Trader Joe's in South Burlington (Brookfield: buy, maintenance, property tax)
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Trader Joe's would be a huge asset to the area. Between City Rip off and Wealthy Living there are no affordable decent grocery stores with a large organic selection. This is a no-brainer! We put an order in each month with my sister in CT and she ships it up. Way cheaper than what we can get around here.
I'm considering Burlington as a possible retirement location and am interested in the grocery shopping options. I like Trader Joe's for a number of reasons, but their produce is not a strong point. They do carry many interesting and affordable items, many organic, with reasonable prices. They usually enhance the grocery options wherever they are located. From the article in this thread, it appears they may open a location in S. Burlington in late 2012 or 2013.
At any rate, can some of the locals expand on the existing grocery options and provide an overview? I would have imagined that the farmer's markets in the summer would provide affordable options for produce, even if the grocery stores were more expensive and limited.
I'm considering Burlington as a possible retirement location and am interested in the grocery shopping options. I like Trader Joe's for a number of reasons, but their produce is not a strong point. They do carry many interesting and affordable items, many organic, with reasonable prices. They usually enhance the grocery options wherever they are located. From the article in this thread, it appears they may open a location in S. Burlington in late 2012 or 2013.
At any rate, can some of the locals expand on the existing grocery options and provide an overview? I would have imagined that the farmer's markets in the summer would provide affordable options for produce, even if the grocery stores were more expensive and limited.
I'm a little baffled by our farmers markets in Vermont (at least in the areas I have lived). I'm not talking about the quality or freshness of the products. The price of produce is about double what you get from a grocery store. For fresh local produce you can't beat a farmers market, but for better, cheaper, fresher produce, grow your own.
If you are on a budget in your retirement, consider an outside town or have a car. Burlington is limited with grocery stores. If you want to live in the downtown area, City Market is your only option (without a car). This place is expensive. You can get many of the same products in Shaws, Price Chopper, Hannafords or online for a fraction of the price.
I'm a little baffled by our farmers markets in Vermont (at least in the areas I have lived). I'm not talking about the quality or freshness of the products. The price of produce is about double what you get from a grocery store. You can get many of the same products in Shaws, Price Chopper, Hannafords or online for a fraction of the price.
Surely you understand if a local farmer produces 100 lbs of peppers vs the thousands/millions(if your Walmart) of lbs that are purchased by the large chains you mentioned who buy from huge corporate farms is much less per lb than the cost per lb to produce the same produce by the local farmer.
By buying local, it will always cost more, but your supporting the local economy and you get to know the persons who actually grew the produce. All the bacteria based heath issues you hear about on the news with produce came from corporate farms. Produce local farmer markets are also usually much fresher than the stuff in the big grocery. If your just looking at the price point than your probably wasting your time going to the farmer markets.
To be honest produce at the local farmer markets are usually out of my budget but I understand the economics of a small local farm vs the large chain grocery stores and the huge corporate farms they get their produce from.
I'm a little baffled by our farmers markets in Vermont (at least in the areas I have lived). I'm not talking about the quality or freshness of the products. The price of produce is about double what you get from a grocery store. For fresh local produce you can't beat a farmers market, but for better, cheaper, fresher produce, grow your own.
If you are on a budget in your retirement, consider an outside town or have a car. Burlington is limited with grocery stores. If you want to live in the downtown area, City Market is your only option (without a car). This place is expensive. You can get many of the same products in Shaws, Price Chopper, Hannafords or online for a fraction of the price.
If I end up in the Burlington area for retirement, yes, I'd like to grow my own produce, but as a renter, that might be difficult. If I can find an affordable place that has the option for a small garden, that would be ideal. I'll start looking for housing next spring and plan to move in the summer, but I appreciate your thoughts. Farm markets here are pricey, there is only one in the city. The vendors here in the farm market all collude to agree on prices, so it's unfortunate that the spirit of competition doesn't exist, on top of higher prices. So, you end up paying a high price for good tomatoes and for mediocre tomatoes. There are long-time vendors from other parts of the state, and there aren't any real restrictions on whether some produce is grown in a greenhouse environment vs out in a field. Big difference in taste and quality, IMO. Anyway, the farm market here in my city in SE Michigan is more of a "boutique" experience, and not a real farm market with each vendor setting their own prices and selling produce grown in open fields. I would think that there are more farm market options in Vermont than Michigan, which is very limited.
