Local and Organic Produce at Wal-Mart and Other Superstores

Savvy Community: Wal-Mart or Whole Foods?

April 11, 2010

This question comes from Allisonberry in the Savvy Savings Challenge group.

My newest dilemma is whether to start shopping at stores like Wal-Mart that are now offering local, organic produce. I've always been a Whole Foods and Trader Joe's junkie, but if they're offering the same products at half the price...should I make the transition over to the dark side? Which is more important: take a stand against unfair labor practices, or satisfy my wallet? What do you think about this topic?

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13 Comments

syako 3 years

...if it were so simple...

Bettye Wayne 3 years

I thought the USDA did regulate organics... http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?navid=ORGANIC_CERTIFICATIO I don't like WalMart because it's too big and too powerful. Real American small businesses can't compete with WalMart and their cheap-but-appealing Chinese junk. I just can't in good conscience give money to a corporation that has so thoroughly crushed its competition. It's great that they provide such low prices, but listen: more other businesses fail, more people shop at WalMart because it's all they can afford, so more businesses fail, so even more people shop at Wal Mart. It's a vicious cycle. From the article: "Just as Wal-Mart has driven local stores out of business across the country, it could do the same with local food vendors. This means that your regional agricultural sector could become dependent on Wal-Mart to sell its produce, which means if Wal-Mart demands to buy the same produce at a lower price, they have no choice but to say yes." That is just a recipe for disaster to me. Sometimes I think the whole financial crisis could be solved by closing WalMart.

leeluvfashion 3 years

I would go with Whole Foods however I also suggest looking up other health shops in town that are either mom & pop or small company branches. They also have some good deals on items and are often a good source of quality products. Still, look at ingredients and be aware of not buying organic GMO products; sneaky little b*stards try to scam others by hiding in smaller print the info on GMO and Non-GMO (the latter being what you want.)

pearsbeary 3 years

i agree w/ syako and pandacn...while it's commendable that you have such principles, it's important to do the research yourself before reaching conclusions about business operations based on hearsay...but i also agree w/ pandacn that a lot of times cheap doesn't necessarily mean quality...so there's probably some give and take on when to buy from what vendor

tarabara1229 3 years

I personally would never shop at either Wal-Mart or Whole Foods. You need to be really careful when buying "organic" since the term isn't regulated by the USDA. I highly doubt that WM sells legitimately organic produce, so if that's what's most important to you, shop elsewhere. If money's more important, I'd say Trader Joe's if you have them, or your local farmer's market.

danakscully64 3 years

The thing is, you can still shop cheap (price, not quality) without going to Wal-Mart. I don't have a Whole Foods near me, but there are other smaller versions of it around (Henry's, Sprouts, Sun Harvest). I plan meals around what's in season and what's on sale, that's how I save. I don't buy meat, rarely buy dairy (those 2 alone are expensive), and avoid convenience foods. I've been to Wal-Mart many times in my life, it's really not that much cheaper, if at all. I used to love Super Target, but their produce wasn't the best (same as WM). The best produce comes from WFM and many grocery stores. I don't buy organic produce personally, but I've managed to get great deals on regular stuff at Sprouts/Henry's (used to be owned by WF): 60 cents a pound for pears, cherries for 99 cents a pound, green leaf/red leaf lettuce 2/$1, celery 2/$1, asparagus at 88 cents a pound, stuff like that. Best tasting produce too. This is a little off topic (not directed at anyone here)... whenever I hear people complain about expensive produce, I just shake my head. I got a zucchini for 25 cents, regular price, 2 days ago. 2 Roma tomatoes for 29 cents, regular price. A giant bunch of kale for 89 cents (organic was even bigger and $1.29). So many people rely on prepackaged salads and already cut up fruit, of course that's going to be expensive.

bluebellknoll 3 years

If these 2 stores were my only options, I'd go to Whole Foods.

Zivanod 3 years

For those who don't have the luxury of choosing between a higher priced chain and a lower one, it's nice to see that organic produce is available at Walmart. Personally, I buy my produce at a regular grocery store.

pandacn 3 years

I would never shop at Walmart, even if they had cheap stuff, but more importantly, their things aren't even that cheap, especially when taking quality into consideration. Even if you don't shop at Whole Foods, you can get much better items for the same price or cheaper at other local grocery chains, like Kroger (or its many stores nationwide by different names).

syako 3 years

You should research Wal-Mart's labor policies and employee benefits (if you haven't already) and make a decision for yourself whether you agree or disagree with them. We've been told over and over by agenda-setters that "walmart is evil and terrible to their employees" but how many of us have actually looked into it? Anyway, point being, don't just repeat what you've heard, if you research it and are still against it morally, then you can ask whether it's OK to shop there.

Spectra 3 years

I don't have a Whole Foods even remotely close to me, so I do most of my shopping at Walmart. I think it's great that they offer organic produce and other products...it makes responsible shopping that much more accessible to people in smaller towns.

secondstar 3 years

I'll buy boxed and canned goods at Walmart since they price is right, but I've never been impressed with the quality of their produce. Our other local grocery chains offer organic produce and theirs is cheaper than Whole Foods, but still a good quality.

danakscully64 3 years

I will never be a Wal-Mart customer, no matter how cheap the stuff is.

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13 Comments