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Is Whole Foods really that Expensive?

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Started 4 years ago by joev
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joev
Merion Village
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This weekend, during the "Blizzard of '08" my wife and I ran out of our basic groceries. I've talked about my grocery shopping regimen more than once here before, but here's a quick recap: Whole Foods for organics, local and specialty foods, Trader Joe's for fish/cheese/yogurt, Marc's for the basics and sometimes an Indian or Asian supermarket for specialty items. I really enjoy grocery shopping.
Anyhow, with our car snowed it, we walked (I fell a couple of times for comedic relief) over to the Brewery District Kroger's. For what I buy (mostly fresh, very little processed food) I found Kroger's to be at least as expensive as Whole Foods, especially for procude. Bread is basically the same price. Organic milk, eggs, etc. are the same price or more expensive. Organic apples at Whole Foods were cheaper than conventional apples at Kroger's. Giant Eagle's is on par on the prices, and the quality is a lot worse. My mother in law calls Giant Eagle's Giant Rip Off.
For all you who call Whole Foods Whole Paycheck - am I missing something?

Posted 4 years ago #
gramarye
In Exile
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I've generally found WF to be slightly more expensive than mainstream grocers, yes, but the commute to get there has generally been the reason I haven't gone. When I was in the same shopping center with one anyway (e.g., going to Filene's Basement), I wouldn't make a special trip just to get to another grocery just to avoid paying WF prices.

Posted 4 years ago #
Schoolboy
Columbus
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the only reason that i didn't shop at whole foods very often, was the closest one to me on campus, really didn't have better produce than anywhere else. not to mention, i found other items to have been less taken care of... for simpler words. whole foods seemed more like a whole gimic to me.
i would be interested to know if that was just a poorly run store though. noticed it is/has shut down.
the best way to shop for organic produce is to buy it at krogers or giant eagle, then self checkout. i think you get the hint :twisted:

Posted 4 years ago #
gramarye
In Exile
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On campus? Shut down? Are you thinking of Sunflower?
I think the Columbus WF is on 161 near the Sawmill intersection. Long drive from campus. Also, I'm pretty sure it's still in operation. Thought it was doing reasonably well, actually.

Posted 4 years ago #
Mercurius
First Avenue
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It is a long bike ride to a suburban shopping center that you are sending your dollars to Austin, Tx and farmers who knows where. They are much more expensive than farmer's markets, co-ops and WielandÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s and all of those places support the local economy. I do like Whole paycheck in their philanthropy and I'm a foodie so I understand the excitement of the place. I just get much more excited by a good farmer's market!

Posted 4 years ago #
joev
Merion Village
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Schoolboy wrote the only reason that i didn't shop at whole foods very often, was the closest one to me on campus, really didn't have better produce than anywhere else. not to mention, i found other items to have been less taken care of... for simpler words. whole foods seemed more like a whole gimic to me.
i would be interested to know if that was just a poorly run store though. noticed it is/has shut down.
the best way to shop for organic produce is to buy it at krogers or giant eagle, then self checkout. i think you get the hint :twisted:
I get it - but then the organic farmer isn't really getting rewarded for his or her efforts... Oh, who am I kidding, I love a bargain. Actually you can do that honestly at Whole Foods sometimes. If you get something really obscure and it takes more than a minute for the cashier to look up the code, they'll give it to you for free. I once got 4 pounds of mandarins for free. Jicama is always a stumper.

Posted 4 years ago #
joev
Merion Village
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gramarye wrote On campus? Shut down? Are you thinking of Sunflower?
I think the Columbus WF is on 161 near the Sawmill intersection. Long drive from campus. Also, I'm pretty sure it's still in operation. Thought it was doing reasonably well, actually.
It's doing really well. That's why I was puzzled - the produce at WF is really good. Sunflower was hit and miss (but I loved it for other stuff.)

Posted 4 years ago #
joev
Merion Village
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Mercurius wrote It is a long bike ride to a suburban shopping center that you are sending your dollars to Austin, Tx and farmers who knows where. They are much more expensive than farmer's markets, co-ops and WielandÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s and all of those places support the local economy. I do like Whole paycheck in their philanthropy and I'm a foodie so I understand the excitement of the place. I just get much more excited by a good farmer's market!
Anyone who has a good product will get my money - whether local or not. I really don't find them to be any more expensive than farmers markets, though I'll go to them first when in season, too. Especially at the North Market, some of those guys charge pretty steep prices!

Posted 4 years ago #
Mercurius
First Avenue
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joev wrote
Mercurius wrote It is a long bike ride to a suburban shopping center that you are sending your dollars to Austin, Tx and farmers who knows where. They are much more expensive than farmer's markets, co-ops and WielandÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s and all of those places support the local economy. I do like Whole paycheck in their philanthropy and I'm a foodie so I understand the excitement of the place. I just get much more excited by a good farmer's market!
Anyone who has a good product will get my money - whether local or not. I really don't find them to be any more expensive than farmers markets, though I'll go to them first when in season, too. Especially at the North Market, some of those guys charge pretty steep prices!
The North Market is the most expensive of farmer's markets. If you ever get a chance, check out the one in Athens. Generally, I find farmers markets to have the cheapest ingredients for what I want. There is a winter market in Worthington.
While anyone with a good product will get money, if two people have a similar product at similar costs I will choose the one that is most beneficial to my community.

