Community Chat

[novamc1]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-11/whole-foods-cutting-food-packaging-with-cancer-li...

Read the whole story to the end to learn a little about other grocery chains and their packaging.

[phoenixbrd]

Interesting article....I'm trying to get a picture of which product they are referring to as our Whole Foods offers two different types of containers at the salad bar (one looks like a brown cardboard type material and the other a clear plastic).  And, yes, there is the coated brown paper that they wrap the sandwiches in.

I used to really enjoy Whole Foods (in spite of the high prices).  The people that worked there were dedicated and seem to enjoy servicing their customers.  Since the Amazon take over there have been many subtle changes.  The employees that have left are missed.  I've talked to a couple of the  employees and they recognize the changes, but stay low keyed (for obvious reasons). I miss my old WFoods from the minor changes like  the (smaller) wipes that they use at the front door to the more major changes in the preparation of food for the salad bar and sandwiches. The employees that have left I really miss and those that have taken their place don't have that WF ethics of serving the customer...or the knowledge about the products and the joy that seem to come from doing their job.  There was a feeling of camaraderie among the employees that made the shopping experience positive.  I became a casual friend with the raw food chef who gave classes who no longer works there and they no longer have the board up regarding seminars and "specials".  Now it is perfunctory and simply more of a chore, and some of the products have suffered in the translation.  This is not a big thing and I still shop there.... just an observation.

[sidsmom]

I kinda stopped reading at,

”Whole Foods Market, hailed for its high standards for healthy food...”

Whole Foods is not ‘healthy’.

It’s just a grocery store with unusual items.

The hot bar they are referring to has more icky & unhealthy

in the food being placed INSIDE the container.

The after effects of the icky food consumed on a permanent basis

FAR outweighs any temporary placement inside a container.

Just like Walmart gets bagged on for no reason, I’m beginning

to think Whole Foods is the new Internet Punching Bag.

[phoenixbrd]

@sidsmom  I understand your comments and agree that 90% of the food that can be purchased at the salad bar is inedible, especially now,.  However, in a pinch I can go in and load up on a limited variety of organic veggies and make a salad. I don't even look at the "hot bar". Or I can purchase food that I can't get at Trader Joe's or Costco/Sam's. (Like my beloved balsamic vinegar.) It is a last resort but has saved me more than a few times...I'm not a fan of restaurant food or salad bars. And I'm usually prepared, but this is my go to for meeting friends who want to eat out or a save when I'm super hungry and not near home, unprepared.

I miss the family atmosphere that existed at my WFoods and the pride they showed in their work.  It may have been a unique store with exceptional employees, but the change is evident.  

[sidsmom]

@phoenixbrd

I, too, miss the days of where everything was ‘crunchy-hippy!’

All the female employees wore Birkenstock’s, braids & long flowy

tie-died skirts!

Waaaay back in the 90’s, a-la Susan Powter days, I could only find

brown rice & powdered soy milk at Whole Foods.  And frozen

veggie burgers were mind-blowing unusual!  I would get into 

30 minute conversations with the supplement employees..

learned so much!  

But the most important part I carried w/ me is Susan Powter

pointing out just because something is marketed to be ‘healthy’

does not make it so....and the Public has made Whole Foods 

into this ‘healthy’ company but they are not.*

I ‘get’ where there’s something which can be improved,

it needs to be improved. But I feel Whole Foods is getting a bad rap

just for being ‘Whole Foods’...no more, no less.

I have a feeling they could be handing out $100 bills & people will

still scream ‘whole paycheck’ & imply they are so ‘snobby.’  

(disclaimer: my BFF tells me this all.the.time! Hee)

*I DO love their Immersion Programs they have for their employees

and John Mackey’s vision for a plant-based lifestyle.

[Hayfield]

So many changes were made at WF when Amazon took over.  I felt bad for a friend's son, he worked there full time for 5 years and once it was taken over by Amazon, they came in and let go of the majority of their full time employees, only keeping 2 at this one particular store where he worked.  He was devastated since he loved the job, pay and benefits.  My friend told her son that this happens a lot.  I know that my son's company recently changed hands and I just held my breath that he would still have a job and he does, well, until the next changing of hands.  It's sad but that's the way it is.

[phoenixbrd]

@Hayfield  I don't know if you read my previous post but I wondered why so many of the wonderful employees were no longer there after the take over.  I didn't know if it was their choice to leave or if they had been asked to leave.  They were exceptional employees who knew their products and took pride in their work.  The current employees are not the same....not bad, just indifferent.  Also, the prep work for the salad bar and sandwich area shows a lack of pride in work.  It is not the same store experience.  I hope are goes well for your son.  

[Cakers3]

I'm pretty sure these are the ones.  I saw them recently at the hot bar for about a week but are gone.  They always had the cardboard type like drink holder material and those are still there.

The ones I saw were a little darker and shinier in color and not very sturdy.

We don't "do" the hot bar and salad bar only if the day is hectic for us and cooking is not an option.

[Cakers3]

I agree Amazon has made a mess of Whole Foods.  One thing, though, is that their 356 brand is much cheaper in a lot of products compared to the other grocery chain around here.

Also missing some favorite cashiers.  Our all-time fave is still there but she's hinted at some displeasure overall.

[Sooner]

I love Whole Foods for so many of the 365 Brand foods, and most of the people who work at the one in Oklahoma City are young people who are very friendly and helpful, so I haven't noticed a change there.

I have never bought any food from the food bar, and don't intend to.  But in any case it is a business, and as most businesses now, change is the order of the day.  It's difficult to survive.