Calgary

Natural Food Stores

AMARANTH WHOLE FOODS MARKET

Upon pulling into the parking lot where Amaranth is situated, one can sense the validity to their Mission Statement: “Amaranth Whole Foods Market is dedicated to promoting healthy foods, nutritional awareness and environmental responsibility through our products sold and services provided.” The building has an open and earthy design to it, with clean lines that impart an almost chalet-like feel to its rustic rural look. Sharing the parking is a wellness clinic, so there isn’t any need to stray far from Amaranth for holistic council. Along with the Mission Statement are a number of Value Statements, to further detail their commitment to both the consumer, and their store.

Amaranth first opened its doors in September, 1995; it is owned by Ken Klatt, the person responsible for transforming his vision into a reality. To that end he has surrounded himself with people who share his commitment to his clientele, to the environment, and to health.

Amaranth is not a store that sells only foods; like most stores of this genre, there is an extensive selection of health supplements, cleansers, personal hygiene products, as well as gift items, such as candles, rocks, lamps, and more. As well, there is a selection of specialized pet foods-cat and dog, along with an extensive book section.

Entering the foods section, one sees a well stocked and organized selection of products and produce. The emphasis is on providing organic goods, both in the fresh produce section and in the packaged foods. The aim is to have GMO-free goods; the majority of their foods are also vegetarian, as it happens, other than a freezer of “organic” meats and some items that either contain chicken, or, in the case of broths, are meat-based. Probably 80% of their selection is vegetarian.

Paul Caddel, the groceries manager, himself a vegetarian, has been with Amaranth for five years, and assured me of the commitment they have to good healthy foods. While they didn’t set out to focus their attention on vegetarian fare, it was inevitable that they have such an extensive selection. The focus being healthy, they provide foods that cater to those with specialized dietary needs, such as celiacs, who cannot digest gluten, and those who have wheat allergies. Here one will find a gluten free bulk bin area, with information available to make shopping easy and safe. And for those who have food allergies, there are both products, and information to help them. Special orders for hard-to-find products can be made as well, with the assistance of knowledgeable staff. The veg aspect, while seemingly incidental, says much as to healthy living options.

Bulk foods are available for the general shopper as well, with a very good selection of grains and rices, dried beans and whole grain flours. Amaranth sells freshly baked breads from local bakeries, with the emphasis being on organic grains and specialty breads.

One unique characteristic about Amaranth that Paul pointed out to me, is that their item tags will indicate whether they contain dairy products. Also, printouts regarding whether items are vegetarian or contain dairy are available, per department.

When walking through the Supplements and Body Care sections, one is immediately drawn to the fact that these products are integral to maintaining a holistic approach to these aspects of daily life; chemical free shampoos, fluoride free dental products, aluminum free deodorants, and so on. The same applies to the alternative supplements and vitamins, which are naturally derived, with a variety of herbal tinctures and cleansing kits available.

The book section at Amaranth is geared to providing information on virtually every aspect of a holistic lifestyle choice as well as books on a variety of special needs diets. I saw a number of excellent books on vegetarianism, from beginner’s guides, to collections of recipes, and more. Added to this is the fact that Amaranth provides pamphlets of their own, filled with information on topics such as “Your Skin”, “Osteoporosis”, “Fibromyalgia”, “Supplements”, and more.

Amaranth has been very successful in its twelve years of existence, so much so that there has been ongoing discussions on the opening of a new, second location in the south side of Calgary. It can only further benefit Calgarians, and vegetarians too!

COMMUNITY NATURAL FOODS

Community

Community Natural Foods had its start in 1977, before having an actual store; the first store eventually opening on 11th Avenue, above the Keg Restaurant. Eventually they wound up moving to an old lighting store site before finally building a permanent location on 10th Avenue, to which they added a second location in 2000, across from the Chinook LRT Station.

From the beginning the idea was to provide Calgary with a good, consistent source of healthy foods including organic produce. There were other natural food stores at the time, but Community was able to thrive at a time when others weren’t, in fact expanding as other ones shut their doors. Clearly there was a need for such a store in this growing city.

While there are no strictly vegetarian natural food stores in Calgary, Community does have as its major base, vegetarian and vegan foods, with a fairly small freezer section of meats and such. Virtually all else here is vegetarian, including the Sunflower Café, located within the downtown store. As well, the focus at Community is to provide organic foods, as produce-vegetables, fruit and herbs, as well as with many of the bulk dry foods such as the flours and grains, breads, and frozen and packaged foods too. They also promote the local growers and producers, selling many of the ‘fruit of the local land’, thus assuring the customer of fresh produce. For those who choose to grow their own foods, they sell Heritage Seeds, which are organic seeds of a variety of vegetables and fruit, as well as herbs. Purified water is also sold here.

