My view Market (Las Cruces: appointed, how much, buy)

[fnord]

Originally Posted by mike0421

I can tell you they are prohibitively expensive. We had to shop there 4 years ago when we thought our son was allergic to gluten. Two bags of groceries regularly cost us 60-70 bucks.

Mike, while I will say Mtn. View Market isn't a bargain discount store, it certainly isn't prohibitively expensive. You get what you pay for. I'm very familiar with gluten allergies as I have an intolerance to wheat myself. Avoiding gluten means you eliminate items from the diet and supplement that loss with larger and/or more diverse servings of non-gluten foods. I don't know what you were buying unless it was fancy, packaged stuff with "gluten free" printed on the box - if that's the case you were foolish and uneducated. Avoiding gluten foods means eliminating any and all wheat products from the diet - breads, cereals, pasta, grains, beer, etc. If anything a gluten diet should save money as you are forced to buy fresh, unprocessed foods and make them yourself instead of some gimmick in a cardboard box for $4.99.

I do the bulk of my shopping there for items I can't get at the Farmer's Market or from my own garden. On average I spend about $30/week for two people. I buy smart - different sale items every month, bulk discount purchases, check the clearance bin, member discount days, and I volunteer for even more discount credit. I will agree that some of their produce prices are very high and I refuse to buy those items. Solution: Farmer's Market or backyard veggie garden.

The majority of the staff at the Co-Op are always pleasant and helpful, but there are a few "weirdos" there and I have complained about them. One stock person in particular looks like he just got out of prison and looks stoned or hungover every time I see him and is gruffly rude to me every time I ask a question. He probably scares a lot of the older ladies that shop there. I guess if enough people complain the bad apples will go away.

The market has no "agenda" other than to try to provide natural, local foods to the community. Others may disagree with me, but like another poster stated it's just a grocery store. I feel lucky to have such a business in Las Cruces, they've been here for 30 years or so. A couple years ago they made a 700 pound organic salad and handed out free salad to the crowds at the Enchilada Festival in an attempt to get into the Guiness Record book (they didn't, Guiness doesn't care about the distinction of 'organic').

Toucan Market? Talk about prohibitively expensive! I've already ranted enough about them in other threads so I'll end it here.

[lawmom]

Why can't the OP just go to the Albertson's, anyway? That seems less commie and more mainstream, wally-world safe for anyone with hippie-parent flashbacks.

[fnord]

Originally Posted by lawmom

Why can't the OP just go to the Albertson's, anyway? That seems less commie and more mainstream, wally-world safe for anyone with hippie-parent flashbacks.

Because an (unfortunately) small portion of the population doesn't want to support businesses like Albertson's.

Larry Johnston, the $105 Million Dollar man. He's smiling at your expense.


Larry Johnston, Albertsons Inc. CEO, will get a multimillion-dollar "golden parachute" when the Boise grocery chain is sold to SuperValu Inc. and its buyout partners. Here's what Johnston will receive in cash, stock, health and other benefits, along with income tax reimbursementsn on his "golden parachute":
• $8.85 million for severance of three times his base pay.
• $482,212 for his pro-rated annual bonus.
• $35,818 for 36 months of health and other benefits.
• $50,000 for outplacement services.
• $100,000 for relocation expenses.
• $159,208 for fringe benefits.
• $20.4 million for his life annuity, if he takes it as a lump-sum payment.
• $627,111 from the company's long-term incentive plan.
• $3.7 million from the company's deferred-compensation plan.
• $28.9 million if he cashes in his 1,100,461 stock options at $26.29 each.
• $29.3 million if he cashes in his 1,114,753 shares of stock at $26.29 each.
• $12.9 million to pay the income taxes on the package.

No one at Mt. View Market is getting millions of anything - no one owns it. What profit it does bring in goes directly to the store and its employees right here in Las Cruces.

"More mainstream" is the downfall of our current economy and society. Are you "Wally World safe?" Sigh.

[funkymonkey]

Originally Posted by mike0421

I can tell you they are prohibitively expensive. We had to shop there 4 years ago when we thought our son was allergic to gluten. Two bags of groceries regularly cost us 60-70 bucks.

I got some spring mix there the other day. $4.59/lb... price for spring mix today at Albertson's? $6.99/lb.

