Where to Go Organic

| August 8, 2012

One of the many desirable aspects of living in Chapel Hill is the variety of grocery stores nearby, and their huge selections of organic produce.

Shoppers tend to be very loyal to their favorite grocery store, and Chapel Hillians are no different. We all miss Fowler’s Foods on Franklin Street, but not so much the A&P on “Historic” Airport Road. We remember Food Town (pre-Lion) when it was at Eastgate Shopping Center, and many of us still refer to Whole Foods as Wellspring. When Weaver Street Market was built on the beautiful lawn of Carr Mill Mall, were apprehensive, but now we cannot imagine Carrboro without it. Whether it is the grocery store closest to home or work, the most affordable, the most familiar, or the highest quality produce or selection, we shop for food at the same place more often than not.

WHY SHOP FOR ORGANIC PRODUCE?

If you haven’t ventured away from your grocery shopping comfort zone recently, I have compiled a short review below of six large local grocery stores of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, (Food Lion, Fresh Market, Harris Teeter, Trader Joe’s, Weaver Street Market and Whole Foods), focusing on their organic produce offerings and cost. Why organic produce? There are numerous reasons to buy organic produce instead of conventional produce:

  • Organic produce is better for the health of the environment and farmers. Pesticides and herbicides contaminate groundwater, damage soil, promotes erosion, and harm wildlife and farm workers.
  • Buying organic supports small, local farmers, who increase the variety of produce offered by re-introducing heirloom and rare varieties.
  • Organic produce has been found to be richer in nutrients than conventional produce.
  • Pesticide-free and herbicide-free produce is better for the health of consumers.
  • Locally grown organic produce has more flavor because it is allowed to ripen naturally, instead of in transit.
  • If more people support organic produce through purchasing it, the supply will increase and the prices will drop.

THE DIRTY DOZEN

Since we are fortunate to have many organic-friendly grocery stores in Chapel Hill, availability is not an issue. However, buying organic groceries exclusively is often cost prohibitive for most of us, as their prices can run $.50 higher or more per item, and that really adds up. Therefore, if you want to eat more healthful food, but cannot afford to purchase every fresh fruit and vegetable organically, the Environmental Working Group has published a Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce to inform consumers about which fruits and vegetables were found to contain the most pesticides and should therefore be purchased organically, if possible. These are referred to as The Dirty Dozen:

  • Apples
  • Celery
  • Sweet bell peppers
  • Peaches
  • Strawberries
  • Spinach
  • Nectarines (imported)
  • Grapes
  • Spinach
  • Lettuce
  • Cucumbers
  • Blueberries (domestic)
  • Potatoes

HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON ORGANIC PRODUCE

Purchasing The Dirty Dozen while they are in season makes them much more affordable and delicious, and there is a better chance that they are locally produced. It also helps to become a smart shopper and branch out to other stores when they are having sales, which can usually be found on their web sites. To save you even more money, I have visited all six local grocery stores and compared the prices of twenty organic fruits and vegetables, including The Dirty Dozen plus eight more that tend to have more pesticide residue than others. These figures reflect the current prices and availability in each grocery store from the first week of August, 2012. None of these prices are on sale or discounted in any way. With the cost of food rising daily, these prices are subject to change. Additionally, it is the peak of summer, and there is naturally much more organic produce available in this season than in others, so availability will vary greatly throughout the year. These variables aside, I was surprised to find so much deviation among the prices, as I assumed that local grocery stores would be pricing their produce more competitively among each other.

