Screw walmart.

/If you want the best vegetables you need to hit a farmers market, just watch out for elderly drivers.

I try to grow as many vegetables as possible. Which is difficult because I live in the middle of a forest - not much sunlight.

There are two reasons for doing this: Zero pesticides and my family is the only one handling the stuff. I have seen people in grocery stores scratch parts of their bodies then handle produce. I'll take a pass at getting e-coli from the local knuckledraggers.

FredaDeStilleto: There are two reasons for doing this: Zero pesticides and my family is the only one handling the stuff. I have seen people in grocery stores scratch parts of their bodies then handle produce. I'll take a pass at getting e-coli from the local knuckledraggers.

I'll bet you think Alice Waters deserves the Nobel Prize for Peace.

Sun God: FredaDeStilleto: There are two reasons for doing this: Zero pesticides and my family is the only one handling the stuff. I have seen people in grocery stores scratch parts of their bodies then handle produce. I'll take a pass at getting e-coli from the local knuckledraggers.

I'll bet you think Alice Waters deserves the Nobel Prize for Peace.

Geez. Why so negative? Just saying that if you take the time to grow what you can, you'll be better off.

The tears of foodies have a subtle, understated, yet refreshing aftertaste.

They are best accompanied with a can of generic cola and a bag of corn chips.

shanrick: Sun God: FredaDeStilleto: There are two reasons for doing this: Zero pesticides and my family is the only one handling the stuff. I have seen people in grocery stores scratch parts of their bodies then handle produce. I'll take a pass at getting e-coli from the local knuckledraggers.

I'll bet you think Alice Waters deserves the Nobel Prize for Peace.

What the hell does that even mean?
/yes I know who Alice Waters is.

The comment about "knuckledraggers" was essentially the equivalent of, "Let them eat cake."

I used to have a friend who called herself a "foodie." She was a snob.

Sun God: shanrick: Sun God: FredaDeStilleto: There are two reasons for doing this: Zero pesticides and my family is the only one handling the stuff. I have seen people in grocery stores scratch parts of their bodies then handle produce. I'll take a pass at getting e-coli from the local knuckledraggers.

I'll bet you think Alice Waters deserves the Nobel Prize for Peace.

What the hell does that even mean?
/yes I know who Alice Waters is.

The comment about "knuckledraggers" was essentially the equivalent of, "Let them eat cake."

Have you been to northeast PA?

I have to give the NC state government credit. The Farmers' Market is administered fairly well, and the handful of time I go each year there's a lot of people there. It seems to be working.

Farmer's market = cheap and fresh.

Option 2: Super H Mart.

I shop at Central Market for produce. Not because I think it tastes better, but because I don't have to spend half a farking hour digging through the bin to find the ONE head of garlic that hasn't sprouted yet or the TWO limes that aren't completely bruised to shiat. The problem with Walmart produce isn't its taste (they all come from China and Mexico this time of year anyway), but freshness and how well the produce is handled.

Toshiro Mifune's Letter Opener: The tears of foodies have a subtle, understated, yet refreshing aftertaste.

They are best accompanied with a can of generic cola and a bag of corn chips.

i prefer tang and pork rinds.
i'm a snob like that.

I don't shop at Whole Foods....but I must say that Wal-Mart has some of the worst produce ever. they come in and stock everything in the morning and then don't touch it the rest of the day. as a result after a few hours the produce looks like shiat because they don't grade through it.

/actually thinks Publix has some pretty good produce. Win-Dixie used to be god awful but they've improved a lot, better than wal-mart. farmer markets are cool and all but around here that shiat is seasonal.

Then they went to the little Mexican markets in town and save even more money and got better tasting produce than either of those places.

Anyone who calls themselves a "foodie" does not know a damn thing about food or how to cook it.

EatHam: If you want the best vegetables you need to have a garden

QFT

And I thought the whole "Whole Foods vs WalMart" debate was more about pesticides, etc?

/ Apathetic
// Would care more if I were upper-middle class, I'm sure

Not at all surprised by the look the of the dude in the video.

I shop at central market and the farm to market for fruits and veggies. Not surprised they got good fruit at Wal Mart though.

/just had to return some shiatty mealy organic apples from whole foods
//Whole foods can suck it.

Produce? What kind of animal does produce come from?

/carnivore

Lumber Jack Off: /actually thinks Publix has some pretty good produce. Win-Dixie used to be god awful but they've improved a lot, better than wal-mart. farmer markets are cool and all but around here that shiat is seasonal.

You know you're a Floridian when you have a fetish for Publix.

/ loves Publix too

Lumber Jack Off: I don't shop at Whole Foods....but I must say that Wal-Mart has some of the worst produce ever. they come in and stock everything in the morning and then don't touch it the rest of the day. as a result after a few hours the produce looks like shiat because they don't grade through it.

/actually thinks Publix has some pretty good produce. Win-Dixie used to be god awful but they've improved a lot, better than wal-mart. farmer markets are cool and all but around here that shiat is seasonal.

To be fair. Our "farmer's market" is basically a large produce, meat, and fish wholesaler that is open to the public. They have absolutely everything though at extremely low prices, but it's usually so busy you can barely move around.

Agree on the Publix produce. It's the best everyday store.


http://www.dekalbfarmersmarket.com/ (new window)

Repeating what's already been said... but Farmers Markets ROCK.

They have them spring to fall, then have a 'harvest' market. I grew up on a farm so I'm used to Corn on the Cob 3 nights a week. You got to get it while it's good because sweet corn goes downhill rather quickly. Up at the local McDonalds/Auto Store/Hardware stripmall there are old farmers there every morning from 6-10 with what ever you could possibly want.

