I thought I had found a great loophole in the eating plan yesterday for lunch as after my dentist appointment I stopped by the Whole Foods right up the street from my office. I was sure that it would be super easy to find local greens and veggies that would make for an easy salad or something that would not take up too much time--again, I'm trying to keep my same routine and do this project, not stop and forage for grass clippings for an hour everyday to make a meal. So needless to say I was feeling pretty confident.
What I was not prepared for was how quickly my view changed of the Whole Foods experience in light of our project this month. Now don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Whole Foods, love shopping there, and have spent many a pleasant hour sampling cheeses, wine tasting, and choosing the perfect tuna steak for dinner. Absolutley no arguments or complains on that account--the selection of organics and natural foods is unbeatable, well presented, and of generally good quality.
What changed was the veneer that dropped when I saw how few local products were actually on display in the store. Now I'll freely admit that I didn't take the time to go up and back every aisle, but in all the fresh food areas--which is where I concentrated my search--there were no labels on any of the salad bar food, desserts, mixed salads, prepared meals, etc. And as I started wandering the produce aisles I saw a lot of California produce, lots of Texas, but virtually nothing from the northwest. I saw packaged organic products from Georgia, Florida, and Illinois; meat from Colorado, fish from Maine and Massachusetts--you get the picture.
What became apparent is that although I have always associated Whole Foods with fresh and local, it has the exact same supply chain optimization that exists within my local Safeway, just with the word "organic" slapped on the front of the labels. There's almost no difference for me to buy anything at Whole Foods if the point is to eat locally and shorten the time from production to me.
Now again, not an indictment of Whole Foods, they are who they are, and I love the store--but as a marketer, I felt a bit foolish as I foraged for some trail mix and Kettle Chips that I found from Oregon how hard I had fallen for the image they are trying to portray. They may have great food, great lighting, and great displays, but that doesn't mean their food is any fresher than what I can get at the farmer's market every Thursday by my house.
I agree. It seems most grocery stores have jumped on the "organic" bandwagon, but are not there with offering local produce. The frustrating is you know Washington & Oregon produce a lot of fruits & vegetables. I guess it still comes down to price and how cheap they can get the produce for, even if it did come from Florida. PCC does a pretty good job of tagging items that are "Northwest Produced", which makes things a little easier. Again, it drives home the fact that you really don't know where the food you eat comes from.
ReplyDeleteVeneer, boy howdy. PCC certainly does understand the power of correct messaging and design. Don't you just feel like you are saving the planet when you walk in the store? I remember the coop in the 60's and 70's. It was a hippie thing and very different than today. It was mostly about buying bulk foods so one could spend less on food and eat healthy. It was about "The People". I am sure they had to change over the years to stay competitive. It's like the big three car companies. You bought from them or you didn't buy one.
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