Surely you understand if a local farmer produces 100 lbs of peppers vs the thousands/millions(if your Walmart) of lbs that are purchased by the large chains you mentioned who buy from huge corporate farms is much less per lb than the cost per lb to produce the same produce by the local farmer.
By buying local, it will always cost more, but your supporting the local economy and you get to know the persons who actually grew the produce. All the bacteria based heath issues you hear about on the news with produce came from corporate farms. Produce local farmer markets are also usually much fresher than the stuff in the big grocery. If your just looking at the price point than your probably wasting your time going to the farmer markets.
To be honest produce at the local farmer markets are usually out of my budget but I understand the economics of a small local farm vs the large chain grocery stores and the huge corporate farms they get their produce from.
I understand the local farmer's higher costs to a point, but the local farmer also doesn't have the overhead of the brick and mortar stores, so I've often wondered why at the height of the season they aren't selling those tomatoes and cukes a bit cheaper. I love supporting local farms, but it's not always in my budget.
Why was Whole Foods turned down? I'm surprised about that.
It wasn't turned down.
There were some issues with access/traffic and the South Burlington Development Review Board asked them to come back with something different and they haven't yet. I'm guessing they probably won't at this point would be my guess!
It's true, the farmers' markets in Burlington are almost comically expensive compared to other states I've lived. We buy most of our produce at Costco (quite a bit of it organic) and whatever's on sale at Hannaford. Best option we've found this year is to grow our own. We live in an apartment, but have rented a 300 square foot garden plot as part of the city's community gardening program. It was only about $30 and it's doing great! Groceries in general are expensive here, so I'm very eager for Trader Joe's.
Surely you understand if a local farmer produces 100 lbs of peppers vs the thousands/millions(if your Walmart) of lbs that are purchased by the large chains you mentioned who buy from huge corporate farms is much less per lb than the cost per lb to produce the same produce by the local farmer.
By buying local, it will always cost more, but your supporting the local economy and you get to know the persons who actually grew the produce. All the bacteria based heath issues you hear about on the news with produce came from corporate farms. Produce local farmer markets are also usually much fresher than the stuff in the big grocery. If your just looking at the price point than your probably wasting your time going to the farmer markets.
To be honest produce at the local farmer markets are usually out of my budget but I understand the economics of a small local farm vs the large chain grocery stores and the huge corporate farms they get their produce from.
I don't think it matters what the market charges per pound or what type of discount a chain gets for a bulk discount. It comes down to cost and profit. I sell some of what we produce in our suburban property. I grow garlic and sell eggs at a much cheaper price than what COSTCO or Walmart can sell at. I'm not looking to make a large profit. Also, the produce that comes from our gardens has little to no outside cost with the exception of seeds, and most of our seeds are free from last years crops. A farm has more overhead with labor being about the biggest piece, but labor is inexpensive. Farm labor does not fall under the minimum wage scale. We have a farmers market at the hospital each week. There is a guy who sells organic eggs for $5/dozen. I'm sure he gets a better price on grain than I get, but he sells his eggs at $3 more. Egg production is effected little my climate. He is looking to maximize profit. On top of that, I guarentee the eggs are no older than 12 hrs old when I sell them. The farmer at a higher price can not come close to that.
The prices in Vermont has more to do with climate than anything else. We have a very short growing season and the farmers have to charge more because of that. They need to make a years worth of profit in a short time. Greenhouses are also more expensive to operate when they need to be heated in the spring and fall. My inlaws live in Florida and have a daily market. The price of produce is dirt cheap. This has to do with their growing season. They can grow year round and have little overhead compared to other businesses.
I wouldn't say because it is local it is safer. About ten years ago, just up the road from my farm in Brookfield, a farmer who also ran a porta potty business, was caught spreading human waste on his corn field. No one ever got sick, but the potential was there.
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