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Just how expensive is Whole Foods?
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Anonymous
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Reading this post makes me SO GLAD I live near Wegmans. They have far better prices on staples and "normal" stuff, and even produce. You pay a bit more for the meat and seafood, but I think its worth it.
3.59 for EGGS??? GAHHHHH! What a rip off! |
Anonymous
This sounds like a typical comment from a typical American who thinks all eggs are equal and doesn't give a damn about how they're produced. |
Anonymous
This comparison is only valid if you are talking about the same carton of eggs (size, organic or conventional). Also, I dont recall ever seeing an 18 egg carton at whole foods. I do agree with the point that if you have a large family and limited income then WF is probably not the best choice. |
Anonymous
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We also stopped going to Safeway and Giant years ago - their stores in the city are not very nice, their produce sucks, and most items are not less expensive than WF. (And the wine prices at WFs are better than most liquor stores in town.)
What we do is go to Trader Joes 1-2x month to stock up on frozen and pantry basics that are less expensive than WFs, and then use WFs as our regular store (with trips to the farmers market several times per month for even better produce). But, we are committed to eating not just organic foods but also foods that are healthier overall and better for the environment, so it is worth it to us to spend the extra money to get things like produce that tastes good, sustainable fish, artisinal cheeses and other dairy products, etc. |
Anonymous
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Like many others, we use WF for fresh fruits and veggies, selected meats and a couple of specific pre-packaged items (yogurt etc).
We use Safeway/Giant for staples, and go to each about once every ten days. We can walk/bike to WF and Safeway. Costco and the others are simply not options. When you factor in time and gas to get to the other places, it pretty much washes out. |
Anonymous
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If I lived near a Wegman's believe me, that would be my store of choice! I find it very difficult to shop in one place. We go to Costco ~every 6 weeks for diapers/wipes/batteries/Kashi bars/some bulk frozen foods for the kids (chicken nuggets/bagel bites, etc.)/meats (we stock up because we have an extra freezer in the basement). We also will buy skim and organic whole milk there on each trip. We have two kids on whole milk, so we buy the box with the three half gallons. The expiration dates are much longer than the regular store, so you can stock up.
If I need organic whole milk outside of a Costco visit, I go to Whole Foods and will also pick up a few other items when I'm there, such as the Baby Mumm-Mumms that my daughter loves. For weekly shopping, we go to Safeway, but we have a brand new Harris Teeter opening soon, so I might try that, as I'm not totally happy with Safeway, or Giant for that matter. I will make occassional trips to TJs and stock up on coffee, and frozen meals/veggies. Sometimes I go to the Tysons store to stock up on 2 Buck Chuck. |
Anonymous
| We are very particular about food -- we don't buy frozen dinners, prepackaged meals, or much junk. We go to Whole Foods several times a week for meat, fish, milk, eggs, and whatever produce is on sale. Costco for bulk items like toilet paper, kids vitamins, paper towels, shampoo, etc. Giant for a few canned goods like tuna and other basic items, like Haagen Dazs ice cream on sale, and some produce that doesn't have to be organic, like oranges. We do spend more on food, but, while we're not fanatics or anything, we are careful about what we and our kids eat, so it's worth it. |
Anonymous
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What's with people obsession on this board with Whole Foods? I find it to be a curious flash point. Why does the fact that people shop at Whole Foods offend people more than, say, people who chose to shop at Bloomingdales instead of Syms? I mean, you can get pants and shirts that will keep you from violating the law in both places? It is so odd...
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Anonymous
For $3.59/18 they better be eggs from "wild" chickens who have never even seen a human being and lay their eggs on the edge of an active volcano Tell me oh organic one, just what is it about WF eggs that make them so superior to the rest of these "regular" eggs. Do the regular eggs contain trans fats or something? |
Anonymous
| Not PP, and not speaking specifically to WH eggs, but I am willing to pay an 80% premium or even more for eggs from hens that are raised in a less squalid, less chemical-intensive environment (although I don't delude myself that they spend all day clucking contentedly to themselves as they roam around green pastures under sunny skies). I realize they are a luxury, but if you can afford them, I think they're worth it--even if they have no proven health advantage (and some people contend that they do--lower cholesterol being one that is sometimes mentioned, I believe). |
Anonymous
Just as grass-fed beef contains the correct, healthy ratios of cholesterols, etc., eggs vary in their nutritional characteristics such as cholesterols, omega-3 fatty acid content, etc. Eggs produced in particular ways are healthier for the consumer and the environment, as well as for the hens that produce them. Most eggs sold in the U.S. still involve battery cages, which I believe are now illegal in the EU, and which create unhealthy and inhumane living conditions for the hens. They also directly contribute to problems such as salmonella, which are much less likely with the kind of eggs Whole Foods sells. Whole Foods has many different brands of eggs, but none of them are from hens confined to battery cages. You can buy organic or not organic; cage-free and free range; vegetarian diet or regular diet; flax seed in the feed, which adds beneficial omega-3 fatty acids. You can buy eggs from hens that are not debeaked. You can buy eggs from the Organic Valley co-op, which is a terrific co-op of organic family farms with high animal welfare standards and high quality. These things all matter to me, for a variety of reasons, and I don't mind paying more money for good food that is healthier and humanely produced. If I could, I'd buy directly from a farmer, but I haven't found any in this area who sell directly to the public and who have the same standards as, say, Organic Valley. |
Anonymous
| 15:20 poster here. I'd just add that there's a great book called The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter that details a lot of the kinds of things that I and 15:13 mentioned. |