Well, I thought I'd found a gem the other night. I visited my son in Toledo and you can really tell he loves his mother, since he suggested we visit and just "look around". I mean really, a twenty year old that will peruse a grocery store, let alone with his mom. Anyway, this post was going to be about how I loved the store and found truffle butter, but instead, its about why not to shop there.
First, the store promotes Hereford beef, but there was no literature in the store about the beef, so I went online to check it out and see if The Fresh Market talked about their beef policies and practices. Was the beef grass, grain or corn feed? Were the cows treated humanely and what safety practices are in place? None of that was there. Just some marketing stuff about genetics. So, I thought I'll shoot them an email. Went to the Contact Us page, no email address. Went to About Us page, no email. There is a phone number, if you want to call them. Nice, I don't think so.
I rarely buy hamburger, and after seeing the segment from the New York Times on eColi and hamburger production from Cargill, I want to know more about where the meat I buy comes from and how it was produced.
No where on The Fresh Market site is there a place to comment or ask a question. Nice safe corporate marketing stuff. So here's the message to The Fresh Market, engage me, be transparent and get with the 21st century if you want my dollars.
For now I'm sticking with Whole Foods. They know how to be real.
