Have you ever wanted to shop at a whole foods store but been worried about the cost?
Or are you not quite sure how to shop at one?
To support residents this Plastic Free July we have created a beginners' guide to shopping at your local whole foods store.
Are whole foods really more expensive?
We contacted whole foods stores across the City of Greater Geelong to find out if they were more expensive compared to the major supermarkets.
We were pleasantly surprised by the number of products that were the same price or cheaper.
At the same time, these items had the same qualities we expect from whole foods products which traditionally result in a higher price - organic, minimally processed, and, wherever possible, Australian grown.
At the time of writing this article, our top five buys from the whole foods store were:
- Almonds
Whether raw, dry roasted, or ground into meal, almond products were around $2 to $36 cheaper per kilogram.
- Herbs and spices
The two standouts were dried basil leaves at almost $100 cheaper per kilo, and organic turmeric, which was $15 per kilo cheaper than non-organic from the supermarket. This might work out even cheaper if you consider the fact when shopping wholefoods you can purchase exactly the amount you need, so are not forced to buy a whole pack if you only require ingredients for one person, or for a one-off dish.
- Pine nuts
At $74 per kilo these were around half the price of the supermarket.
- Raw honey
Raw honey was around $3 per kilo cheaper.
- Myrtle laundry powder
This laundry powder is the exact same brand sold in some of the major stores, but around $1 per kilo cheaper.
How do I shop at wholefoods?
Method 1
Have a look around your house find a clean, empty container that is suitable for whatever you are planning on buying. Don't be worried if it plastic, or a little unusual.
According to Alyssa McGuire from Bellarine Wholefoods:
The most important message is there is no wrong way to shop with us. The whole purpose is to use something as much as you can. That could be Tupperware, plastic takeaway containers, jars, or bags. We do not discriminate against bringing plastic into the store; it is whatever container you use already or will use over and over again.
Method 2
Just head into the store! Wholefoods stores are prepared for customers who don't have containers. Most provide paper bags for free or reusable containers for a small price. Some stores even collect containers such as bottles and jars from the community for customers to borrow or keep.
Whatever method you choose, all you need to do now is ask for your container to be weighed before placing your purchase inside. If you think you might be converted into a return shopper, you can even ask for the weight of your container to be written on the outside, so you can skip this step next time.
Next, place your desired amount of product inside your container for it to be weighed again. The difference in weights will be how much product you are purchasing.
Happy shopping!
