Shopping in Friendly City

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By Steve Cooke, General Manager

Friendly City is not like any other place that you have shopped. We get that! In fact, it was always our intention to create a whole new way to run a grocery store, from the way the store looks to the way our team members interact with you, our community, to the relationships we have with our local vendors, and ultimately to the way we plan to create a new local food distribution system here in the Valley.

 

Buy in season:

  • If we have a lot of something (apples, winter squash, peaches, watermelons,) it’s likely in season here in the Valley, and you can get the best bargains on these items. They’re also at the peak of their best flavor and nutritional value. Get a bunch and chop it up and freeze it, can some, make pickles, jams, jellies, or soups and preserve it for another time when that fruit or vegetable is not available.

Look for Local

  • We all want to support our local economy, and if you see our Local tag on any product, you know that your dollars will stay here in the area, circulating between the farmers, bakers, jelly makers, ranchers, and your Friendly City Co-op team, not to mention generating tax revenues, and keeping our local economy strong.
  • Local products are all over the store, not just in the produce department! We have local maple syrup, wheat berries, canola oil, pancake mix, salsas, potato chips, deli salads, muffins, pound cakes, and even popcorn.

Check out the Co+op Deals!

  • Every few weeks, we change out the products we have on sale, and they are featured in our Co+op Deals flier, end cap displays, and in the aisles, coolers, and freezers. Often you can find organic items at comparable prices to conventional items when they are on sale, and you can stock up. As part of the National Co-op Grocers, we have joined forces with 150 other co-ops around the U.S. to get the best pricing on these items, so we can pass along the savings to our local communities.
  • We also have coupon books offering even more savings on many new and unique products around the co-op. Usually, during the two-month coupon cycle, items will also be featured as a Co-op Deal and you can find deep savings by combining the sale with the coupon.
  • We also get special deals just for our co-op shoppers that will only be on sale here in Friendly City.

Co+op Basics Stretch your Grocery Budget 

We have a new program that features staples items like pasta, tomato sauce, tuna fish, paper towels, cleaning products, toothpaste, chicken and beef broth, canned beans, veggies and fruit, plus crackers, milk and frozen foods – all for considerably less than many of our other brands. So, you and your family can eat well and stay within your budget each month.

We want to Bulk you up!

  • Our bulk department has over 30 linear feet of grains, beans, granolas, nuts, dried fruit, snacks, coffee, tea, culinary and medicinal herbs. You are empowered to get as much or as little as you like, and pay less due to the fact that there is no printed packaging and no marketing budget to support with the manufacturers. Bulk is the greenest way to shop, and if you re-use your bags, or bring in your own containers and get our cashiers to weigh them for you before you fill them, you earn serious green points.

Clean 15

  • These fruits and vegetables were deemed the least contaminated with pesticide residues*,  so you can purchase them worry free:
    Onions
    Sweet corn
    Pineapples
    Avocado
    Asparagus
    Sweet peas
    Mangoes
    Eggplant
    Cantaloupe
    Kiwi fruit
    Cabbage
    Watermelon
    Sweet potatoes
    Grapefruit
    Mushrooms

*list based on Environmental Working Group’s latest research

Meat up

  • The whole right side of our meat case contains meat from local farms – beef, pork, and lamb. The beef is mostly grass fed and grain finished.
  • Look for whole chickens from Shenandoah Valley Organics raised right here in Rockingham County – super fresh, delicious and nutritious. Also look for Red Wheelbarrow branded chicken parts raised here and processed over on Liberty Street in Harrisonburg.
  • To the left of the meat case in the freezer, you’ll find a large selection of products from the famous Polyface Farms – beef, sausages, uncured hot dogs, etc.. This farm was featured in Michael Pollan’s book Omnivore’s Dilemma, which helped promote the local food revolution.

Start where you are…

Jump in where you feel most comfortable

  • get a sandwich or salad for lunch
  • Pick up some local apples or cider for your party
  • Try the Homestead Creamery milk in the glass bottles – the creamline style still has the cream on top, and it tastes like milk is supposed to taste
  • Grill one of our grass fed steaks – your family will taste the difference
  • Check out our Friendly City line of supplements and vitamins

Co-ops – Stronger Together – when you’re ready to check out, our cashiers will ask if you are an owner of the co-op. There’s no pressure. We just want everyone to know that you can be a part of this new and improved way of doing business. Ask for a membership packet if you’re interested, and join with us when you are ready.