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I've been a loyal Whole Foods shopper since the opening of the store's first Manhattan location (at the time, I lived a block away on Seventh Avenue in Chelsea.) Over the years, I've caught plenty of flack for choosing Whole Foods over traditional supermarket chains like Stop n' Shop or Shaw's: "You shop at Whole Paycheck?" or "Must be nice to have all that extra money to burn on groceries," and "I'd offer you something to eat but it's not organic."
As a single mother of two who drives a beat-up Saturn with one missing hubcap, I take offense at the suggestion that I thoughtlessly overspend on food. And so, with Whole Foods set to open in Darien on May 19th, I must take the opportunity to defend "my favorite place" (as certain friends call it.) Naysayers insist that the chain, which carries all-natural and organic foods exclusively, is exorbitantly expensive, charging inflated prices for staples no different from the products you'd find anywhere else.
Not so! While you can indeed find things like wallet-draining imported cheese and artisinal olive oil at Whole Foods, a side-by-side comparison of identical items sold at other grocery stores reveals that Whole Foods prices are comparable, if not lower. To prove it, I set off with notebook in hand to get some hard numbers. The pen is mightier than the sword, I told myself. (Not that I'd challenge anyone to a duel over this, but still.) I chose to do my comparison shopping at local landmark Stew Leonard's in Norwalk and Whole Foods in Westport. Ready for the results? Ready to eat some (cage-free) crow?
Let's start with produce. Conventional red peppers at Stew Leonard's were $3.99 per pound. Whole Foods? $3.99. Non-organic nectarines at Stew's also rang in at $3.99 per pound while organic peaches at Whole Foods were on sale for $2.49. Interesting, since organic is usually much more expensive than non-organic. I was hard-pressed to find organic fruits or veggies at Stew's, but it's worth noting that, because nectarines and peaches are high on the list of pesticide-absorbing foods, it's always better to go with organic varieties of these if possible. No cherries at Whole Foods, but the ones at Stew Leonard's were $9.99 per pound, which sounds like about as much as can legally be charged for cherries.
All-natural, boneless, skinless chicken breasts were $3.49 per pound at Stew Leonard's - and only $1.69 at Whole Foods! A gallon of Whole Foods milk (not organic) at $1.99 was slightly higher than Stew's gallon at $1.89. Another higher price at Whole Foods was $2.49 for a dozen eggs compared to Stew's $1.99. But the eggs at Whole Foods came from antibiotic-free chickens which, if you care about that kind of thing, is an important difference.
See where I'm going with this? You can score further savings at Whole Foods by picking their "generic" store brand, 365, which includes everything from mustard to crackers to breakfast cereals. The line features organic versions of household names like Ritz or Cheerios, usually for less (and without the genetically-modified ingredients).
Can cheaper food be found? Yes - but not of the same quality as Whole Foods. And you can scoff at the term "organic," but if other green practices like recycling are important to you, then you should know that promoting sustainable cuisine is just as crucial a step in saving the Earth. So, come May 19...I'll see you in Darien.
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