The onions were stronger, garlic more tasteful, corn sweeter and larger. Damn it. Now I'm craving some corn on the cob with a bit of garlic and some fresh onions.

I'm also a huge fan of Meijer's fresh food. Since they're based in the midwest they always tried to source local (and you can tell). It seems Walmart is taking a bit from them and realizing that you can attract a completely different demographic if you have nice good produce.

I love fresh from the farm produce, and have an ever growing garden myself. Most of my yard has been turned over to garden, and veggies and herbs grow in among the flowers. Even in the front yard(such an abomination I know.)

This summer we are taking any extra we can't eat or are too tired of preserving to sell at the farmer's market.

//Just got the early peas in, and planted 5 raspberry plants, and my wife is actually out getting some more raspberry plants from a friend right now.

Wegmans!

Damn I miss Wegmans. Best supermarket ever. Kicks the shiat out of Whole Foods, Trader Joes, or any other.

GranoblasticMan: Lumber Jack Off: /actually thinks Publix has some pretty good produce. Win-Dixie used to be god awful but they've improved a lot, better than wal-mart. farmer markets are cool and all but around here that shiat is seasonal.

You know you're a Floridian when you have a fetish for Publix.

/ loves Publix too

heh, I actually work for Publix as a second job. that said, i'm always open to trying our competitors stuff. especially since I live next door to a winn-dixie so I run in there from time to time to get the odd ingredient.

/produce department.
//economy sucks, it pays the bills.
///not a foodie, loves to cook though.

The farmers markets around here are 5 months a year, one day a week, 5 hours a day and twice as expensive as Market Basket.

/oh yeah and the foodies

Let me just start by saying that I LOVE Wal-Mart. I buy all our groceries there every week. BUT the produce at my Wal-Mart SUCKS. It's the grossest, most sad assortment of vegetables and fruits I've ever seen. I always go to the Super Bi-Lo to buy our produce.

The Publix I shop at has some of the best produce.

Rock hard avocados. Bonus!

Limes of different kinds, including key limes. Oh yeah!

Pummelos. As big as a basketball. Geeze, I love to make a meal of these things.

Some weird stuff occasionally that I've never seen, and will usually try.

A SKILLED produce manager who actually knows a good bit about fruits and veggies... How to eat it, what to look for, what to avoid.

A lot of the stuff comes from local sources. I see local SC labels and I am happy!

Bruised apples are hard to find, as the produce guy religiously sorts through the apples and pulls the bruised ones.

Sour lemons. Notably different than bitter-sour lemons. I love lemons that are sour. Bitter lemons I do not love.

Green bananas. I buy my bananas green and then let them ripen at home. Last longer that way.

Lots of ethnic fruits and veggies, like tomilitos that are actually fresh and edible. (Again, see staff that knows how to keep track of stuff like this.)

Also, a great nut selection. All kinds of nuts, all year round.

I could go on. :)

darkscout: Repeating what's already been said... but Farmers Markets ROCK.

They have them spring to fall, then have a 'harvest' market. I grew up on a farm so I'm used to Corn on the Cob 3 nights a week. You got to get it while it's good because sweet corn goes downhill rather quickly. Up at the local McDonalds/Auto Store/Hardware stripmall there are old farmers there every morning from 6-10 with what ever you could possibly want.

The onions were stronger, garlic more tasteful, corn sweeter and larger. Damn it. Now I'm craving some corn on the cob with a bit of garlic and some fresh onions.

I'm also a huge fan of Meijer's fresh food. Since they're based in the midwest they always tried to source local (and you can tell). It seems Walmart is taking a bit from them and realizing that you can attract a completely different demographic if you have nice good produce.

Reminds me of growing up in Michigan. I miss the honeyrock melons from Bay City.

doublesecretprobation: local = fresher. that's a no-brainer and the point of the article.

good on walmart for pushing local food. re-localizing our food supply is a good idea for a million reasons.

some might say the point of the article could be walmart is just as good and close to 1/3 cheaper than whole foods.

KoalaFace: 2/3rds the price? Either walmart got expensive or whole foods got cheap.

"Buy my food at Walmart? No thanks. Until recently, I had been to exactly one Walmart in my life, at the insistence of a friend I was visiting in Natchez, Mississippi, about 10 years ago. It was one of the sights, she said. Up and down the aisles we went, properly impressed by the endless rows and endless abundance. Not the produce section. I saw rows of prepackaged, plastic-trapped fruits and vegetables. I would never think of shopping there.

Not even if I could get environmentally correct food..."

-Corby Kummer



I wish I was a tarsier to give "Corby Kummer" the rolleyes he merits, and then I recall that a tarsier has fixed eyes.

Godammit so much.

People are so used to food laced with pesticides and FSM-knows what they they've come to prefer it. But who am I to complain about Whole Foods or Wal Mart? They re simply pursuing their favored business model. If people perceive that they gain compensatory value for spending more cash at Whole Foods, who am I to cast stones at them?

I grow what I can while I can (IE before the water board realizes that shortages are the result of too-low prices) and sometimes hit the farmers markets (not with my car), and in general am supportive of locally grown food. However, I will never, ever support market distortions to push more local food. If distortions are necessary to do something, it probably shouldn't be done.

Tequila Monster: Produce? What kind of animal does produce come from?

/carnivore

Think of it as cutting out the middleman.

/Middlecow?

40 watt range: Not at all surprised by the look the of the dude in the video.

I shop at central market and the farm to market for fruits and veggies. Not surprised they got good fruit at Wal Mart though.

/just had to return some shiatty mealy organic apples from whole foods
//Whole foods can suck it.

Fixed. I meant to say, surprised they got good fruit at wal mart.

Taleya: Brew our own beer, too...

I'm doing the same. It's surprisingly easy to make a damn good beer.