Hmm.

[lawmom]

fnford -- sorry that you didn't see my sarcasm.

[domino]

Originally Posted by fnord

Because an (unfortunately) small portion of the population doesn't want to support businesses like Albertson's.

No one at Mt. View Market is getting millions of anything - no one owns it. What profit it does bring in goes directly to the store and its employees right here in Las Cruces.

"More mainstream" is the downfall of our current economy and society. Are you "Wally World safe?" Sigh.

I believe that communal type ownership structure is the vibe that the OP found disturbing.

[RedAppleNM]

Long time MV Market shopper here and former purveyor/supporter of Co-ops in other cities. There is a change occurring that, to me, dispels any notion of what a "co-op" is supposed to be. (Providing fresh, local, natural foods to the community at affordable prices). I noticed today in their little deli case (refrigerated section) they are selling a tiny container of what amounted to nothing more than corn, chili powder, and pepper and priced it for $8 per pound. The containers they are selling were priced at $4-5 each. We're talking about maybe 4 ounces of corn kernels and a dash of pepper. That's like $1 a bite. For corn! I can visit the downtown Farmer's market or go to one of the local growers or U-pick-it farms and buy 3-5 EARS of corn for a buck, or less!

I guess my point is foo-foo stuff like this reminds of overpriced places like Wild Oats and AJ's Ranch Market, trying to sell identical items at double the price just so you can say you "support the co-op". It's like at the Toucan Market in Las Cruces where I have seen people buying Coca-Cola bottles for $3.99 when that junk is half the price elsewhere, but since it's from Toucan it must be better, right? Nonsense!

[funkymonkey]

Originally Posted by RedAppleNM

Long time MV Market shopper here and former purveyor/supporter of Co-ops in other cities. There is a change occurring that, to me, dispels any notion of what a "co-op" is supposed to be. (Providing fresh, local, natural foods to the community at affordable prices). I noticed today in their little deli case (refrigerated section) they are selling a tiny container of what amounted to nothing more than corn, chili powder, and pepper and priced it for $8 per pound. The containers they are selling were priced at $4-5 each. We're talking about maybe 4 ounces of corn kernels and a dash of pepper. That's like $1 a bite. For corn! I can visit the downtown Farmer's market or go to one of the local growers or U-pick-it farms and buy 3-5 EARS of corn for a buck, or less!

I guess my point is foo-foo stuff like this reminds of overpriced places like Wild Oats and AJ's Ranch Market, trying to sell identical items at double the price just so you can say you "support the co-op". It's like at the Toucan Market in Las Cruces where I have seen people buying Coca-Cola bottles for $3.99 when that junk is half the price elsewhere, but since it's from Toucan it must be better, right? Nonsense!

So don't buy it if you don't like the price. I've seen produce twice as expensive at wal-mart than at toucan, and I don't have to wait in line for an hour surrounded by screaming children.

[TigerLily24]

Originally Posted by funkymonkey

So don't buy it if you don't like the price. I've seen produce twice as expensive at wal-mart than at toucan, and I don't have to wait in line for an hour surrounded by screaming children.

I've never understood why people care about what other people are a) buying and b) how much they are spending.

Here's a thought: I'm in Toucan Mkt., I realize that I want a bottle of soda and so, instead of wasting however much gas and however much time to drive to, and then wait in line at, WalMart or Target or wherever I might get it cheaper, I just buy it there. So, I pay an extra, what, $1.50 - $2.00?
End result, I am supporting a local business, and, if nothing else, saving my time, which is infinitely more valuable.

[RedAppleNM]

I see the comments from the above 2, but that's not really the point I was trying to make. Have you ever gone to a store for the first time or maybe a yard sale or something, and things are so overpriced you leave? I have. I look at the prices and I just think "forget it" and never go back. The values of every food co-operative include providing fresh foods at reasonable prices for the local community. When I see something like a half-pint of corn being priced at $8.99 per pound, it turns me off from the entire store.

Almost every time I visit the Mt. View Market there is someone ahead of me in line who appears to be a first time shopper there. I can only imagine if the first thing they see is this small serving of corn for $5, they leave, and then tell all their friends what a rip-off the co-op is. I guess my feelings should be directed to the Co-op and not here on some message board.