What We Don't Do & Why

Hi-Lo Pricing. "Hi-Lo" pricing is a practice by retailers where they raise the prices on select items in the store so they can lower the price on other items to put them on "sale". We strived to keep our overall costs down so we can provide affordable prices on all products every day. We also make deals with key suppliers on hundreds of our most popular products to offer permanently extra-low EveryDay Affordable Prices (EDAP).

Pre-Sale Price Hikes. Some retailers increase price before an item goes on sale so the can show a more impressive "You Save $$$" amount. Government regulations say that any calculations of "savings" on a sale sign have to calculate against the actual on-shelf retail price during the prior two weeks. (When you see a hefty two week price hike, you can bet that item will be on sale soon.) We don't hike prices before sales.

Chocolate Enrobement. This is the industry term for the chocolate dipped goodies at a candy or pastry counter. Yes, these are fun, tempting, and delicious. They also tend to take a relatively healthy food - dark chocolate - and combine it with highly processed flour-based cookies or other foods with high sugar content. We are not against enrobement stations per so, but it's not what our customers come to us for. Over and over say they appreciate not having the distraction and temptation. Our customers also appreciate not being offered a very expensive, low-nutrient dessert while they are shopping with their family's health in mind. Customer sensitive to sugar, gluten, and refined carbs (not to mention parents with children in tow) are happy not to have to avoid one whole section of the store.

In House Bakery. There are hundreds of really good local bakers who make wholesome breads, rolls, and cookies from all types of grains, including gluten free grains. Having an on-site bakery requires additional overhead expense that ends up in the price of the bakery products or added to the price of all items in the store. We would rather leave the baking to the local experts. Customers sensitive to gluten also appreciate not risking an allergic reaction to airborne gluten particles from bakery dust.

Wine and Liquor. Yes, there may be some health benefits to moderate intake of red wines. However, these benefits can be found in many other foods and beverages that do not contain alcohol. Given the general problem with alcohol overuse and addiction, we have decided not to sell alcoholic beverages of any kind.

Cigarette sales. We do not sell tobacco products. The bad health effects of tobacco use well known.

Natural Meats. As you probably know, the "natural meat" designation references USDA guidelines which originally addressed problems with unseemly ingredients added to ground meat. "USDA natural meat" is simply meat that does not contain added ingredients; the designation does not speak to the issue of animals raised with added growth hormones or antibiotics, nor does it mean the animals were raised outdoors or fed a diet of only grain. That's a mouthful of questions that a customer buying "natural meat" needs to chew on. So, read the label and ask the question: was the animal given antibiotics? Artificial hormones? Feed containing animal by products? Contaminated feed? A grain-only diet? If the label doesn't have the answers, assume the worst. The folks who sell us naturally raised meat are proud of their products and are glad to tell you why.

Fresh Meat and Fish. Many people find the smell of animal blood and flesh very offensive. Butcher shops and fish counters also introduce numerous pathogens and other health and safety hazards into the grocery store environment. Because of appearance and safety issues, we choose to sell primarily fresh-frozen meats, poultry, and fish. Bacterial growth and spoilage is largely stopped, while the quality of the food is not affected. In fact, due to reduced bacterial growth overall, frozen meat and poultry is much safer than "fresh".

Our popular wild catch Atlantic salmon steaks and filets are flash frozen on board the fishing vessel within hours being caught. There is never any doubt about freshness or contamination from older fish inside a fresh fish display case. And, since we are not continually discarding fish that has gone bad waiting to be sold, our price on the salmon does not have to cover any "shrink" in inventory.

We stock elk, buffalo, ostrich, and other healthy specialty meats which are purchased from suppliers who freeze their meats at the time of processing. Again, in exchange for the slight inconvenience of defrosting before use, our customers know they are consuming ranch-fresh, uncontaminated meats at all times. Keep in mind that raising animals without out hormone treatments, prophylactic antibiotics, or cheap grain feed costs a lot more than raising animals naturally. However, we think the overall benefits of naturally raised meats are worth the added cost.

