Shop and Get Healthy!

Strawberries are here! You could drive all the way to Watsonville and not get any, or you could walk to your local, independent grocer (us!) and find these beauties. Heck, just come by and smell them! It'll lift you out of the last of your rainy-day blues, if the sunshine hasn't already made you soar.

So much rain

The recent very rainy season is hitting the local farmers very hard. "We try to source as much of our produce as we can from local farmers," says Donna Layburn. "But this season has been just devastating. As much as we want to support independent, local growers, we are finding we have to bring in some produce from Chile, just so we can stock our shelves."

The rains have played havoc with the growing season. "I was speaking with one of our farmers, and he told me that the wet weather forced him to miss the window for planting corn. He also doesn't know what his cherry trees are going to do; he has both blossoms and fruit starts on the same trees, something he's never seen before."

"Our commitment to the local community extends beyond selling organic produce and trans-fat and hydrogenated oil free groceries to our customers. It extends to our local farmers as well. If you really want to see shiny, blemish free fruit, you'll have to go to a supermarket. Our produce usually isn't 'pretty,' like a plastic-looking orange from a supermarket is - but it is beautiful. It is going to look and taste naturally delicious. Our produce is always going to be from the closest supplier we can get it from, which means it's going to have spent less time travelling and be richer in flavor and more wholesome than what you can get elsewhere."

We're entering the age of re-localization. Become a locavore, and together we can support our local foodshed. Ask any of our staff in the produce department how you can start.

We are very pleased to note the arrival and immediate success of Ching Hua on Park Street! The inside is gorgeous and the food is incredible! Have you been as curious as we have been, waiting for the paper to come down from the windows? Now you can come get a look and sit down, have a taste, and discover the wait was well worth it.

With the Alameda Marketplace now 100% occupied with amazing shops and the restaurant Ching Hua, you really have got to come and check us out!

Is our record-setting rainfall getting tiresome? Our smiling faces will cheer you up! Next time you come by the store, take a moment over in the supplements section. We are very knowledgable about our health and beauty aids, and are always glad to answer your questions. If you are feeling blue, let us know! Maybe you just need a friendly face, to chase away your rainy day.