Kroger seeks suggestions for healthy section

For those of you who shop for groceries at the Kroger grocery store on State Street in Athens, you will no doubt have noticed that the store has been undergoing extensive remodeling over the past several months. If you shop late at night like me, you may have been treated to an orchestra of jackhammers.

However, when it is finished, one of the new features of the store will be an expanded "Natural Foods/Organic" section, where vegetarians and vegans find many of their food choices. Yesterday I noticed a sign asking for suggestions from its customers as to what to carry in this larger area. I was told that suggestions could be submitted on any piece of paper.

Now, while I am indeed a fan of The Farmacy, I often regret the fact that I have to make two stops to shop (three, if I make it to the Farmer's Market that week!)

Kroger does not carry all the healthy products I desire, while The Farmacy has some specialty products but is simply not big enough to carry everything I need -- especially a larger variety of produce. For those of us who have visited a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's, you may have also dreamt of having similar types of options.

I don't expect Kroger to turn into a vegetarian/vegan paradise overnight. They may be hesitant to carry such a variety unless they see a financial return. But who knows? Perhaps all they need is a little input to make healthy grocery shopping in the area a bit better and make some money while they are at it.

For example, as mentioned in my previous entry, I would love to see Field Roast Grain Meats. Even a more established brand like www.tofurky.com/ (more mock meats) would be great. In my previous life in Illinois, I was a huge fan of Natural Ovens breads, bagels and cookies and really miss them. I'm still enjoying a package of delicious whole grain oatmeal raisin cookies I bought during a holiday visit.

I'll be making my list this week, and I encourage others to do the same. While I'm at it, I'll make a copy for The Farmacy, too. Knowing the nice people there, I'm sure they would not mind suggestions to better serve their clientele.