Low Grade Produce. When conventional produce is harvested, it is sorted into four general categories. The lowest grade is damaged or spoiled to the point it is only good for compost or animal consumption. The "unclassified" grade can be used as a component in some processed foods. Grade 2 has a fairly good appearance and freshness, and usually ends up in institutional cafeterias like military bases and schools. Grade 1 is the near perfect size, shape, color and freshness - it's what ends up in those perfectly stacked displays at a big supermarket.

Oddly enough, top grade certified Organic fruit and produce may look a bit like Grade 2 conventional produce, since there are shape variations, insect scars, and the general appearance of having actually being grown in a natural environment. Don't confuse low priced Grade 2 conventional produce with high quality certified organic produce just because they look the same. It's not uncommon in produce departments is to sell Grade 1 organic produce side by side cheap Grade 2 conventional produce and hope the customer doesn't notice. We only sell 100% certified organic produce, so you can't get confused. Visit USDA site for Fresh Fruit, Vegetable, Nut and Specialty Crop Grade Standards.

Open Bulk Bins. Open bins invite testing, especially by children, and may collect dirty or infectious material from fingers and sneezing. It is also notoriously difficult to clean out the bottom of bulk bins or rotate product in them to keep it fresh. Especially towards the bottom, it's hard to know what your buying. Instead of open bulk bins, we bag our bulk product in air-tight bags in a state-of-the-art food packaging facility. The packaging is not fancy or expensive, but it does the trick. Every bag is marked with full nutrition information, allergen warnings, and the date it was packed.

Bulk Foods Held at Room Temperature. Another very important part of our bulk program is refrigeration - any bulk food that will go bad at room temperature is refrigerated both at our warehouse and in the stores. This includes most nuts, flours, seeds, snack mixes, candies etc. Refrigeration also greatly reduces the possibility of pests on these items. Yes, most of the nuts and flours on the shelves of markets are quickly going bad as they sit at room temperature.

Self-service nut butter. For sanitary reasons, customers are not allowed to grind their own peanuts and almonds into nut butter. Instead, carefully trained staff, wearing disposable foodservice gloves, manage the grinding process. All equipment is cleaned and sterilized daily to prevent contamination.

Diagnose or treat illnesses. Everyone has heard of someone who was "cured" of an illness by taking a particular supplement or following a particular 'miracle" diet. This type of storytelling is not allowed on our sales floor. Instead, our staff is trained to help customers understand the science of how their bodies work, and how certain foods and supplements have been proven to affect the body's functioning. This approach helps customers understand their own health concerns in a safe way so they can make informed choices about their diets. Consultations with health care professionals are strongly encouraged. We also provide carefully researched nutrition fact sheets, free of charge, on hundreds of topics.

Fad Diet Formulas. The only way to maintain a healthy weight over the long run is to eat a balanced diet that contains fewer calories than you burn during your daily activities. Any special diet that promises miracle results without a diet balanced in nutritional value and calories will not be approved for sale.

Drug Detox Formulas. We do not offer products which claim to detox the body of illicit drug markers. They don't really work, and we prefer to help our customers understand and avoid dangerous drugs in the first place.

Food Sampling. Actually, we do a lot of food sampling for dry food items that do not have strong smells. It's just a courtesy to our customers who are sensitive to strong smells, or who would like to bring children to the store without policing their eating.

Make a Big Deal Out of Special Orders. We don't have huge stores, so we try to focus on the most popular items to make everyone happy. From time to time, customers want something else. We will special order any of a 100,000 grocery items available from our distributors, and we are happy to do it. Some supplement special orders may have a few strings attached, but usually we can accommodate those as well. Whenever you need a special order item, please bring in as much information as possible, especially the UPC or "bar code" number of the item.

Comingling conventional with organic produce. We think a grocer that sells both organic and conventional produce will inevitably cross-contaminate its stock during handling and display. We also know our customers want to shop for produce without worrying about whether it is organic or not. So, we only sell 100% certified organic produce. No guesswork, no cross-contamination, no mix-ups.

Holier than thou. We don't do holier-than-thou, either. All of the We Don'ts listed above are the result of respectfully listening to our customers over the last fifty years to try to create an environment that best supports everyone's needs. We truly believe it's a free country, and that every customer is an individual whose preferences and choices are his or her own.

Now you know what we don't do and why, so now read about
"What we won't sell and why"