Good Food is Everybody's Business
Whole Foods has been neck in neck for some time with Puget Sound’s PCC Natural Markets (the largest and one of the oldest food cooperatives in the nation), however the corporate structure of “whole” just couldn’t match the cooperative foundation of “real,” at least as far as good food principles.
Even as we face globalization (and standardization) of nearly every element of our lives, including the food we eat, there are between 25 and 27 million small and medium independent companies working separately to deliver us diversity and quality. It’s time we recognized the value that these businesses deliver to us, and to our communities.
Just the words “Thanksgiving dinner” can strike fear into the hearts of the “kitchen challenged.” After all, there are romantic images of beautiful crispy brown turkeys, delicate pastry, and robust gravies and sauces plastered across the walls in nearly every supermarket, spread throughout those “women’s magazines” (thanks to Oprah and Martha), and flashing on TV.
The new Green Lake Village PCC, anchored in a just-completed urban development comprising 300 apartments, clearly reflects its location. Large and well-staffed, the new PCC works hard to balance its focus and attention between weekly family shopping trips and the convenience of carryout prepared food.
We take a close look at a full range of soups – from canned condensed to boxed to frozen to fresh homemade – to determine what exactly is in our soup. Is it as wholesome as we think (hope)?
In a city where conventional supermarkets and specialty markets like Whole Foods and PCC abound, what makes Mendoza’s Mercado so special? Mendoza’s secret ingredient is Sonia’s cooking – like “me abuela hizo” – “My grandmother made…”
Natural and health food stores come in all sizes; from mega chains like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s and mini-chain cooperatives like PCC Natural Markets to small, independent groceries with annual sales from $2 to $20 million. The independence – and, yes, the political and philosophical leanings – of these small retail stores make each one different and contributes to the diversity of the business landscape.
