Whole Foods. Whole Paycheck? Think Again!

By Clare Morris
July 12, 2013

To all you non-foodies out there who have avoided really shopping at Whole Foods Market since they opened last fall, you are totally missing out on a quality soup-to-nuts grocery shopping experience.

Last week, I checked it out by getting a store tour from the very perky and knowledgeable Natascha Edwards from the Marketing Team.

As I’ve shopped there sporadically for special recipes, I knew there was an emphasis on local, fresh, and sustainable items. What I did not realize, however, is that they have many products that are truly homegrown like Turtle Creek Coffee from Blythewood, Hickory Hill dairy products from Edgefield, and – wait for it – handcrafted beer from Holy City Brewery in Charleston and a new label called Conquest that’s brewed locally here in Columbia.

Of course, things in an all-organic grocery story are going to be higher than, for instance, the Gamecock BiLo, Whole Foods has a store brand named 365 that is incredibly easy on the pocketbook. Here’s a list of some of the 365 items and prices that Natascha pointed out to me during our tour:

Organic corn flakes                  $2.69
Extra large cage-free eggs        $2.99
Milk (half-gallon)                     $2.79
Soy milk (half-gallon)              $2.99
Cheddar cheese                         $2.99
Ice cream (half-gallon)             $5.49

And, I know what you’re thinking…How high are beer and wine at Whole Foods, anyway? Well, I have even more cheery news for you there.

Everybody knows about Three-Buck Chuck at Trader Joe’s, right? Well, Whole Foods has its own store brand wine called Three Wishes and it’s only $2.99 a bottle. In addition, they have a rotating display of their top ten wine picks and those prices range from $6.99 to $15.99.

And for you beer lovers out there, get ready to get excited. Whole Foods has a Growler Station! Craft-beer aficionados know exactly what that is, however Natascha had to school me a little on this.

First of all, a growler is a half-gallon glass or ceramic container used to transport and store hand-crafted beer. With growlers, you basically have craft beer to go. Whole Foods has six types of beer on tap that they keep in rotation. Basically, you pick what you want, fill your jug, go home, enjoy it, and then come back with the empty one to do it all over again. How festive is that?

One more thing about beer and then I’ll get back to the food. Not only do they have a store brand Goldmine Lager for $3.65 a six-pack, they have a whole section of refrigerated beer singles in case you want one to accompany your in-store lunch or dinner – or breakfast. I’m not judging.

My son, Andrew describes Whole Foods as a store that’s built around a really great deli. It’s pretty amazing all of the incredible choices you have there for meals. They boast the only organic salad bar in Columbia. They have both a hot and cold bar and one quarter of the bar is completely vegetarian.

And their sushi bar is not just a part of the store; each Whole Foods staffs its sushi bar by chefs from Genji which is a national company. http://www.genjiweb.com/genji/index.html

Next to the sushi bar, they have pizza makers preparing fresh pizzas. Yum! I’ve enjoyed the looks and smells, but since they aren’t gluten free, I’ve (sadly) never experienced them firsthand.

So, that brings us to Whole Foods’ gluten-free products. Right after they opened, my friend and old work neighbor, Vanessa Driscoll the Marketing Team Leader there, told me that that the GF options were to die for and she wasn’t kidding! Natascha told me that I could request a listing of all the GF options at Customer Service. Well, I did and the printout is 25 pages. 25 pages!!! One of the best things about it is that Whole Foods has a gluten-free bakehouse in North Carolina and they offer over 20 products from there, ranging from banana bread to chocolate chip cookies to bread. Whole Foods also offers a monthly GF tasting fair which I am certainly going to check out.

They have a yummy-looking bakery onsite. When I’ve purchased items from there, I noticed that the icing colors were a little strange looking. Turns out that’s because the bakers don’t use any artificial colors when decorating the cakes and cookies and whatnot. Also, they have great monthly bakery specials. For instance, fruit pies are on sale for $10 during the month of July.

Switching gears a little, for all of you unabashed carnivores out there (like me!); they have a beautiful full-service butcher shop. You can enjoy these meats knowing that Whole Foods doesn’t get their meat and poultry from factory farms; also no cages or antibiotics are utilized.

The same with the seafood department – They do little to no net fishing. Natascha explained to me that the problem with net rather than line fishing is that with the former, marine life like turtles or dolphins can be caught up in the net and killed. Also, it can damage things under the surface like coral. They also offer as much local seafood as possible and don’t sell low-abundance fish like Atlantic Halibut and sturgeon.

Because I don’t want you to fall asleep before you finish this review, I’m going to briefly mention the Whole Foods Whole Body section. The thought is to make you feel good on both the inside and the outside using vitamin supplements, toothpaste, soaps, and lotions. No animal testing, of course.

According to the store website, the purpose of this department is to keep you fit and sassy both inside and out. I don’t know about you, but I could use a little more fit and sassy in my life.

If you want to know more about Whole Foods Market’s philosophy and core values, go to http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/mission-values/core-values.

The store offers tours every Tuesday evening at 6:00 pm. If you’d like a tour just call the store at 803.509.6700 to sign up for one.

Natascha told me Whole Foods is a value-driven store. After spending a little quality time in there, I couldn’t agree more.

So, don’t give in to the fiction that Whole Foods takes your whole paycheck. And, maybe once you shop there occasionally, you’ll start feeling fit and sassy inside and out.

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