How Expensive Is Whole Foods?
While activists in New York and D.C. kvetch about Walmart invading poor neighborhoods and providing cheap goods to low-income shoppers, activists in Boston are grumbling that Whole Foods is invading middle class neighborhoods and providing expensive goods to middle-income shoppers. Boston Globe blogger Rob Anderson wonders if Whole Foods ("Whole Paycheck") is really that much more expensive than the competition:
Two points of interest: Even if Whole Foods had some more expensive individual items, price fluctuations between stores tended to average themselves out. While a Whole Foods shopper may spend extra on toilet paper, for example, he could make up for it if he also buys dish soap, which tends to be cheaper there than at other stores. And something important for Jamaica Plain residents to keep in mind: Their neighborhood Stop & Shop has some of the best deals in town. If they don't like the price of dried red beans at the new Whole Foods, they will be able to find the cheapest ones around just a short 10 minute walk away.
A comparison of grocery stores in Jamacia Plain, the site of the planned Whole Foods:
