Help us stop Whole Foods in South Burlington

[buffalobills]

We are forming a group to stop the development of Whole Foods in South Burlington.

Our community doesn't need an anti-union, anti-health care reform mega corporation right in Chittenden County.

We need South Burlington residents to help with this effort.

If interested, please reply to this post and we will follow up.

Thanks you, and let's keep Chittenden County LOCAL!

[tonyo]

Sorry, I disagree with this mission based on the concept Free Enterprise.  If Whole Foods wants to open a store and create jobs, good for them and good for the people of South Burlington.  The sense of entitlement in America needs to end.  I for one am sick of my tax dollars going to those sucking at the nipple of government programs.  I have been a member of a union (Teamsters) and all it does is encourage mediocrity.  Socialism has a place, just not here in America.

[Mara]

I guess I would feel more inclined to "keep chittenden county local" if Healthy Living wasn't so ridiculously overpriced. They sell many of the exact same products as City Market at 20-30% more! It is an outrage. Perhaps a little competition would help Healthy Living come back down to earth and be more reasonable. If everyone is happy with Wealthy Living, they won't have a problem. If people are pissed about Eli Lesser Goldsmith's snotty, elitist attitude and HORRIBLE treatment of customers, they may meander on down to the new Whole Foods. Bring them on I say!!

[waterl]

what does vermont have against free enterprise really, come on, we allow mcdonald's and walmart in, but no target, no trader joes, and no whole foods.  why can't you just let the people decide where they want to shop.  it's like so many of the no turn on red's here in town.  come on give me the benefit of the doubt, if there is no traffic coming, i as an adult should be allowed to make a right on red turn.  likewise i should be allowed to choose between wealthy living, bread and checkbook or hannafords.  the way it is now, a conscious shopper has to make several stops in vermont, heck in south burlington for that matter, to fill the shopping list.  all that driving around is bad for the environment, not to mention exhausting.  personally i try to avoid stores all together, drugstore.com and farmers markets! but if whole foods wants to offer another option who are you to force us to continue to make 3 stops to complete our weekly shopping lists or force us to suffer under high prices due to lack of appropriate competition.  just because it's local doesn't make it better in a lot of ways, just makes it more expensive. in some cases it makes the product or the service better but not in all cases. one example of where it works is my latte at klingers, it's the best around, but it's also pretty pricey.

[siliconghost]

We are forming a group to stop the development of Whole Foods in South Burlington.

Our community doesn't need an anti-union, anti-health care reform mega corporation right in Chittenden County.

We need South Burlington residents to help with this effort.

If interested, please reply to this post and we will follow up.

Thanks you, and let's keep Chittenden County LOCAL!

I think that if there is a group of people that decide to protest Whole Foods because of those reasons, I will take my small amount of money I earn and spend it at Whole Foods any chance I get. I will also be starting my own group to make sure that Whole Foods has a comfortable place in our community.

Thanks.

And I agree- we need more Trader Joe's, more Wal-Marts, and less pretentious yuppies with nothing to do.

[Suzanne Podhaizer]

Pondering Whole Foods coming to town leaves me with a lot of unanswered questions.

I'm no economist, but it seems that when a smallish local company has to complete with a massive corporation with the ability to undercut prices, it's different than when two smallish companies go head to head.

For example, if Bob and Joe each save up money and each start a pizza place in Burlington, I'm all for it. Customers will vote with their dollars based on the factors that are important to them: location, pricing, topping selection, pizza quality, etc. If both Bob and Joe can manage to stay in business, that's great. If not, at least the "game" seems fair.

There is a lot of empirical evidence to suggest that when a larger corporation like WalMart comes to town, small businesses in the area close. If Whole Foods creates 100 jobs, but local businesses don't make it and 100 people lose jobs, we're no better off — in that one respect — than we were before.

Ideally, I think, a WF store would enter a market that is underserved, and allow people in that area access to organic, natural and local foods. This doesn't seem to be the case in South Burlington. Do people who have gripes about Healthy Living or City Market express them to store management? Are people willing to request products that they're seeking and can't find in an effort to improve the shopping experience?

Factors other than cost are an important part of the equation, too. How a company treats its employees, for example. From what I've read, Whole Foods will not tolerate unions. In researching my feature story about the company, I read a bunch of other stuff that makes me wary.

Should communities be required to allow any mega-corporation to build in the interest of the free market, or is it appropriate for people to have a say in how their town/city/state grows? I certainly don't know the answer, but I think it's an interesting question.     

