Natural Grocers in OKC

March 11, 2015Katie

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 “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”  ~Hippocrates


Recently I was fortunate to be invited to a get together to learn about Natural Grocers that opened in Oklahoma City on May Avenue (7013 N. May Avenue).  Mr. Wonderful and I attended and our meeting was held in the community room that houses a demo kitchen and setup of chairs for classes.

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This was also a chance to get that precious time spent with some of my favorite Oklahoma bloggers  that I already know, but also see  some faces for the first time in real life that I’ve only known through social media outlets and through the Oklahoma Women Bloggers site connection.

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(From left to right –  Me, Dee, Marie, Rose, Mari, Jen, Mae, Stephanie, & Ashley

I am a fan of all the great healthy grocery stores going making appearances in OKC. I just wish one of them would open up closer to me! I have to drive clear across town to get to Sprouts, Whole Foods or now, Natural Grocers. Why they all opened up within a half mile of each other is beyond me!

Speaking of other stores, what I really like about this store is that their philosophy can be summed up pretty simply – “Sharing Nutrition”.  I believe that what sets Natural Grocers apart from other stores is their desire to get food facts in every consumer’s hands.  At the previously mentioned Community Room, they have all sorts of interesting nutrition classes that range from classes on Gluten Free eating to Detoxing the Home. You can view the May location of Natural Grocers classes on their events page located by clicking here.  Also located on this page are some past recorded events that you can view for free as video.

Natural Grocers also believes in making the healthy eating lifestyle affordable to the average Joe.  I appreciate the fact that they sell bulk quantities of things like almond flour, coconut flour and raw nuts.

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These are prepackaged in bags so you don’t have to mess with bins (that everyone’s had their hands in!) and their brand products are WAY less expensive than most I’ve seen in some brand name products.

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A blurb from Natural Grocer’s website will tell you more:

Founded in Colorado by Margaret & Philip Isely in 1955, Natural Grocers was built on the premise that consumers should have access to affordable, high-quality foods and dietary supplements, along with nutrition knowledge to help them support their own health. The family-run store has since grown into a successful national chain with locations across Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas,Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming and employs over 2000 people.  Although the company went public in July 2012, Isely family members continue to manage the company day-to-day, building on the foundation of their parents’ business. Natural Grocers’ popularity and success can be traced back to its founding principles: dedication to providing science based nutrition education, exceptional customer service, the highest quality natural and organic products at affordable prices, supporting their communities and providing great jobs with excellent benefits and a living wage to their employees.

Another thing I love about Natural Grocers is that their entire produce section is Certified Organic 100%. This takes any guess-work out of searching for the organic section of broccoli, etc. Sometimes that drives me crazy at other stores.The produce is also promised to have no artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, preservatives or hydrogenated oils.

I like my vegetables to be vegetables, and preferably pesticide free so I appreciate this.

One thing I should note here is that when you head to the check-out line, you need to BYOB.

Bring your own bags or Natural Grocers will supply you with packing boxes, much like at Sam’s Club.

Perhaps the best thing I love about the store is that they supply you with an on-site Nutritional Health Coach.

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Here is Jessica (on the right), one of the coaches at the May location, talking to Marie from The (not always) Lazy W. Hi Marie! Hi Jessica!

I have been in several times, and anytime I need a question answered I go ask Jessica. Like “Hey Jessica, what is the best gluten-free pasta you’ve found?” or what is the best gluten-free flour you’ve found to cook with and Jessica is a wealth of information. And you know what my bill is for the information?

Nada.

She is there for free to answer your questions. You can even set up appointments with her. That’s not all that is done generously at Natural Grocers. That room that we were in? It’s available to the community for free if it’s not being used by the store for classes. And, something else that speaks volumes to me, is the way they treat their employees. Each employee gets one in-store-buck put on a charge card to be used to buy groceries for each hour they work each week. That’s how strongly they feel about their employees being able to eat healthy food and become healthier folk.  I mean, you tell me a company treats their employees good and I want to shop there just because.

A few sites you’ll see at the store:

organic produce natural grocers

A beautiful organic produce section.

Bulk spices natural grocers

A huge bulk aisle of their own line of spices, grains, legumes and more.

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Oh yes, and don’t forget they are VERY inexpensive for their size.

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Truly healthy protein and energy bars.

Raw nuts and trail mixes. We adore the tropical trail mix.

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A lineup of Amy’s Burritos. My son could live on these.  Need I say more?

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Vitamins, supplements galore abound.

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And there’s much, much more!

I love that they are now a part of our community as I believe our community is a better place with Natural Grocers in it!

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Natural Grocers
7013 N. May Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK
405-840-0300
Website

3 Comments

  • Pam Koper

    March 11, 2015 at 3:05 pm

    A Natural Grocer would be perfect in the empty BFL on NW Highway/Council.
  • Katie

    March 11, 2015 at 4:08 pm

    Pam Koper - I AGREE! Wouldn't that be fabulous?
  • Desmond Dellamora

    December 1, 2015 at 12:06 am

    New to your blog. Stumbled upon it browsing the web. Keep up the great work. I am hoping you update it regularly.

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