Contrast

By chance, (well, actually by location), my errands ended up taking me directly from aldi’s to whole foods.

Dramatic contrast.

But kinda got me thinking a bit.

We only really get basic items at aldis… things like eggs, produce, dry pasta (they actually have whole wheat spaghetti and rigatoni now for a buck each), and sometimes the 93% ground turkey. Honestly, because most of the non-name brand processed stuff really hasn’t been that great. (Their spaghetti o’s are in tomato sauce with no seasoning.. their potato and rice mixes taste like only salt was added… pudding wasn’t sweet.. etc)

But it kind of struck me that in some ways, a lot of the whole foods stuff is similar… just usually more intentionally, whether in the name of being healthier or being organic or preventing allergic issues. Google particular products, and it’s frequent to find “this is great, when we do this or that to it”.

But somehow, I’m more tolerant of having to add seasoning to a supposedly pre-seasoned box of quinoa than I am of a bag of supposedly pre-seasoned rice that cost less than 1/4 of the price.

 

Reduced selections (well, all the ones around here are just whole foods, not the markets… i’ve been told those have a lot more options). Customers bringing own bags.

Customers having preconceived notions of the other customers in the store and their wealth.

 

A lot more similar than I’d really noticed I guess… just catered towards totally different segments of the population. Value on natural vs value on thrift.

 

It struck me as a bit more interesting though that I saw a lot more people leaving aldis with fruit and veggies in one trip that I think I’ve ever seen leaving whole foods with something that wasn’t in a box or processed. While not organic, the aldis here had about 5 times the amount of space for fresh produce as the whole foods, which doesn’t even match the local grocery chain’s organic section of produce.

 

I found myself really wanting to ask if whole foods takes food stamps that were being used so much at aldis… just out of curiosity, but, well, I already stick out like a sore thumb being a fat chick in a health foods store, and had a child who was trying to juggle a single organic lemon (that she had begged for to turn into lemonade, which i agreed to buy only to get rid of the thought of the 3 buck organic brownie mix she previously wanted) so I really wasn’t looking to win myself any more odd points for the day.

Aren’t quinoa and zylitol common enough yet to be carried at walmart yet?