...sounds just like my experience in Hadley; but I believe I spent $3, not $300.

[neocon1984]

(Trader Joe's Wines can be used as Subaru Brake Fluid.)

I had to go to my Subaru dealer today to get the Subaru Super Coolant (almost $30). Trader Joe's wines are definitely much cheaper, but you will void your warranty if you use it in your car. BTW, Trader Joe's has a little bit of a hippie quality to it, but the prices and quality are great. One reason: it's non-union.

[Little Bill]

I have a two year old government motors truck with an oval, TWP, I have no overseers on my property.

[who knows what evil?]

They have cleverly taken basic food stuffs available at any of the major chains and re-packaged/presented to appeal to their targeted demographic: those that don't know the value (at least yet) of money.

ROTFLMAO!!! Nailed it...

[ottbmare]

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.

[SamAdams76]

Funny you mention that, whenever I'm asked the zip code, I spit out 82224. It's centered around Lost Springs, Wyoming, which is one of the most sparsely populated parts of the country. I've passed that zip code on to family and friends over the years in hopes they will do the same.

It's amusing to think about the head-scratching that must go on when retailers try to figure out why so many people from that area are apparently visiting their stores.

[SamAdams76]

Funny you mention that, whenever I'm asked the zip code, I spit out 82224. It's centered around Lost Springs, Wyoming, which is one of the most sparsely populated parts of the country. I've passed that zip code on to family and friends over the years in hopes they will do the same.

It's amusing to think about the head-scratching that must go on when retailers try to figure out why so many people from that area are apparently visiting their stores.

[Kenny Bunk]

Subaru Super Coolant (almost $30). I date from the Subaru Era when they had TWO radiators, and was a demon ice racer. However, a normal-size occidental human could not really fit in the front seats. The Subaru Coolant is a wee bit of a canard, BTW.

[Little Bill]

Sam, I believe, lives in the Chelmsford area he has more crosses to bear than most of us. The lone Starbucks in my area went out of business. I thought I would have to move to Wyoming if it succeeded.

[burghguy]

I’m with you. I started going to the Pittsburgh Whole Foods just to show my support for their CEO taking a stand against Obamacare. I also usually head just down the road to TJ’s to get the rest of my provisions. Did you know TJ’s is owned by the same family that runs Aldi? Aldi’s has some of the best (and cheapest) chocolate in the world.

[Caipirabob]

How I spent $300 at the Whole Foods Supermarkets in Massachusetts (and lived to tell about it)

We call it "Whole Wallet" out here in AZ.

[Little Bill]

Lost Springs, Wyoming, which is one of the most sparsely populated....

I actually looked at property in Thermopolis, WY before I retired, many relatives in the area. Overpriced at the time, Quad Cities, 5600 total population.

[LibFreeOrDie]

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.

[Yaelle]

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.