Posted 4 years ago #
turnedNOTburned
Grandview/Columbus, Ohio
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WildOats is also "Whole Foods" now, so there's one closer to downtown (Lane Avenue).

Posted 4 years ago #
joev
Merion Village
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Mercurius wrote
joev wrote
Mercurius wrote It is a long bike ride to a suburban shopping center that you are sending your dollars to Austin, Tx and farmers who knows where. They are much more expensive than farmer's markets, co-ops and WielandÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s and all of those places support the local economy. I do like Whole paycheck in their philanthropy and I'm a foodie so I understand the excitement of the place. I just get much more excited by a good farmer's market!
Anyone who has a good product will get my money - whether local or not. I really don't find them to be any more expensive than farmers markets, though I'll go to them first when in season, too. Especially at the North Market, some of those guys charge pretty steep prices!
The North Market is the most expensive of farmer's markets. If you ever get a chance, check out the one in Athens. Generally, I find farmers markets to have the cheapest ingredients for what I want. There is a winter market in Worthington.
While anyone with a good product will get money, if two people have a similar product at similar costs I will choose the one that is most beneficial to my community.
I went to OU, so I know all about the Athens farmers market - it's better than it was when I went there, now. (Athens is a whole lot further than WF in Dublin, though :) WF also sells greens from one of the farmers there. I think Green Edge or Shade River = Ohio eggs. The Pearl Alley market is my main produce spot between May and November.

Posted 4 years ago #
Schoolboy
Columbus
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gramarye wrote On campus? Shut down? Are you thinking of Sunflower?
I think the Columbus WF is on 161 near the Sawmill intersection. Long drive from campus. Also, I'm pretty sure it's still in operation. Thought it was doing reasonably well, actually.
oops :oops:
yeah i was thinking of sunflower

Posted 4 years ago #
Columbusite
Minneapolis
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I've never been to Whole Foods. BD Kroger is within striking distance of my bike and they have bike racks in front.

Posted 4 years ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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I've only been to Whole Foods once (had a gift card). We found some produce that was reasonably priced. A handful of dry goods that weren't bad either. A lot of specialty items that were pretty expensive. And a lot of pre-made or take-n-bake type meals that weren't really what we were looking for.
We've never gone back, because it's way too far out of our way for groceries.
I'd be interested to see some sort of cost comparison among central Ohio grocery stores. I'm sure there's probably some decent level of fluctuation even between the BD Kroger and the Parsons Kroger.
Ultimately, I think it all boils down to what specific items/brands/products you're looking to buy.

Posted 4 years ago #
EatDrinkColumbus
Bexley
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We've only really gone to WF for cheese, beer, brown cow yogurt, and browsing (fruit and veggie gawking). Since we moved even farther away, we haven't been back.
Can anyone name a gourmet market for the near Eastside?

Posted 4 years ago #
Anne
King Lincoln
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Shane's is kind of close. I haven't gotten there yet though.

Posted 4 years ago #
Mercurius
First Avenue
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EatDrinkColumbus wrote Can anyone name a gourmet market for the near Eastside?
There is as Anne stated, Shanes.
http://www.shanesgourmetmarket.com/ShanesgourmetMarket.cfm
For meat try the Broadmoor
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=broadmoor+market&near=Columbus,+OH&fb=1&view=text&latlng=39972658,-82907147,1348905337016038027
Across the street from the Broadmoor there is a shopping center with a few ethnic markets (Indian and Ethopian?) For fresh veggies there is a farmer's market in the summer at the Health Department and Bexley Co-op has some stuff.
http://www.bexleynaturalmarket.org/

Posted 4 years ago #
lazyfish

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The Whole Foods in Austin, is not even the best grocery store in that town, the large chain H.E.B (affectionaetly known as The HEB) opened the central market years ago in response to the Whole Foods trend...it is the most amazing grocery store I've ever seen. (2nd Favorite is the old Berkeley Bowl in CA)
The good news; when whole foods opens in a town, the national chains are forced to upgrade and make their stores more competitive in selection and cost...much like the Starbucks coffee craze that started 10-15 years ago, one company can change the taste and appreciation of good quality products....remember when the only coffee you could get was crappy Folgers/Maxwell house?
http://www.centralmarket.com/cm/index.jsp

Posted 4 years ago #
turbo ninja
Crumb Bus, Oh.
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NB: It's just Giant Eagle, Kroger, or Meijer. None of them are possessive.
I have no idea why people add the extra apostrophe-S so often around these parts (by which I mean Central Ohio, not this particular message board) but I see and hear it all the time and it has become a wee peeve.

Posted 4 years ago #
joev
Merion Village
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turbo ninja wrote NB: It's just Giant Eagle, Kroger, or Meijer. None of them are possessive.
I have no idea why people add the extra apostrophe-S so often around these parts (by which I mean Central Ohio, not this particular message board) but I see and hear it all the time and it has become a wee peeve.
That's my regional dialect. See this thread, then get over it. http://www.columbusunderground.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=12813&highlight=

Posted 4 years ago #