<p><a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/11/14/why-whole-foods-is-moving-into-one-of-the-poorest-neighborhoods-in-chicago/”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/11/14/why-whole-foods-is-moving-into-one-of-the-poorest-neighborhoods-in-chicago/</a></p>
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You mean like discount free-range, organic foie gras?</p>
<p>Sure, why not? The poor can be hoodwinked and gouged just like the rest of us.</p>
<p>Yeah, I told my husband that I’m not buying a happy, free-range turkey for Thanksgiving. We’ll be getting a depressed one, I guess.</p>
<p>I found this pretty compelling, from a local bishop (not Catholic) in the community: ‘“Price point was the Number One, the earliest, the strongest and the longest-lasting argument,” he says of wary residents. “And when you started contextualizing what price point meant in comparison to a $450 hair weave, or $120 sneakers, or $60 for a fifth of alcohol, then price point is not as strong of an argument as it initially was.”’</p>
<p>I’m not sure that WFM is dramatically more expensive than the corner markets people already heavily use. </p>
<p>WFM’s comment that they’ve never closed a store indicates that they’re in it for the long haul, and that is not a bad thing. I’ve noticed that our local WFM has fairly significantly dropped prices on sale items, which didn’t use to be the case. </p>
<p>And yeah, MaineLonghorn, we’re not buying the free-range, heirloom turkey either.</p>
<p>Yeah. I think one thing to understand is that the places to shop in these food desserts (I’m leaving the typo. It’s just too ironic to change. ) are really holding people hostage anyway, and for really bad stuff, too. Good catch @arabrab. </p>
<p>From a link in the article. “According to Michael Bashaw, president of Whole Foods’ Midwest unit, the new store here “will be similar” to the Detroit store in how it operates, with some fruit and vegetable items sold per piece rather than per pound. Also, prices will be “a little less” than in other stores in other neighborhoods, thanks to lower overhead from a small building and the company’s work with suppliers to keep wholesale prices down.”</p>
<p>Also like the ideas to interact with the community. And, depending, it could be a destination, for people out of the neighborhood. </p>
<p>Whole Foods is in the business to make money. Maybe they struck a tax reduction deal that will allow them to lower the prices. It is quite possible they are looking to increase sales via the large number of EBT customers they will draw in. I do hope they go out of their way to educate their new customer base on healthy, yet economical ways to feed their families. </p>
<p>I am a WFM shopper but there is no doubt that their price points are not competitive. They only lowered their price on produce when a Trader Joe’s opened across the street and presumably they lost business. I have no doubt the Englewood store will have prices that bring most items within reach of that community. I am not sure how I feel about different pricing for different geographical areas - @arabrab mentions “sale” items at his WFM, but in the one I patronize I do not recall them running a sale on anything. Ever. I have always wondered about that and conclude that if the store is in an area where they know people can pay full price, they hold them to it.</p>
<p>I choose to shop there for a lot reasons that are extraneous to this thread, but I do think the Englewood store is a good thing. I think for the most part WFM sells cleaner, higher quality food and to the extent that more people of all socio-economic backgrounds are exposed to that alternative, I think it is a move in the right direction. </p>
<p>Whole Foods carry their store brand a lot more these days. I think they are lower priced. The problem I see is that one has to shop more often at Whole Foods since produce/meat don’t keep as long. Do people in the neighborhood have time to shop more than once a week?</p>
<p>I don’t know why people are so opposed to Whole Foods. I think it’s a great store! Yes, I know that free-range certifications, etc. sometimes don’t have clear definitions, but in the majority of the cases the life of the animal is still better, even if marginally, than let’s say Tyson.</p>
<p>Also, Whole Foods doesn’t sell products that have hydrogenated fats, so you don’t have to read every single label. Do they still have very processed foods? Sure. But if you look at the labels, even in those processed products they don’t have the mile-long lists of nasty ingredients most processed foods in regular grocery stores have. </p>
<p>Not to mention, they sell organics. I know some people don’t buy into organics, but for me it’s definitely worth it, especially for things like lettuce or bananas and milk. If I could afford it, I would do it for everything!</p>
<p>Health is one of the top issues in low income neighborhoods, and I am glad that people have healthier options.</p>
<p>Personally, I am very happy I live in a place with easy access to Whole Foods (and TJ’s).</p>
<p>“I’m not sure that WFM is dramatically more expensive than the corner markets people already heavily use.”</p>
<p>^This. </p>
<p>I think it’s great WF is putting a store there. </p>
<p>I, too, think it’s great putting a store there, and I hope their experiment proves fruitful (no pun intended). Some of the kids in these neighborhoods probably haven’t seen the inside of a grocery store that carries so many fresh produce items so they grow up thinking their corner grocer is how everyone does their grocery shopping. </p>
<p>And I say good for WFM… it sure doesn’t seem like any other major grocer chain was willing to go in there. I don’t really consider Aldi a major one-stop grocery store chain. You can pick up some items there, but they rarely carry everything on my list so I have to make two stops. </p>
<p>And presumably they will offer jobs.</p>
<p>Whole Foods did this in Detroit, too. It’s pretty controversial because they get millions in tax credits form the city.</p>
<p>Based on prices I’ve seen in corner stores (aka bodegas) in NYC, Whole Foods’ prcies will be competitive and higher quality. Providing cooking classes and education will be a win-win for everyone. </p>
<p>If the point is to target poor neighborhoods then I would imagine the expectation is that most shoppers will be paying with EBT cards. So, who pays for the cooking classes? I do think the store will succeed, whatever that means. But, it’s not philanthropy.</p>
<p>" WFM’s comment that they’ve never closed a store indicates that they’re in it for the long haul, and that is not a bad thing."</p>
<p>This is malarkey. Hopefully they simply misspoke. They certainly did close a store in northern New Jersey. They might have had a good business reason to do so since there was another store about 5 miles north and a third store less than 5 miles south, both brand new.</p>
<p>@LakeWashington – maybe that they never voluntarily closed a store? When they bought out Wild Oats, the FTC required that they sell off/close stores in certain places so that they didn’t dominate the market. Living in organics-r-us central we saw that up close and personal. Or, maybe he was just wrong. </p>
<p>@marie1234 – I’m not sure what the EBT cards have to do with cooking classes? </p>
<p>Perhaps this WFM will hold some classes in how to cook from scratch with bulk ingredients. I’ve found their prices pretty reasonable on many of the bulk grains/beans, especially when I can buy enough for a recipe without leftover ingredients. </p>
<p>Our WFM had raspberries for $1 a carton about a week or two ago. We enjoyed the heck out of them. And the organic, local broccoli was 1.99/lb on sale, so our local store definitely has sales. I do find that produce at Whole Foods is generally very expensive, so I don’t tend to buy it there unless it is on-sale or I don’t need much of it. </p>
<p>Didn’t realize food markets were subject to antitrust laws. Seems odd because as a broad commodity you would think that foods /foodservice could not be monopolized in the classic sense. The three northern New Jersey stores I was familiar with were situated in West Orange and Millburn, two relatively prosperous towns.</p>
<p>Yes, from time to time Whole Foods does offer decent specials on some tasty produce.</p>