For the vegetarian there is a good selection of meat alternates by a range of companies such as Yves, Amy’s and Turtle Island’s Tofurky products, to name a few. They also sell different flavors and kinds of tofu along with tempeh, non-dairy cheeses, veggie pates, etc. Sunflower Café makes a variety of take-away dishes and items daily such as samosas and falafel, as well as a variety of dips and sandwiches too.

There is a large section for personal hygiene products as well as vitamin supplements and tinctures, including aromatherapy and other natural health treatments and products. A good selection of magazines and books is available, along with gifts that reflect their ecological stance.

Throughout the year Community offers a series of lectures, demonstrations, workshops and classes on wellness as well as vegetarian cooking. For more information please contact Community. Community Natural Foods is an ideal stop for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike; they cater to the customer who wants a healthy choice in their diet.

PLANET ORGANIC MARKET

Plant Organic Calgary has seen the success of the company reflected in its own expansion, with the opening up of its northwest location in October 2006. Planet Organic has been moving forward since it first came into existence, with a variety of acquisitions and store openings, including its move into the eastern markets of Canada.

In Calgary Planet Organic has been able to grow as well, partially through corporate strategies, but also through its commitment to source as much as possible local and organic producers and farmers. Calgary’s stores provide Hotchkiss Farms a solid and reliable point of sale for their tomatoes, arugula and herbs, and both Edmonton and Calgary’s stores supply Highwood Crossing Organic Farm’s cold-press oils and their milled cereals, grains and flours.

Planet Organic is not strictly vegetarian per se, but as with the other natural foods retail outlets the majority of the foods and items sold here to tend to favour the vegetarian lifestyle. This is noticeable in the amount of veggie fare both sold and produced in-store for the health conscious and the ethical consumer, along with the non-food items available, as they tend to have good environmental and ethical standards including being cruelty free, without chemicals and other somewhat suspect ingredients.

Guest speakers are invited to offer discussions on a number of issues, such as health, organic foods over non-organic, and so on. As well, throughout the year cooking classes are conducted, most of them tend to be vegetarian in scope. There are other events and seminars taking place per store, along with in-store tastings and more. They have annual barbeques held here, as well as the Annual Stampede cook-off, always to great success, serving veggie hotdogs and more.

There is a kitchen and bakery located at the south store that bakes and cooks foods for both locations, including vegan cookies and baked goods, as well as a variety of breads and buns. One of the features here is with baked vegetarian cakes and vegan desserts, so feel free to check them out and to inquire about them. The kitchen prepares salads and cooked items such as Samosas, Pakora and a variety of foods ready-to-go, such as savory soups, many of them vegetarian, Vegetarian Lasagna and their Vegan Eggless Salad Sandwiches, to name but a few. There are also a variety of dips and sauces available at the deli counter, such as Hummus and some Vegetable Dips, both vegan and vegetarian. Check either at the counter or on the ingredients list.

The canned and dry goods sections also have an abundance of vegetarian options, with canned foods that are from smaller companies that are dedicated to providing organic foods. A good cross section of dried goods and bulk items reflect this too. Produce is predominantly organic and locally sourced as is possible. Obviously seasonal variances dictate the availability of produce, but the commitment to seek out the best they can is a mantra of Planet Organic.

They have a very good selection of dairy alternatives, including both soy cheeses and organic dairy items, along with frozen soy and rice desserts. The supplements and personal care section has a very good selection of veg-friendly products, specifically cruelty free products, including supplements that are not animal sourced, including veg-cap pills and more. If in doubt check with an employee there for the safe lines.

Planet Organic is a well-run company and, in trying to provide consistency for the consumer so they can feel both comfortable and satisfied with shopping here, they are motivated to make their stores as user friendly as possible, with well-informed and helpful staff, information pamphlets and a clean and open concept to their stores.

SUNNYSIDE MARKET

Way back, in the distant past of Calgary, mid 80’s in fact, there was a store that opened up, called the Eco-Shop, that specialized in providing environmentally friendly products such as bulk cleaners and personal care products, recycled paper, energy efficient lighting alternatives and more. It was owned by Scott Clements who eventually relocated this tiny shop to the Sunnyside area of Calgary, amidst the socially progressive climate there. The business grew as did his interests in environmental issues, including the sources of foods, organic and gmo-free. As his store expanded so did his vision, leading to a name change and a commitment to altering the focus to a great extent, by incorporating a food market into the mix, still retaining the ideology of being an environmentally principled store. All this took place in 1997, with an expanded store front, a section that sold locally grown produce, with a decided bent towards organics, a frozen foods section as well canned and bulk foods. Even though he was situated directly across from a large grocery store he believed that he could succeed by offering an alternative to the mainstream products. In 2005, Scott, wanting to pursue other interests, sold his business to Patty Nowlin and her husband Pat Guyn, both longtime customers of the Sunnyside Market. They have maintained the integrity of the Sunnyside Market’s mission of providing environmentally sound products, including predominantly locally sourced produce.

