Whole Foods Market (toxic, coloring, Walmart, business)

[lawmom]

I've seen that video -- it is funny!

The one WF in my state is located in not-so-nice area, frankly, although relatively speaking, it's much safer than the worse areas in many cities. It's across from a public housing development and near some warehouses.

I was there today, and picked up some grass-fed local ground beef ($6.99/pd), some fresh haddock ($6.99/pd), some 365 beans and tomatoes for chili, and a Flatbreads pizza, normally $10 ($8-something at the health food section of the local grocery store) for $4 with the mftg coupon on the box and their sale.

The ground beef could be had for much cheaper, of course, but I really like this stuff since I know exactly where it comes from, and it's grass-fed, which tastes better to me

[James1202]

I've never been to Whole Foods but remember seeing this article, thought you might be interested.
how-whole-foods-primes-you-shop-fastco: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/113511/how-whole-foods-primes-you-shop-fastco - broken link)

[lawmom]

I saw that, too. Every store does this, but WF is good at it, lol.

[eevee]

Originally Posted by Singlelady10

I don't know if I am posting this in the right forum but here is my question.

I bought a Living Social deal for Whole Foods since I thought it was a good deal to save on groceries. Boy was I wrong!!! How can anyone afford their prices unless rich? This is the first time I had ever went to shop there. The parking lot was full so I assumed there were good deals. I knew that they had gluten-free, organic and meat free products, etc. As I walked up and down the aisle I was shocked to see the prices of this stuff. It is about double what regular food costs. Examples include organic syrup at $5.99, boxed pizza at $8.99, bacon at $7.99, blueberry muffins 6 pack $5.49. Wow! I believe it trying to eat healthier but with the prices they have it is pretty hard. Anyone shop at a whole food store with high prices? If so how do you afford to shop there even if you only pick up certain items only? I am trying to figure out how they stay in business especially in this economy?

weird, I don't think those prices are crazy at all.

organic syrup: if this was legit maple syrup, than that's a VERY god price. if all you've ever had was the fake maple syrup stuff that typically costs only a couple of dollars, I can see how this would be a sticker shock, but pure maple syrup is very expensive, typically more than $5 for a small bottle. I think it gets more expensive if you live further away from the "maple syrup capital" of the US, Vermont (I seem to recall it being cheaper when I lived in Boston than it is here in Chicago)

boxed pizza: depends on the quality of the pizza. at a regular supermarket, a frozen pizza can easily cost over $6 for a larger pie. Digornio, IIRC, is about $8. some stores have the fresh, ready-to-bake pizzas that can cost as much as $10

bacon: again, depends on quality. I just bought regular Oscar Meyer bacon from my local Target for about $5. $8 is a tab high, but not if it's organic and nitrate free (that's the biggie here since nitrate free meats tend to cost more, but doesn't have cancer causing nitrates in them).

muffins: $5.49 for 6 muffins translate to less than $1 per muffin. very cheap when you consider that a muffin at Dunkin Donuts can cost as much as $1.75 w/ tax

don't get me wrong, WFM has some pricey stuff, but not sure if these are the best examples of that. then again, even as I wrote this out, I realized just how expensive in general food has become, not just at WFM but at all stores

Originally Posted by jade408

Shop selectively. The best deals at whole foods are the 365 brand items. I pretty much only buy canned goods and bulk goods at Whole Foods. They are priced inline with even a traditional grocery store. (Canned tomatoes are between .99-$1.50. for example for the regular price). Some frozen staples are pretty well-priced (frozen veggies). I buy some dairy products there since Trader Joe's doesn't carry my locally made milk products. Number one rule, never buy produce at Whole Foods, but look to see if anything is on sale. Occasionally it is the right price, but that's rare.

Whole Foods also puts 1-2 meat products on sale per week and they are generally a good price. (especially the Friday deal). They also have a coupon book. It has very good deals typically.

It isn't my number one store, but I go there for bulk, cans and dairy. Occasionally meat, but it isn't my only shopping spot.

I used to work at WFM and I still shop there at times and I've always told people that their 35 brand is a real bargain. back when I used to work there, their 365 brand conventional (not organic) milk was CHEAPER than branded milk at other stores and not much more expensive than store brand milk at other places. however, unlike store brand milk at other stores, 365 milk stated that it didn't have added hormones in it. I always buy the 365 broth since it's some of the cheapest I've seen around and a lot of places don't seem to carry vegetable broth

the bulk section has it's pros and cons. it's great when you only need a tiny bit of some odd spice or ingredient that you typically wouldn't use, like turmeric, anise stars, or quinoa. you can get a lot of other spices in bulk at very cheap prices. other bulk items can be a bargain if they're light in weight, like certain dried fruits. their fresh ground peanut and nut buttes are also reasonably priced.

nowadays, with Target expanding their groceries and being closer to my apartment, I don't buy as much at WFM, but I still shop there for select items and esp. for their whole body items. I've been trying to avoid SLS and parabens in soaps and they have some great body washes and even all natural perfumes, along with good vitamins and supplements.

