Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Earth Fare: A grocery experience

I died and went to heaven.

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Or, I drove to the other side of town and finally visited the Earth Fare that opened recently.

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The organic grocery store is the first of its kind in my tiny pocket of northeast Indiana. While we do have a Fresh Market, there is not a store of this size or one with similar buying power devoted to healthy living and organic produce. The opening had people so excited that the northeast store had caused traffic back-ups and shopping was cart-to-cart, according to friends who live in the area and went to explore.

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If you are unfamiliar with Earth Fare, the company says that, "What really sets Earth Fare apart from other stores is the list of things we don't offer...like any products containing high fructose corn syrup, trans fats, artificial colors and sweeteners, and synthetic growth hormones in fresh meat and dairy. We believe food should be as close to the ground as it gets, and we are proud to read the labels so you don't have to!"

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According to me, what sets Earth Fare apart is the taste of big city shopping that we just don't have here. The store was clean and bright, the signs were fun and bold and the selection was wide. I was particularly happy to see things like bulk bins for nuts, grains and beans that I don't have at my neighborhood Kroger (though some of the nicer ones do).

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There was also freshly ground nut butters and dispensers for honey, agave and maple syrup. Again, given what's available in the city and my neighborhood, especially, it was all so novel. If I didn't have self restraint and serious hunger pangs from HIIT training, I might have gotten all the stuffs as everyone needs 10 pounds of nut butter.

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Rather, I limited myself to a few choice things including Lemon Lime Zevia, which I had not seen before, a few bars for California and a special treat for Mark - specialty raviolis from the bulk pasta bins. I was sure that the goat cheese sundried tomato variety would make up for my cross-country solo trip. I even got fresh Parmesan to complement the dish.

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I will say that my one moment of weakness came when I spotted the salad and hot bars. I was hungry, tired and the cucumber-tomato salad I had packed seemed less than sexy compared to some of the things I spotted. And, the hot bar is oh-so-cool. Right? Maybe. Not so much if you live in a major metropolitan area (and are thus not even reading this because you don't care about my Earth Fare).

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But I resisted. If anything, it gives me a reason to go back.

6 comments:

  1. I've never heard of Earth Fare, but I can absolutely relate to your excitement over it. I get so excited when we're in the city and can go to Trader Joe's or Sprouts... non-Walmart places are exciting. And I also get a little giddy over the bulk bins.

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  2. There's an Earth Fare in my hometown?! You have no idea how excited you have made me for visiting over the 4th of July now.

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  3. We don't have that around here...in fact we just got Trader J's and a Whole Foods is going in (45 min away) in the fall. Our local grocery store has a pretty good selection but the prices are a bit crazy. I like those bulk bins! I take stuff out of their packaging and put into glass canisters anyway so that's a lot less trash to simply have a bag.

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  4. I never heard of this, but I am walking distance to a Whole Foods and live less than 5 minutes from a Trader Joe's, so I definitely get it!!!!

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  5. Love Earth Fare! It's actually the closest grocery store to us, which is nice. We don't buy everything there, but it has a good selection of things that I previously had to buy online. They have a good selection of personal care items too.

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  6. Can I just tell you how incredibly jealous I am! There are like a zillion grocery stores here, but I can't do all my shopping at just one. Either I spend a small fortune at one or go to three to get what I need but not spend a car payment. I miss my old stores in Colorado, but if we could just get an Earth Fare here, I'd be a happy camper!

    P.S. I'm going to be in Westfield July 15-21. I realize that might be exactly when you're in Colorado but throwing it out there. I'll have a long run I have to do while I'm there....

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