One of my former students keeps in touch with me via e-mail and periodically visits. We have a special link because I once helped her through some difficult and suicidal moments when she was a Sophomore in high school. Actually, now that I think of it, she was never my student, but the friend of one of my students. But that's neither here nor there. The point is that I've watched her grow from a very unsure, overly-dominated, often emotionally disabled young girl into a well-adjusted, self-assured young woman with goals and dreams that I never would have thought possible knowing her as a 14-year-old.
Her most recent e-mail detailed her educational and life plans for me. She has long been a chemistry/biology buff and earned her undergraduate degree in biochemistry. She is primarily interested in "agroecology", a sort of joining, as you can guess, of agriculture and ecology. She is concerned about how far from food the stuff we consume has gotten. She believes in organic and whole foods and is eager to find ways to bring the country back to basics. Idealistic, sure, but a great goal. And one that I can totally agree with.
We've discussed this in the past, but every day I grow more concerned with what's in my food from an ingredient standpoint. There's a grocerty store here called WholeFoods whose mission is to bring the best natural and organic foods to consumers at a reasonable price. I haven't yet visited the store, though it's been open for a few months now, because I've assumed I can't afford it. But visiting their website, and listening to the rave reviews of shoppers, I can't help but think I'm missing out and might want to visit. They even list a set of unacceptable food ingredients, which I am in love with. They buy from local farmers and use organic products. They have an entire page of whole grain flour and whole grain facts.
I have a feeling Angie and I will be spending a morning in the Whole Foods store soon. Anyone care to join me?
3 comments:
Whole Foods is a nice store. We had one in Chicagoland, but the prices there were too high for my budget. A few things I'd purchase through them that I couldn't get elsewhere, but the trouble with the organic/whole foods movement is that they make it cost prohibitive to people who aren't willing to spend half their paycheck at the grocery store. You've just got to pick and choose.
(BTW, I buy most of my produce throughout the summer from a roadside stand. His prices are better and his food is better, and a bit of friendliness gets me free stuff now and then!)
Sam visited the Whole Foods in Montclair and he said he felt out of place. Everyone was dressed up and, in his jeans, he felt like the help!
I've wanted to go, too, but I'm afraid we just can't afford it!
I don't actually plan on buying anything. I'm trying to budget myself into some savings, so I just want to go look around. I want to see what they sell and what their prices are like. Perhaps I'll pick up a bargain, but mostly I'm just interested in browsing. And the one in West Orange should be a bit less uppity than the one in Montclair. On top of that, I don't care if I look like the help!
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