Help us stop Whole Foods in South Burlington

[latenac]

I find it funny that anyone would think that having a Whole Foods would knock Health Living down to size or force them to reduce their prices. Have you ever been to a Whole Foods? They often make Healthy Living look cheap and downright friendly. That's why their nickname is Whole Paycheck. I won't protest Whole Food coming if they do but I don't really see the need for them in that market with Healthy or Wealthy Living right there. But at least that means that South Burlington has the average household income that Whole Foods looks for before opening a store. For actual competition for Healthy Living I'd love to see a Trader Joe's open there lower prices, better customer service while still providing a potential niche for Healthy Living if they got their act together.

[Vermontfan]

Hi everyone,
I'm a great fan of Vermont. Not a local, not even American but one of those Canadian visitors who drive eight or nine hours to enjoy a few days' vacation in your incredible state. Here's my loonie's worth: the concept of a Whole Foods in South Burlington is dismaying. One of the many great things about Vermont is your friendly food culture...great local produce, inventive fare and a culture of small scale family farming that is disappearing elsewhere. Whole Foods would bring nothing unique to your culture; it would only erode it.
I would take a close look at Whole Foods' buying practices to determine if they benefited local farmers (my guess is no). In Toronto, after the initial excitement over Whole Foods establishing a store in our city, shoppers started to notice that fresh produce was coming long distances instead of being sourced locally. Whole Foods did respond with some well-marked local produce offerings but to this day, the big volume, big farm buys are the norm. Every product in the store costs a lot more than my neighbourhood organic grocery store, the Big Carrot. Having something to eat at Whole Foods is no fun either...and it's expensive. I've eaten at both Healthy Living and City Market where the food was really tasty. Whole Foods is bland! (Ok, I know it's the chef but still)
I agree with those of you who talk about customer service attitude...no one likes to feel like the person serving you is doing you a favour. That just speaks to me of poor hiring and inadequate training.
Enough said. See you this summer!

[Morganna]

I think there's enough interest in local foods, and the local food movement has enough momentum that the places offering local foods are going to survive this incursion.

[tonyo]

I agree with Morganna's last comment.  I welcome Whole Foods and feel they fit in somewhere between Health Living and supermarkets.  I for one have stopped at a farmer's market, Healthy Living, Shaw's, Natural Provisions, Chef's Corner, Mazza's, and Price Chopper in one day.  If Whole Foods has some other unique items, I would be happy to add them as well.  Additionally, THEY ARE CREATING JOBS !!!!!!!! Let's grow this economy and be thankful companies are investing in growth.

[Morganna]

yah, that's often how we do it.  We go shopping every two weeks (with the occasional farmer's market stop during the season, and the purchase of a CSA). I go over the circulars beforehand, and we have our shopping list sorted by aisle, so we only go down the aisles we need.  And we usually go to Big Lots, Shaw's, Walmart, and Price Chopper (depending on sales and what we need to stock up on) all in one shopping trip.  Once a month we add Costco to that list (which can also result in a stop at the bagel factory, gagnan grocery, or cheese trader).

I shop where I can get the cheapest versions of whatever it is I'm willing to buy.