[ updated Nov. 20, 2011 ]
Although I'll try my best, it's impossible for me to visit every health food store on Long Island -- but the good news is that this is because there's so many! I want to post a few tricks for how you can find health food and natural food stores near you.
A moment on shopping... while chain stores can be easy to find and shop in, smaller family-owned businesses often have much better customer service. You can feel more comfortable asking questions about products and get more experience-based answers. You also know that the money you spend on groceries is going directly toward the owners, their employees, and their business, rather than the CEO's of huge conglomerates.
So, how to find health food stores...
[EDIT: Since revamping this blog in the summer of 2011, I've decided to focus exclusively on Nassau County resources. You'll find a listing of Nassau health food stores on the right of this page, under the heading "Local Links".]
1. Word of Mouth
Probably the best way to find stores near you is by asking around. This way, you can get a review of the store from someone you trust. Ask someone whose diet you admire, or maybe a personal trainer at your gym.
2. Yellowpages.com
An old-school method brought into the modern day, the Yellow Pages' website can list some stores in your local area. However, not all stores have chosen to be listed in the guide and may not be included. It can still be a good resource if you don't know where to look. Googling your city and "health food stores"/"natural food stores" may also work.
3. Local Publications
Skim the advertisements in your local newspaper, magazines, Pennysaver, or religious bulletins. Small businesses sometimes chose to use these local services instead of a larger-scale advertising.
4. Downtown Areas
Does your town have a downtown area with lots of shopping and stores? You may want to browse through those streets one day to see if there's a natural food store.
Keep your ears and eyes open, and continue reading Locally Long Island! I'll be posting about my visits to natural food stores on the online throughout the blog.
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is there a difference in shopping at a health food store and buying health food at a traditional grrocery store??
ReplyDeleteTo me the point seems a moot one as to where a person buys their produce. CEOs are people too after all. The only thing that separates the CEO and the small business owner is the size of the business. However I suppose that providing a smaller, local business with your patronage may have its benefits. I still don't want to renounce whole foods as an evil "conglomerate" though.
ReplyDeleteI actually spoke to one of my professors about health food stores & she suggested a store called Jandy's (spelling may be incorrect). I think it's worth while to check it out.
ReplyDeleteAnyway -- another very useful post. Thanks again!!
-Tanja
Yup Tanja - that's Jandi's in Oceanside. A very small, family owned, super friendly store. They also have some prepared foods & smoothies at their cafe' to sit in or take out. And their hours are easy to remember: 8am-8pm, 7 days a week.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.jandis.com/retailer/store_templates/shell_id_1.asp?storeID=7D612D95A81E4D1AB01BA80578A7D64D
MMKA - The biggest difference, as far as I can tell, is where it's coming from and who your money's going to. Traditional grocery stores usually buy in larger bulks from companies (potentially reducing their greenhouse gas emissions from shipping less frequently?), but health food stores tend to buy in smaller quantities for their smaller stores. Health food stores' staff is also more knowledgeable about the health food products than a traditional store's employees.
Never would renounce Whole Foods as evil. Any step in the "right" direction is still a step in that direction.
Great blog. Would you consider teaming up with Slow Food to help them create a list of locavore restaurants in Nassau? As you may know, it's not very easy to find them, unless you're willing to go to NYC or out East. . .
ReplyDeleteJust a thought.
Veronica
Sure Veronica, thanks for the suggestion! Off the cuff, could you recommend any locavore-friendly Nassau restaurants?
ReplyDelete