LOCAL PRICE COMPARISON CHART FOR “THE DIRTY TWENTY” – 8/2012

ORGANIC PRODUCE
FOOD LION
FRESH MARKET
HARRIS TEETER
TRADER JOE’S
WEAVER STREET
WHOLE FOODS
APPLES
$1.88/lb.
$2.99/lb.
$2.29/lb.
—
$2.99/lb.
$2.49/lb.
CELERY
$2.61/lb.
$1.69/ea.
$2.39/ea.
—
$2.99/ea.
$2.49/ea.
BELL PEPPERS
—
—
$2.49/ea.
$4.29/3
$3.99/lb.
$3.99/lb.
PEACHES
—
$2.98/lb.
—
$.69/ea.
$3.49/lb.
$2.99/lb.
STRAWBERRIES
—
$4.99/lb.
$4.99/box
$2.99/box
$3.99/lb.
$4.99/lb.
NECTARINES
—
$3.99/lb.
—
$.69/ea.
—
$2.49/lb.
GRAPES
—
$2.98/lb.
$3.99/lb.
$2.99/pkg.
$3.99/lb.
$3.99/lb.
SPINACH
$3.64/5 oz.
$2.49/5 oz.
—
$2.49/5 oz.
$2.49/5 oz.
$6.99/lb.
LETTUCE
$2.93/3
$4.00/3
$2.49/ea.
$2.99/3
$2.49/ea.
$2.49/ea.
PEARS
—
$2.49/lb.
$2.49/lb.
—
$2.49/lb.
$2.99/lb.
CHERRIES
—
$5.98/lb.
—
$4.49/lb.
$7.99 lb.
$7.99/lb.
RASPBERRIES
—
$5.00/6 oz.
$3.99/6 oz.
$3.29/6 oz.
$3.99/6 oz.
$4.99/6 oz.
CUCUMBERS
—
—
$1.99/ea.
$3.49/2
$2.99/lb.
$2.99/lb.
BLUEBERRIES
—
$5.00/pt.
$4.99/pt.
$3.99/pt.
$3.99/pt.
$4.99/pt.
POTATOES
—
$1.69/lb.
$1.69/lb.
—
$1.49/lb.
$2.49/lb.
KALE
—
$2.49/ea.
$2.49/ea.
—
$2.99/ea.
$2.49/ea.
GREEN BEANS
—
—
$3.33/lb.
—
$1.99/lb.
—
ORANGES
$3.65/bag
$.99/lb.
$1.29/ea.
$.79/ea.
$1.49/lb.
$1.20/lb.
CARROTS
$2.89/bag
$2.50/bnch
$2.49/bnch
$.89/bag
$2.49/bnch
$1.99/bnch
CAULIFLOWER
$2.78/ea.
$3.99 ea.
$3.99/ea.
—
$3.99/ea.
$3.99/ea.

LOCAL GROCERY STORE REVIEWS

When I visit any one of these grocery stores, I tend to hone in on their organic goods and filter everything else out. I have learned how each store indicates which produce items are organic and which are not, so I can find them in the sea of conventionally grown produce that dominates most of these stores. For your reference, along with my review, I have included the “organic” tag to look for in each grocery store.

Food Lion

Food Lion, located in Ram’s Head Plaza off of Ephesus Church Road, at Timberlyne Shopping Center off of Weaver Dairy Road, and also in Carrboro Plaza off of Highway 54 West, is mostly known for its affordability. Growing up, it was the closest grocery store to our neighborhood Briarcliff, so we shopped there frequently. Also, on the rare occasions when it snowed, my Dad and I would walk all the way there from home, whether we really needed groceries or not, pretending to be pioneers who had to endure such hardships to bring food staples home for their families. Fond memories aside, Food Lion’s organic variety of produce is meager at best. Both the Chapel Hill and Carrboro Food Lions have a section in the center of the produce shelf with all of their organic produce. However, even in the organic section one has to look closely to distinguish the organic produce from the conventional produce, because they are still mixed in together and the word “organic” is really tiny on the tags and easy to miss. The organic shelf is mostly filled with bagged carrots, and only four items out of my “Dirty Twenty” were available at the Ram’s Head location when I visited there twice. There was just a box of organic spinach at the one in Carrboro. The prices of the organic produce they do offer, however, are some of the cheapest around, so if you happen to be there shopping anyway, it is worth checking out that shelf for a good deal.

The Fresh Market

The Fresh Market, located across from Glen Lennox off of Raleigh Road, opened in 2008. This grocery store is a very convenient stop on my way to and from visiting my in-laws, and I love shopping there. I am always amazed at the quality of the organic produce they offer and the wide variety of other goods they have been able to fit into a relatively small space. Their organic produce is interspersed throughout the produce department, so you have to hunt for it. But the organic tags are clearly marked and the word “organic” is easy to spot on the black chalk boards at the bins. They also always specify whether the fruit or vegetable is organic or conventional on each tag, instead of leaving off the “conventional” label as in other grocery stores. Their prices are competitive with Weaver Street, Harris Teeter and Whole Foods, but they often have great sales on local organic produce when in season.

