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Anonymous
| Other than Trader Joe's, where can you buy organic food and products as a reasonable price in Norther Va? Whole Foods is ridiculously over-priced. |
Anonymous
| I think it depends on what you are looking for in organic. There are a wide variety of definitions of organic beyond what the government regulates. I buy a lot of our organic foods -- produce, dairy, etc from Wegmans. However, I can also find organic apples, milk and various other products a Costco. Safeway and Giant also have their in-house organic brands. Target and Walmart also sell various organic products. I think Wegman's and Whole Foods have the largest selection though. |
Anonymous
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Trader Joe's is the biggest rip off in history. Most of their stuff isn't even organic and the quality is absolutely horrible.
That said, why do you think Whole Foods is "way overpriced"? It's not. The organics at Whole Foods is actually considerably cheaper than at Safeway or Giant. The tricky part about WF is their prepared food (just stay away from that and you're fine). And the quality is heads and tails above any other supermarket. I spend only $125 each week at Whole Foods for the entire week of food for a family of 3. Just stick with produce and 365 brand stuff and it's pretty reasonable. If I go to Safeway, for the same list, I always end up paying about $30 more - sometimes more than that. |
Anonymous
| You could also try local farmer's markets. Many of the vendors grow organically. I usually find that prices are bit lower for the same items at the farmer's market than at Whole Foods, although the selection is of course more limited, and I like to support the local economy. |
Anonymous
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I agree with the PP. Last week I bought organic apples at WF and Giant. Price was the same. Sometimes WF is cheaper.
It is next to impossible though to stay out of WF's bakery and prepared foods...which is the kiss of budget death. |
Anonymous
| You may also want to check out www.washingtonsgreengrocers.com. (I posted this recommendation on a thread last week as well). They are a produce delivery service and they deliver to DC, VA and MD. I pay $41/week for a large box of all-organic produce delivered to my doorstep. I've been really pleased with the quality and selection. They also try to buy from local farms whenever possible. You can add on organic dairy products to your weekly delivery as well. |
maria
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|
Another vote for www.washingtonsgreengrocers.com here.
We get bi-weekly large organic box. I love the variety, and quality is good. It is usually about half fruits and half veggies. Also you have flexibility to substitute or add something in your box. They also send out newsletter with recipes for produce in your box - very helpful. |
Anonymous
Just curious, what is wrong with Trader Joe's? I am not disagreeing with you, just wanted some more info. I don't think they claim all of their products are organic. The organic products are labeled that way. Are they that bad? |
Anonymous
I am not the PP who wrote in about Trader Joe's, and while I am a fan of Trader Joe's in general, I do have a gripe about their produce section. I go to the one on Rockville Pike so maybe it is better at other TJ stores, but the selection of produce there is soooo limited and inconsistent. I can never make a meal plan if I'm shopping at TJ's because half the time they don't have the produce items I need. Usually I will have to get what I can at TJ's, and then go to Whole Foods to complete my produce list. |
Anonymous
| I love Trader Joes, but I don't consider it a place where I can do all my shopping. The produce selection is very limited, as is the dairy/refrigerated section. I go there for their frozen stuff, milk, lunch meat, wine, and snacks. I do the rest of my shopping at Safeway or Harris Teeter. But Trader Joes is so fun to go and look around - I always find something new there. |
Anonymous
| MOM's in Alexandria, near Del ray. I don't know the name of area. Pretty good prices. |
Anonymous
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I also don't like Trader Joe's. I can find great wines and snack foods just as cheap at Whole Foods. My faves are a 4.99 Shiraz and a 7.99 Pinot at Whole Foods! They also have 365 brand wines that are surpirsingly good and super cheap (9.99 for a huge bottle). Everything I buy at Trader Joes molds, goes stale or just tastes bad. The only thing I looove there are the ginger frozen carrots to add to stir fry. I've tried to "get into" shopping there, but it's just not good. I think it was "cool" a few years ago when they started popping up everywhere, but now it's petered out.
I agree that if you watch what you buy (just as you must do at Giant, etc) Whole Foods is very reasonable. There was a trend to say "Whole Paycheck" and, unfortunately, that has stuck. It's not true if you don't want it to be! Whole Foods also has great prices on shampoo, conditioner and supplements. |
Anonymous
| agree with comments on TJs. i love it for certain items but not the produce. i do get lettuce sometimes and peppers, but alot of other stuff molds really quickly or isn't good. you can't go there for everything. |