[Mara]

Suzanne -
As someone who complained about Healthy Living I would like to respond. I did address my issues directly with Healthy Living. First at the customer service desk and then directly to Eli Lesser Goldsmith. I got the most incredibly condescending and dismissive email in return from ELG that I will never shop there again. I have also shared the email from him with several of my friends and family members who have also vowed to never shop there again.

In addition to the prices being inflated over that of City Market's, the customer service is nil. I have the unfortunate knowledge of knowing where he lives and living in his neighborhood. Believe me when I tell you the veritable mansion with stunning lake views that he lives in leads me to believe he is not struggling a bit. If Healthy Living got knocked off it's high horse, I'd be A-OK with that!

[mailgirl]

I guess I would feel more inclined to "keep chittenden county local" if Healthy Living wasn't so ridiculously overpriced. They sell many of the exact same products as City Market at 20-30% more! It is an outrage. Perhaps a little competition would help Healthy Living come back down to earth and be more reasonable. If everyone is happy with Wealthy Living, they won't have a problem. If people are pissed about Eli Lesser Goldsmith's snotty, elitist attitude and HORRIBLE treatment of customers, they may meander on down to the new Whole Foods. Bring them on I say!!

exactly.

[slaphappiest]

I would be surprised if Whole Paycheck actually did open here, the population is too small and there are already three markets in Chit. catering to the same crowd.  Most of the places where I have seen WF have had local populations larger than the entire state of Vermont.

It also seems that the more mainstream markets, like Price Chopper, are jumping on the organic/local and specialty train.

[Misttony]

There is a lot of empirical evidence to suggest that when a larger corporation like WalMart comes to town, small businesses in the area close. If Whole Foods creates 100 jobs, but local businesses don't make it and 100 people lose jobs, we're no better off — in that one respect — than we were before.

This is a really good point.  I mean, typically Whole Foods jobs are better than the ones at other grocery stores, so WFM coming in may represent a net positive for a local economy. But in the case of our community, there already are so many jobs like this that it seems like net-net this equals similar employment with more money going out of state to a corporation.  Not that WFM is bad per se, just that it doesn't really make sense here IMHO.

[tonyo]

I am a firm supporter of Free Enterprise.  If Whole Foods has the capital to open a store in this area, good for them.  If it forces Healthy Living, Price Chopper, Shaw's, etc.  to revisit their business plan, I say the consumer benefits.  We should applaud any business that is willing to put down stakes in Vermont.  If you don't like their approach, DON'T SHOP THERE !  I avoid Wal-Mart like the plague and prefer the customer service I receive at smaller hardware stores over Home Depot but others may disagree.  Like it or not, we live in a Global Market and buying locally only goes so far. I always find it ironic to see BUY LOCAL bumper stickers on Subarus , Hyundais, Toyotas, etc.  Kind of hypocritical don't ya think   "Oh look, I bought this local cheese that I can drive home in my car made in KOREA"!  If you're gonna talk the talk, walk the walk........

[UmamiGirl]

To TonyO  - The Whole Foods debate aside, please don't fall into the trap of assuming that it's more "local" to buy an American-label car. These days your good old Ford is more likely to have been made in Canada or Mexico, while your Nissan or Toyota might come from Kentucky or Tennessee. My Sienna was actually made in Indiana, by American workers, so I don't see a problem with a "Buy Local"  Bumpersticker.

[Undead Molly]

Umamigirl - I almost posted the same sentiment! This is a handy interactive online tool that anyone can use to find out how much of their car is made or assembled in the U.S. (and whether or not the plant is unionized):

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/06/19/automobiles/20090619-auto-plants-4.html

[tonyo]

Good point and may be part of the reason the "big three" are struggling.  There is also the importance of where the corporation is located as that has a huge bearing how much money is being contributed to the country in which they are based.

[slaphappiest]

This (what car is built where) argument can find its roots in NAFTA. 
I remember when it was being passed and thought "Aunt Patty is hosed."  (She worked in a plant in Michigan whose task is now done by a factory in Mexico.)
Her job quickly went due south and you know the rest.
I personally try to by as close to home as possible, be it my fruit and veg or my hammer or wrench.

Strawberries in March?  Don't eat those, lord knows where they have been or what has been sprayed on them.

Or lamb from New Zealand, or fish from Chile.   And try, just try to spend a month not buying anything from China.