[stan4]

Originally Posted by Pierce2011

I agree with the OP on every word. It is unbelievable and shocking that a store like that can thrive. I want to know...who the heck shops there and WHY?! Any reason, that any person can come up with is not good enough to me. I eat very well, very frugally and very healthy compared to most people in America. Everything in that store can be bought for less somewhere else. BTW, I got 4 heads of lettuce (all different kinds) for $.80/each at Sunflower. It was worth the extra mile.

LOL!
Where I live, that place does landslide business.
But so does the Porsche store.

It's a niche market.

And if you think it's expensive to eat well, wait till you see how expensive it will be to suffer the health consequences of not eating well.

I do agree that you can get similar stuff elsewhere for cheaper.

[taiinuk12]

what i buy from Whole does not cost any more than some other store. milk, eggs, bread, tofu and olive oil 365 brand, bulk tahini seem to be cheaper there. then again i don't shop like other people, i don't buy expensive "green" stuff.

[Pierce2011]

Originally Posted by jambo101

I usually go to a farmers market at least once a week, a google search brings up a few in the Cary area..Google

As for this statement from peirce2011
You either dont eat much or you must be eating a lot of boxed food like Kraft Mac & cheese or Ramin Noodles, or you are just having us on..

You don't know anything about me. So don't assume you know what I eat on a daily basis. If you looked at my other posts you'd see that I NEVER eat that garbage.

I love Store Locator :: Sunflower Markets (http://www.sunflowermarkets.com/Shop/WeeklyAd.aspx - broken link) Excellent prices for fresh produce. Almost nothing goes in my shopping cart at this place unless it's under a $.99/ea. So I stock up on fresh produce for my daily salads, fruits and veggies for my juicer, home made soups, sauces, etc. I can make $10.00 go along way at Sunflower. Plus, eating vegetarian is a lot cheaper when you aren't buying meat and dairy products. So that's an instant savings for me personally. Another savings is omitting starchy carbs like pasta from my meal plan as well.

So, pricey produce at Whole Foods is not on my menu. I don't see anything else at that store that I have to have. I'm not a big tofu fan either. Since I have other options, I just don't understand the existence of this over priced store.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by taiinuk12

bulk tahini

Wow, none of my local whole foods have this. Jealous, tahini is so expensive!

[jambo101]

Originally Posted by Pierce2011

You don't know anything about me. So don't assume you know what I eat on a daily basis. If you looked at my other posts you'd see that I NEVER eat that garbage.

I love Store Locator :: Sunflower Markets (http://www.sunflowermarkets.com/Shop/WeeklyAd.aspx - broken link) Excellent prices for fresh produce. Almost nothing goes in my shopping cart at this place unless it's under a $.99/ea. So I stock up on fresh produce for my daily salads, fruits and veggies for my juicer, home made soups, sauces, etc. I can make $10.00 go along way at Sunflower. Plus, eating vegetarian is a lot cheaper when you aren't buying meat and dairy products. So that's an instant savings for me personally. Another savings is omitting starchy carbs like pasta from my meal plan as well.

So, pricey produce at Whole Foods is not on my menu. I don't see anything else at that store that I have to have. I'm not a big tofu fan either. Since I have other options, I just don't understand the existence of this over priced store.

I just cant imagine how you do it on $10 a week i'm sure most members would love to know how they can live on a $10 a week grocery bill, granted i have a family of 4 so it will never be $10 but i'm sure you have some hints,tips and tricks you could pass along to help bring down our grocery bill thats running close to $200 a week....
At $10 Are we talking just the vegetables or total food cost per week.?

[Pierce2011]

Just the fresh produce from Sunflower is what I was referring to. I posted a link to Sunflower Farmers Market and it showed the current prices of their produce. I love their selection and their prices.

Here's a tip for ya: My food bill dropped considerabley when I stopped buying dairy products, pre-made convenience foods, and meat. Not only is that stuff expensive it's also unhealthy.

Another tip: I never buy all of my groceries at just one store either. I have 3 stores that I get certain items from. I'm always comparing their weekly flyers, ads and coupons for the best deals.

I have a strict food budget. So I couldn't possibly afford to do all of that shopping for my family of four at only Whole Foods. We would starve. That's why when I walked into one recently, just for a head of lettuce or two, I walked right back out.

What in the world do you spend $800.00 a month on for food?! That blows my mind. I'd be making some big changes in my household if that was my food bill.