WholeFoods...wow, how can people afford to shop there?

[mrsv98]

I went to Whole Foods today to try and find reusable grocery bags (I am going green and not using paper or plastic again). I thought I would get some groceries while there but YOUCH!

I am totally into locally grown and organic but I have to be able to afford to feed my family. $6/lb for cherries; avacados $2/each? Everything was 30-50% more than Dominicks.

The store was really busy so people do shop there, but I am curious as to who they are....do YOU shop at Whole Foods?

 

[becka]

I shop some at a whole foods market here but it is more out of necessity. DS has some food allergies that make it difficult to find food for him and many times organic and whole foods work for him. I do agree with you on the price. If I can get something at the regular grocery store I will.

 

[mrsv98]

I shop some at a whole foods market here but it is more out of necessity. DS has some food allergies that make it difficult to find food for him and many times organic and whole foods work for him. I do agree with you on the price. If I can get something at the regular grocery store I will.

I totally understand if you have to buy gluten free or something in that fashion but yowser. I buy organic at Dominicks (Safeway) and I thought that was expensive but there are only three of us so food lasts longer.

 

[bekkiz]

They call it Whole Paycheck for a reason

I love whole foods, but mostly for the specialty items and prepared foods. I don't live close enough to one now, but I used to live within walking distance, and it really saved me when I didn't want to cook, or needed to take something for lunch.

However, I would never do all of my shopping there, I only pick up certain things (the meat dept. is amazing for special occasions)

 

[MomNeedsVacay]

Trader Joes doesn't have quite the variety but they have good, wholesome food at a fraction of the cost of Whole Foods... the salad bar $$$ is ridiculous.

 

[CEDmom]

I shop there sometimes because they have a great selections of snacks w/o trans fat & corn syrup that I get for DD. We also like some of their prepared foods. While the produce is usually higher than other stores I usually find a few things that are actually cheaper than or Stop&Shop. The quality is much better as well. I can buy strawberries there that will last over a week while the ones from most other stores are bad in a few days.

 

[mrsv98]

Trader Joes doesn't have quite the variety but they have good, wholesome food at a fraction of the cost of Whole Foods... the salad bar $$$ is ridiculous.

I do go to Trader Joe's as they have very good prices on items like Olive Oil, basmati rice and shrimp. However, it is not an everyday shop while I thought Whole Foods was supposed to be. I guess I was surprised at how many people were shopping with their carts full, clearly shopping for a week.

 

[ilovejack02]

I have a cpl of friends that shop there regularly but I only shop there for special things and while it is very very expensive some of their stuff just cant be beat. Their two bite brownies are TO DIE FOR... I always buy them when I host a party and I LOVE their chicken salad.. not the regular one, but the one that is kinda orangy in color with carrots and green onions in it. Also their take dinner food is delish... the pizza is AWESOME!!!

We dont have a Trader Joe's but I wish we did, Baton Rouge is growing by leaps and bounds since Katrina and ya never know. Fresh Market, which is like Whole Foods, but I think cheaper is getting ready to open.

 

[maleficent1959]

Did you find any bags at Whole Foods? Trader Joe's has GREAT reusable grocery bags. I think they were 99 cents each or something close, and they can hold a lot of stuff. The handles are comfy on my hand or my shoulder and the print is Hawaiian. Very cute.

 

[ashjohnson80]

I actually shop at half foods so I'm no help.

 

[Ms Marigny]

We do about 80% of our shopping there, but we also get the 20% employee discount (DH works for Whole Foods). Look for Market Specials for things on sale and the 365 products are pretty reasonably priced. I also love to hit the bulk aisle (the aisle with all the bins of grains)- you can get lots of grains, flours, etc pretty cheaply there.

 

[Honu]

I buy our produce at a local Farmer's Market and our paper/cleaning supplies at Costco, but everything else comes from Whole Foods.

Safeway is the only remaining big chain regular grocery in our area. There are 4 speciality gourmet/organic markets and Safeway. So there is not much difference between Safeway's prices on the things we buy and Whole Foods prices. Whole Foods carries every brand we need/like, so we shop there.

 

[arminnie]

Also their take dinner food is delish... the pizza is AWESOME!!!

......

Fresh Market, which is like Whole Foods, but I think cheaper is getting ready to open.

Take-out at Whole Foods is fabulous - I bought my entire Thanksgiving dinner there last year. Probably the best Tday dinner I've ever had. I didn't arrive in New Orleans until Wed. pm so I didn't really have time to cook.

I just got back from the Fresh Market in Little Rock a few minutes ago. We do not have Whole Foods here so this is the best that we have. I don't think it's any cheaper than Whole Foods - at least not for me.

I also think the Whole Foods prepared foods are MUCH better. Every time I am in Fresh Market the prepared foods look kind of "tired" - like they have been there for a day or two.

