The Green Grocer

It's been a busy week in the Green Scene! First off, on Wednesday, my friend Erin introduced me to a natural foods store in Clifton Park called the Green Grocer. She hadn't been there before, since she's just recently moved here, so we decided to check it out.

The Green Grocer is a small store in a plaza off of Rt. 9 in Clifton Park. They refer to themselves as an "organic grocery store," but in my opinion, I would categorize them as a small specialty natural foods store. It contained most of the products that you would typically find in the latter: honey, some of it local, natural cereals and crackers and pastas, vitamins, frozen foods, etc. The produce section was quite small, and though they offered

organic foods, little of it, if any, was local, and that has been more my goal lately. They also had a small section of whole foods and grains by the pound, but again, nowhere near the selection of a co-op. Also, in general, prices were average to expensive, so overall, I wouldn't suggest this place to do any major household grocery shopping, maybe just as a quick stop for a natural food product. An exception to this is their offering of local meats; there were a few different kinds (chicken, pork, beef, and even buffalo...), and the prices were decent.

Also, if you're looking for a present for someone, there was a nice variety of beauty products, soaps, chocolates, etc., you know, gifty things. There was also a whole shelf of glucose-free products if you happen to be in need. But easily my favorite part was the Wall of Tea. If you don't go there for anything else (and really, you probably don't need to), you should at least go look at the wall of tea. There is a very impressive selection, including my favorite Choice brand! (Although I didn't see my favorite flavor..) Erin ended up leaving with a yummy box of tea; I held back since I had already spent my week's allotment at the co-op and farm stand.

Final recommendation: stop into the Green Grocer to try a new tea or buy some organic chocolate, but buy the majority of your groceries somewhere a little bigger and cheaper (and more local).