Recently, a brand new Whole Foods Market opened up near us. We have one about 30 minutes away already, and we’ve never gone in. Honestly, we can get most of our organic needs met at Wegman’s, where we do our regular shopping, but we thought we’d take a peek at the new Whole Foods, since we pass it so often.
Nearly $60 later, we emerged with that new store smell fresh in our noses, our eyes all a gleam from the new store shine, and items in our grocery bag (yes, $60 at Whole Foods gets you one bag of groceries) that I feel like we could have purchased elsewhere for cheaper.
You’ll never guess where that “elsewhere” was.
Costco.
With a recent decision to try and eat more organically, either in our own garden or in our shopping, it never occurred to me that my frequent trips to Costco put so many organically produced items right at my fingertips. You will pay a little bit more for the organics at Costco, but compared with the items I found in Whole Foods, Costco is still a better bet for my family. A dozen cage free organic eggs at Whole Foods will set me back about $5. For $7, I can get two dozen at Costco.
It doesn’t end with produce – of which there is plenty. In addition to the bananas, the salad mix, even frozen fruits – I can find peanut butter, pasta, and ice cream bars. And the prices for the items, while higher than buying Costco non-organic, are easily cheaper than the things I saw at Whole Foods.
Costco is really trying hard to make itself my one stop shopping locale. I do love seeing so many organic options there. But I’d miss Ralph, the butcher at Wegmans.