I've only been in Central Market once (Dallas at Christmas) and thought it was pretty fabulous too.

I was stocking up on food for my dad today. I'll be in New Orleans in a few days and can't wait to hit Whole Foods!

I saw a coming soon sign for Whole Foods while I was in Orlando. Looking forward to that even if it was closer to Universal.

 

[fabshelly]

I can't wait for Whole Foods to open here, we don't have Trader Joe's.

And in terms of food, we go for quality over quantity.

 

[kayeandjim00]

I love Whole Foods prepared foods and their meats are phenomenal! We like to go and have dinner at the grill in ours sometimes and they are very reasonable and yummy! The fruit is incredible as well but my favorite is all that cheese!! They used to have a great taco dip but the last few times I've been there it wasn't the same one that I remembered. It is expensive. We tend to spend quite a bit more when we shop there so we don't go that often but when we do I definitely find it a more enjoyable grocery shopping experience than our local Pick N Save!

 

[Jennifer03]

I have to be on a gluten-free diet, so there are some items that I have to buy at Whole Foods. This includes pretzels, waffles, ice cream and bread. I also buy apples and bananas there since they taste amazing. Everything else I need, I can find at a "regular" grocery store.

 

[ilovejack02]

Take-out at Whole Foods is fabulous - I bought my entire Thanksgiving dinner there last year. Probably the best Tday dinner I've ever had. I didn't arrive in New Orleans until Wed. pm so I didn't really have time to cook.

I just got back from the Fresh Market in Little Rock a few minutes ago. We do not have Whole Foods here so this is the best that we have. I don't think it's any cheaper than Whole Foods - at least not for me.

I also think the Whole Foods prepared foods are MUCH better. Every time I am in Fresh Market the prepared foods look kind of "tired" - like they have been there for a day or two.

I've only been in Central Market once (Dallas at Christmas) and thought it was pretty fabulous too.

I was stocking up on food for my dad today. I'll be in New Orleans in a few days and can't wait to hit Whole Foods!

I saw a coming soon sign for Whole Foods while I was in Orlando. Looking forward to that even if it was closer to Universal.

AWWW, not any cheaper huh? Oh well, I would only hit it if it was WONDERFUL and cheaper lol. Ill go check it out once, but it is over on Perkins rd and that is totally out of my way unless im at the Mall of La which I only hit about 3 times a yr.

 

[TinkerbellMama]

I went to Whole Foods today to try and find reusable grocery bags (I am going green and not using paper or plastic again). I thought I would get some groceries while there but YOUCH!

I am totally into locally grown and organic but I have to be able to afford to feed my family. $6/lb for cherries; avacados $2/each? Everything was 30-50% more than Dominicks.

The store was really busy so people do shop there, but I am curious as to who they are....do YOU shop at Whole Foods?

Yes, we shop there. In fact, I'm headed there right after dinner tonight!
Some of their items are too expensive, but most are reasonably priced, IMO. Yes, the organic/local fruits and vegetables are going to be more expensive, but they are so much healthier for you...well worth the extra money IMO. If you're looking just to buy healthier versions of convenience/prepackaged foods, then I can see why you'd (not the OP, just a general you) have major sticker shock. However, we don't eat that way, so it's affordable for us even on a very limited income (we do not receive any type of food assistance or subsidy, nor have we ever, nor WILL we ever, since I know that will be a question in people's minds, lol). I always respond to people who ask me how I afford to shop there by saying, "How can you afford NOT TO?" Referring, of course, to the health benefits of avoiding the crap food these particular people (not you, OP) buy. I'd rather pay a little more up front on healthy, fresh, whole foods than pay at the other end in doctor's visits and prescriptions. In fact, our medical expenses are non-existent other than chiropractic care and WBV (waste of time) for our son. Of course, you CAN eat healthier shopping at a regular grocery store, too, but the friends who tease us about our shopping habits aren't interested in that, either! They'd rather eat junk and be sick every 3 weeks!

 

[doxdogy]

We don't have Whole Foods here yet. One is scheduled to open next year. We do have a Fresh Maket. I go there to mainly buy their meats. The prices run any where from .50 to 1.00 a pound more than Publix. Their steaks our out of this world. I order a fresh turkey from there at Thanksgiving and it is pricey compared to a Publix frozen turkey. But again the taste is much better. Also at Thanksgiving they make their own stuffing cubes from different bakery breads.

We dont have a Trader Joe's but I wish we did, Baton Rouge is growing by leaps and bounds since Katrina and ya never know. Fresh Market, which is like Whole Foods, but I think cheaper is getting ready to open.

 

[LiteBrite]

I'm just jealous of all of y'all. We don't have a Whole Foods, no Fresh Market, no Central Market, no TJ's. We have a decent local health foods store, but it's nothing like any of these places.