Sunnyside Market is unique in many ways, to other ‘natural foods’ stores, in that the focus has always been one of environmental integrity coupled with community involvement. All that has issued forth from that perspective has echoed that. Sunnyside works with local farmers to ensure they have a place from which they can sell their produce; staff have even gone and assisted one farm when help was needed to weed there. Twice a week Sunnyside donates food to Food Not Bombs, who prepare vegan foods and serve it to the Calgary homeless downtown. They are also a member of the Calgary Dollars community, and accept Calgary Dollars in part payment for purchases made there. In the past they have donated vegetarian fare to certain Stampede Breakfasts and functions that share their ideology, believing fervently that change and principle need to start at a local level in order to effect a lasting change.

Sunnyside Market has a very good selection of produce, preferring when possible to market organic, when possible. Overall organic produce probably comprises 90% of their lines, always dependent on availability and seasonal constraints. At times they will bring in a large quantity of pesticide and chemical free vegetables and fruit, such as peppers or raspberries even though they may not be certified organic.

From a store that built its name around environmentally friendly dry goods, Sunnyside has made inroads the vegetarian and vegan will appreciate, with a vast array of both styles of foods and food lines, from Amy’s Organic frozen foods and Earth Island vegan cheeses, to a full line of Tofurky products, including their deli slices, sausages and of course, the Tofurky. They also carry other lines of frozen foods such as the Ground Round, along with a selection of frozen desserts from Soy Good, among others. As well, they carry a large line of bulk foods as well as tinned, many of them from alternative companies that specialize in organic foods. Bulk products range from a variety of flours, and mixes, such as cereal grains and beans, to herbs and other foods.

Of course, one of the mainstays of Sunnyside since its days as the Eco-Shop, has been the bulk cleansers, such as detergents and soaps, so people can bring their containers in and fill them as they need. Another of the original products line carried from the Eco-Shop days, the eco-friendly paper products is being phased out due to the existence around the corner of a paper and stationary store; the idea being to promote good business relations rather dividing a market into two retail outlets. Of course this does mean there is thus more space to increase lines in other sections….

Sunnyside Market does still have an excellent selection of magazines that are geared to vegetarians and environmentalists, along with a good cross-section of books, so as to be able to feed not just the body, but also nourish the mind. As well, they will special-order for customers whatever it is that they do not carry that is available to them for ordering, so people can feel comfortable that the service end of the Sunnyside Market is on par with their selection and their mandate of being a community oriented business. They will even work with small businesses such as boutique restaurants to cost-share on shipping costs when orders are less than minimums required. In other words, Patty and Pat along with the rest of the staff go out of their way to keep their patrons happy, often going well beyond the expected.

WHOLE VEGETARIAN FOOD INC.

Whole Vegetarian Foods Inc.

I discovered Whole Vegetarian Food quite by accident, proving the need for a listing of vegetarian friendly businesses, when i went and parked in a different plocation than normal, for a meal at the White Oak. It opened in the late Spring of 2009 roughly three months before I came upon it, and it is a most amazing store, specialising in asian style vegetarian foods. It is a small location, but it is filled with freezers and shelves of foods, frozen, canned and also in bulk, along with a variety of drinks and snacks, various health drinks and teas, and so much more.

Two people run this place, May throughout the week, and Candy, the weekend shopkeeper. I spoke with Candy, who is vegetarian herself, discovering that this store is part of a chain, with one in Edmonton, as well as the four in British Columbia; the head office is in Richmond. Many of the foods sold here are imported directly by Whole Food, and packaged by them to, for distribution here.

While these stores are absolutely vegetarian, they are not entirely vegan, so one needs to read labels here, since many of the foods here do contain whey powder. Having said that, there is a large selection of vegan fare too; I bought some vegetarian drumsticks, Veggie Crispy Oyster-a new favourite, some Vegetarian Citrus Ribs, among other items.

One can easily get lost in the freezers and shelves, the selection is that amazing; vegetarians seeking more ethnic options in their groceries will certainly appreciate the opportunity this store now affords them for asian foods. Many of them are the sources for dishes to be found in the restaurants in town, all combined into one location. For more information on the selection carried, as well as Whole Vegetarian Food Inc, go to their website.