Harris Teeter

Harris Teeter in Carrboro was my go-to grocery store in the early 90’s when I was a student at UNC-CH. At the time, they were the only grocery store open 24/7, which worked perfectly with my 20-something night owl schedule. Around 2:00 am, they would blast dance music, which always made for a very festive scene, but mostly helped keep the graveyard shift workers awake and alert. There are presently five locations in the area: one at Carrboro’s Carr Mill Mall off of North Greensboro Street, one on West Barbee Chapel Road in Meadowmont, one off of MLK Boulevard near Weaver Dairy Road, one in the Chatham Downs Shopping Center off of Highway 15-501 South, and one by University Mall off of Willow Drive. Their organic offerings have increased significantly over the years to meet the demand of our progressive community. They are by far the easiest tags to spot while shopping, thanks to the bright purple oval that accompanies each one. Harris Teeter has a dedicated organic produce section on the refrigerated shelf, and usually a separate organic cart in the middle of the produce department, making it easy to shop organically. On average, their prices for organic produce run slightly cheaper than those of The Fresh Market, Weaver Street and Whole Foods, and if you have a VIC card, they often have great VIC sales. However, their selection and quality of organics falls short of the other three.

Trader Joe’s

Trader Joe’s, located in Eastgate Shopping Center where A Southern Season used to be, prides itself on affordability and uniqueness of offerings. It’s a quirky store, since their inventory changes constantly as they search around to find the best prices nationwide to buy in bulk. Their organic produce availability is not nearly as extensive as those of Weaver Street or Whole Foods, and the quality does not seem as fresh since it is usually pre-bagged, but it is much cheaper. They make it a policy to never have sales since the prices are already the best they can offer their customers, and their prices are excellent. Green horizontal “ORGANIC” stripes down the left side of price tags indicate organic produce at Trader Joe’s, and they are easy to spot once you find one. However, the organics are not kept separate and they frequently change, so you do have to search around for them.

Weaver Street Market

Weaver Street Market is our local co-op, and in respect of full disclosure, I am a member. It has locations on Weaver Street in Downtown Carrboro, on South Churton Street in Hillsborough, and on Market Street in Southern Village. I remember when the first one opened in June of 1988 at Carr Mill Mall. I was eighteen and eating a much more mainstream, unhealthy teenage diet back then. So the first time I entered, I felt dizzy from all the brands and products I didn’t recognize. Where was the Kraft Mac-n-Cheese and Campbell’s Soup displays? I have come a long way since then, and I currently shop at Weaver Street more than any other local grocery store. It is just a five minute walk from my home, and their selection of organics and the quality of their produce is wonderful. Because there are so many organic items offered here, they are interspersed throughout the store. However, organic produce tags have a big “USDA Organic” logo on them, making them easy to spot. Since they are locally owned, (literally), here you will find the greatest amount of locally produced items of all the grocery stores in town. Also, many of their produce items arrive from local, pesticide-free farms that do not have the official organic seal, but are just as healthy as official organic produce, so be sure to ask. All produce tags, organic or conventional, include interesting and helpful preparation, serving and storage tips. The prices at Weaver Street are comparable to Whole Foods and The Fresh Market, though if you are a member, they offer really great Member Sales daily.

Whole Foods Market

Whole Foods Market acquired locally owned Wellspring Grocery in November, 1991, and it is located in what us locals called Kroger Plaza, then Kroger-less Plaza once the Kroger grocery store vacated, and is now Village Plaza, off of Elliot Road. Whole Foods is the world leader in natural and organic foods, so it is no surprise that their selection and quality of organic produce is exceptional. However, for a huge chain, it is surprising that their organic produce prices are not significantly lower than our other local grocery stores, and in some cases are higher. They do have great weekly specials, and for other grocery items down the aisles, their own 365 brand is a good bargain. Additionally, you can easily fill up on all the free samples they have placed throughout the store, and count that as lunch, or so I hear. Because of the large volume of organic items in the produce department, they are scattered among the conventional ones. However, the bold yellow stripe with black writing, and yellow writing on black tags that signify organic produce is striking enough to stand out amongst the conventional fare. On certain tags, an ANDI Score is included, which stands for Aggregate Nutrient Density Index. This is a score assigned to whole foods that contain the highest nutrients per calorie as Dr. Joel Fuhrman describes in his book, Eat For Health. Each ANDI score is based on a possible score of 1,000-0, with 1,000 being the most nutrient dense and 0 being the least nutrient dense. However I must admit that my favorite thing about Whole Foods is running in to Tyler Hansbrough there, who often frequents their deli and salad bar.

Category: Places

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