Saturday, April 5, 2014

Whole Foods in Congress Heights

Art of War Concept: Those who use the military skillfully do not raise troops twice and do not provide food three times.
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Last week I got an email about the Whole Foods Market coming to the Pavilion at the St. Elizabeths East Campus. When initially reading the email I was kinda of skeptical about the announcement. I was not sure what to expect. This past Saturday I visited the market and let me tell you I was pleasantly surprised! Whole Foods actually set up a mini store where there were plenty of fruits, vegetables, fresh fish, shrimp and other items that you would normally find at their store. And as an added bonus, the prices were competitive with the Giant and Safeway food store. Whoever idea this was really needs a pat on the back!

If you missed this Saturday, don’t worry they will be back. Make sure you stop by every 1st Saturday of the month from 12-5pm. I included some photos below to give you an idea as to how awesome it was! 

Mayor Gray is hopeful they will set up shop permanently. Lets see...


Onions!

All the veggies you need...

Green, green and more green!

Loads of veggies and fruits

You need it? They got it here!
Coconut Water anyone?

More and more fruit



Wow..oysters!

Did someone say shrimp!

Chicken, Sausage and more...

Another happy customer!

Commissioner Fuller and Watson talking with the store owner

Ms. Carter from Bellevue stopped by to stock up the frig

Mr. Morgan and Ms. Lawson sharing a good laugh!

Neighborhood kids having a good time!

Any veggie burger fans out there?

12 Year Old Lady DJ...Awesome!

They even had smoothies!

Happy Customers...

The Banks family had a great time!



8 comments:

  1. The veggie burgers were awesome, the atmosphere was outstanding and Whole Foods donated left over flowers to Petal Share!! :-))))

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  2. Hey Charles,

    Good seeing you. Great photos. We will definitely be back.

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  3. This is awesome. I'm going to tell my mom to check this out, she lives right down the street! We need more of this. I really wish we could get a Trader Joe's on our side of the river, we need something that would drive traffic over until the ppl in the neighborhood see how great these other options are and begin to frequent them. No one came to that Yes! market on Penn because it was one at Eastern Market. I hate to see great businesses close up, because despite all of the tax breaks, they aren't getting the business to stay a float i.e, yes!, Ray's the Steak. :-( . Many streets in Wards 7 & 8 have great potnetial for retail, MLK, Minnesota Ave, we need quaility retail businesses.

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  4. This is awesome news. I will be there the first of May.

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  5. I agree with Ebbie, I think a Trader Joe's would be perfect east of the river. Especially since we have plenty of smaller abandoned store fronts (i.e. the furniture store in Anacostia). I'm excited about Whole Foods Market, but wondering what will happen with the opening of other Whole Foods so close by (Navy Yard).

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  6. I work every day and can not afford to go into Whole Foods now. There are a number of low and moderate income people living in Ward 8 with no place left to go. I am afraid we need to keep this in mind as we move businesses into the area. I shop at Harris Teeter because they have really good sales, can we move them in the neighborhood, the appear to be less expense than Giant or Safeway.

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  7. I went to this event, and it was really great. I was inside doing cooking demos, and I will be there every first Saturday of the month with Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture's Mobile Market. We will also be in Ward 8 three times a week (see schedule below) The mission of Arcadia’s Mobile Market is to improve access to healthy, affordable food regardless of where you live or how much you earn. The market does this by operating regularly scheduled stops in low-income, food-insecure communities; offering high quality, locally grown, sustainably produced farm products at affordable prices; accepting all forms of payment, including food assistance benefits; doubling the purchasing power of food assistance benefits through a “Bonus Bucks” program; and providing educational resources for how to prepare the market’s offerings in nutritious, cost-effective, delicious, and easy ways. www.arcadiafood.org
    The Mobile Market will be operating from April 30th to October 30th, 2014 at the following locations:

    Mondays

    Deanwood Recreation Center
    4800 Minnesota Ave NE DC
    10:00 to 12:00pm

    Minnesota Avenue Unity Clinic
    3924 Minnesota Ave NE DC
    2:00 to 5:00pm

    Tuesdays

    South County Government Center
    8350 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, VA
    3:00 to 6:00pm

    Wednesdays

    Congress Heights Senior Wellness Center
    3500 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE DC
    9:00 to 11:00am

    Children's National Medical Center WIC Clinic
    111 Michigan Ave NW DC
    1:00 to 3:00pm

    LeDroit Park
    Corner of 3rd and Elm Streets NW DC
    5:00 to 7:00pm

    Thursdays

    St. E's East Gateway Pavilion
    2700 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE DC
    11:00 to 1:00pm

    Parkside/Kenilworth Unity Health Center
    765 Kenilworth Terrace NE DC
    3:00 to 7:00pm

    Fridays

    Providence Hospital
    1150 Varnum St NE DC
    11:00 to 2:00pm

    The Overlook at Oxon Run
    3700 9th St SE DC
    4:00 to 7:00pm

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  8. This is great news, Charles! Thanks for keeping us in the loop. I'll definitely check it out.

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