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I think people are tired of getting diabetes. People are more health conscious than they used to be. You will also see more "health food" sections in regular grocery stores like Jewel/Safeway/Publix also.
I wish we could get better markets here. Our markets are so lame that they make Piggly Wiggly look positively COSMOPOLITAN by comparison.
Eating healthy has nothing to do with economic status. The cost differential between buying produce that's been "truck-ripened" in route from Mexico and served up at WalMart versus grown within a few hundred miles and on the shelves within a couple of days at Whole Foods is marginal at best. Pass on a cell phone upgrade or two, or take HBO off of your cable menu instead if the extra $50 a month shopping for quality food is too much for you. Americans really need to get with it with their food choices.
Yes, that may be true, but it's mighty hard to find local strawberries in February! I agree that locally grown is ALWAYS better both in taste and nutrition. But not always a practical approach. There are no locally grown avocados here in Missouri and finding a midwest grown pineapple, banana or guava is very unlikely.
I was just there today...it's very Whole Foods-ish and it's been around for 30 years or so. They have expanded pretty quickly over the past few years.
Fresh Market is very good. I've been to the ones over here several times.
Its not just an increase of fresh chain super markets. I've also noticed an increase in independently owned fresh meat and produce shops. A new one just opened up near me a few weeks ago.
Weekly farmers markets are also becomming very popular, a new one started up in my community a few years ago (its a new community) and it is paked everyweekend now. Then of course you have the street side produce stands where you can buy stuff directly from the person who grew it (idk maybe thats a southern thing?). There was one selling a load of fresh seedless watermelon today and there was a long line of people waiting to get some.
Trader Joes is much cheaper than whole foods by far. I find it to be cheaper than Safeway also. I get a CSA (community supported agriculture) directly from a local farmer and shop and Trader Joes.
Yes, that may be true, but it's mighty hard to find local strawberries in February! I agree that locally grown is ALWAYS better both in taste and nutrition. But not always a practical approach. There are no locally grown avocados here in Missouri and finding a midwest grown pineapple, banana or guava is very unlikely.
20yrsinBranson
It's the same here in PA. However people are so freaking lazy about looking for locally grown anything. I run a farmers market and getting people living in the neighborhood to support is like pulling teeth.They'd rather go to the Acme and buy something from Mexico (because it's cheaper...go figure) than buy it from a local farmer who picked it fresh the same morning. I'm convinced it's pure laziness and obsession with convenience as our market is only once a week. Price is definitely a factor as well, though in the big picture it's a ridiculous argument. I want to tell them to stop and listen to themselves whine about how the salad greens at the farmers market cost a whole dollar more than the two-week old version at the supermarket. Say that out loud to yourself while looking at your overall monthly expenses and decide for real whether or not that extra $1 is worthwhile in the big picture. One would hope so.
Is the increase in the upper class and decrease of the lower class why we are seeing more Trader Joes, Whole Foods, and Fresh N Easy sprouting up?
Which grocery market is most popular of the three?
What other stores are growing in popularity with the increase of wealth? I also see more art galleries popping up.
Trader Joes is pretty inexpensive to shop in. That's the home of Two Buck Chuck.
Whole Foods (Whole Paycheck) is the most expensive of all three.
Fresh n'Easy is a British grocer (owned by Tesco) who recently entered the USA market and decided to put their stores in primarily underserved neighborhoods their angle is about keeping the cost down for the consumer, I wouldn't call them "elite or expensive" by any stretch.
Since all of these markets are dwarfed by Walmart, I don't think they will become a major share of the grocery industry any time soon.
It is also erroneous to assume that these markets sell mostly "healthy" food. It's true that Whole Foods put an emphasis on organic, but a lot of their prepared foods (along with Trader Joe's) are very high in fat.
Fresh and Easy are not upscale at all. They are more of a low budget self-serve neighborhood market.
Since all of these markets are dwarfed by Walmart, I don't think they will become a major share of the grocery industry any time soon.
It is also erroneous to assume that these markets sell mostly "healthy" food. It's true that Whole Foods put an emphasis on organic, but a lot of their prepared foods (along with Trader Joe's) are very high in fat.
Fresh and Easy are not upscale at all. They are more of a low budget self-serve neighborhood market.
For the most part I would consider them natural food markets since they sell alot of organic foods and gluten free products and sell supplements.
I see more Trader Joes out there than Whole Foods. Whole Foods still seems to be in cities with higher amounts of graduates with bachelor's degrees or where wealthy citizens are. Trader Joes has recently popped up in more locations and in more middle class areas.
I have seen Whole Foods in cities with large colleges or cities with a high amount of college educated citizens, wealthy suburban cities, and major cities.
In my county, the Whole Foods is going in an old market near a college of 20,000 students and a community college of 10,000 students. There is already a Trader Joes in the city and a Fresh N Easy planned to be built.
Then the Trader Joes are in communities with hospitals and where alot of educated people.
I for one feel like I am too into Whole Foods and Trader Joes since it's been considered a liberal thing, but I can't help liking organic and healthy foods and figuring out how I can make my body fit as possible. I think everyone from college and up should join the gym, eat healthy, and start contributing to society.
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