Great Help At Whole Foods

[wowzer]

I decided to go to Whole Foods. Even have a relative that works there. I happened to run into him and he asked if it was my first time shopping at Whole Foods. I told him yes and that I was on a gluten free diet. He took me up to the service desk and got me a list of everything that is gluten free in every department. There are so many things there, I didn't know what to get. I did get a few things to try. At least I have a list of what they have and can be more prepared next time I go.

Next I want to check out this gluten free bakery that isn't too far from where I work. Wendy

[kbabe1968]

Our Whole Foods is great too.

I haven't tried it yet, but there are signs everywhere that they will give you a sample of something if you ask. Like right under the Pamela's cookies there's a sign that says "Afraid to buy? Why not try? Ask an associate to help you".

I think my next trip, I'll be brave enough to ask!

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I just don't understand why they don't have a gluten-free aisle, where we wouldn't have to read the label on every bottle of soy sauce and every box of cereal. Would that be so hard for them????? Or am I asking too much?

[zansu]

I just don't understand why they don't have a gluten-free aisle, where we wouldn't have to read the label on every bottle of soy sauce and every box of cereal. Would that be so hard for them????? Or am I asking too much?

They do have a gluten-free section for all the "special" gluten-free things. But they don't put the frozen veggies in there even though they're gluten free So many "normal" things are gluten-free when they're not over processed that it doesn't make sense for everything that is gluten-free to be in the section. That's why Whole Foods and Trader Joes give us lists.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Our Whole Foods only has a section for all the Bob's Red Mill flours, and the gluten-free ones are all mixed up with the vital wheat gluten, spelt flour, and so forth. Gluten-free cereals are mixed in with all the other cereals in the cereal aisle; same thing with cookies and sauces. It takes forever to find anything, and the aisles are narrow and crowded, so while I'm reading labels, I'm either being bumped or growled at for holding up traffic.

Oh, hey, Zansu, I just saw you're from Pittsburgh!

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Clarification: I'm not looking for "normal" gluten-free things to be put in a special aisle. But it would be nice if the gluten-free cereals, cookies, sauces, pastas, etc, were all in an aisle together.

[sfm]

Clarification: I'm not looking for "normal" gluten-free things to be put in a special aisle. But it would be nice if the gluten-free cereals, cookies, sauces, pastas, etc, were all in an aisle together.

I agree that it would be nice if things were separated out a little more. At the Whole Foods near me, I found it pretty easy to find stuff - the frozen foods were in their own little section, but you're right, the cereal and flours were lumped together with wheat stuff.

Trader Joe's doesn't seem to separate their stuff AT ALL, and I find it annoying and time-consuming to shop there, list or no list...

Sheryll

[sewfunky]

I just don't understand why they don't have a gluten-free aisle, where we wouldn't have to read the label on every bottle of soy sauce and every box of cereal. Would that be so hard for them????? Or am I asking too much?

My whole foods has a gluten-free aisle. But Sun Harvest, which is much smaller, puts a gluten-free tag near the price next to every item in the store. It makes shopping a breeze. I just wish they carried more items.

[tarnalberry]

Clarification: I'm not looking for "normal" gluten-free things to be put in a special aisle. But it would be nice if the gluten-free cereals, cookies, sauces, pastas, etc, were all in an aisle together.

I prefer it the other way 'round. It gives more exposure to the other items, encouraging people who aren't gluten free to try the products (or making it easier to find for their gluten free friends), and simply raising awareness. It also increases our awareness to things that are naturally gluten free that are similar.

Probably one of those things where everyone has a different preference.

[Adelle]

We don't have a wild oats near us. We have a smaller store called "lifesource". When I first went gluten-free I went there, flagged someone down, and asked what I could eat. They have this nifty little thing, on their price sticker (on the shelf) it says gluten-free, CF etc. They even color code them!! It rocked!

I like it cause the gluten-free stuff is easy to identify without it being separated from "normal" foods.

[hsd1203]

my apologies for hijacking this thread, but there is a health food store near pittsburgh - sunny bridge natural foods - no I don't work for them but I do love them... they have just about everything in a nice and convenient gluten-free aisle AND they give a 10% discount on gluten-free items to celiacs! however, I did make my second trip to trader joe's tonight and after spending forever the first time, this time was a relative breeze just grabbing the gluten-free stuff as I walked up and down the aisles (rereading labels, of course:)

so the point of this post for those outside of the 'burgh was break out your yellow pages and check out your local health food stores, you never know what you might find, or what you might be able to convince them to carry for you at a discount! (There is a little store in Georgetown, TX that has a punchcard discount, and one in Dover, NH that does it on special promo days only).

[blueeyedmanda]

I just don't understand why they don't have a gluten-free aisle, where we wouldn't have to read the label on every bottle of soy sauce and every box of cereal. Would that be so hard for them????? Or am I asking too much?

That is exactly what I was thinking the first time I was ever there. I drove to Baltimore to go there and was disappointed since I could not really find anything and everything was together. I liked the baked foods. I want to try to get to a different store, maybe it will be a better place.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I prefer it the other way 'round. It gives more exposure to the other items, encouraging people who aren't gluten free to try the products (or making it easier to find for their gluten free friends), and simply raising awareness. It also increases our awareness to things that are naturally gluten free that are similar.

Probably one of those things where everyone has a different preference.

Agreed--we all have different priorities!

Right now, maybe I'm selfish, but I really couldn't care less about giving exposure to gluten-free products by "mainstreaming" them in the regular aisles--that makes it far more time-consuming for me, and as far as I can tell, nobody else pays attention to them anyway. My gluten-eating friends who have tried to cook for me have had even more trouble than I have had trying to find the right products--if they had a specific gluten-free aisle to go to, it would make things MUCH simpler.

HSD--wow, you really get around! Thanks for the tip about Sunnybridge. Mamaw has mentioned them, too. One of these days, I've got to check them out! I'mleaning more and more towards ordering on line, though (except for flours, which are cheap cheap cheap at the Asian store). The health food stores charge even more than Whole Foods. The profit they are making on this stuff is criminal.

[Looking for answers]

Clarification: I'm not looking for "normal" gluten-free things to be put in a special aisle. But it would be nice if the gluten-free cereals, cookies, sauces, pastas, etc, were all in an aisle together.

The Whole Foods in Tustin, California puts red tags on all items that are gluten free, next to the price. So as I scan up and down the aisles, I just look for the tags and can find food so simply. I wish all the stores offered this because it's second best to having dedicated aisle.