Take A Sneak Peek At Wall's New Whole Foods

WALL, NJ -- For the fans who've been eagerly anticipating and counting down the days, the newest Whole Foods at the Jersey Shore is almost open.

On Monday, while workers stacked bell peppers symmetrically on shelves and added decals reading "WALL NJ" to the sliding glass front doors, Whole Foods officials gave a sneak peek at what the store and the company have to offer to the community.

In a word: plenty.

"We celebrate food here," said Michael Sinatra, public relations and public affairs manager for Whole Foods Market's Northeast region. From fresh produce to fresh pizza, from specialty cuts of meat to special-order baked goods, the new store has offerings for the casual consumer as well as the committed organic foods shopper.

But it's not just about organic foods; there's a heavy emphasis on sustainable practices, humane practices and local sourcing, Sinatra said.

And it's about being connected to the community. The 39,000-square-foot store employs about 200 people, he said. Of those, 50 were brought in from other stores, including the ones in Middletown and Marlboro, but 150 people were hired to do everything from making pizza in the store's wood-fired stove to stocking vegetables neatly in symmetrical rows.

"That's done every day," Sinatra said, surveying pyramids of apples and oranges in the produce department, "not just for opening day."

Whole Foods buys as much of its produce as possible from local farms in season. The company buys eggs and dairy products that are produced meeting certain animal welfare standards, staying as local as possible.

And the company seeks to make sure as little as possible is thrown away, partnering with food pantries and other local organizations to ensure foods -- even its prepared offerings -- go to the needy instead of in the trash.

When produce passes its peak for customer sale, it is taken to the "composed food" department -- also known as prepared foods -- where it is put to use in ready-to-eat meals, Sinatra said.

"We even have farms that come and pick up the scraps" from making those prepared meals to feed to their animals, said Lauren Fette, who handles local outreach.

The Wall store has partnered with Allaire Community Farm in Wall; Visitation Relief Center in Brick and the Jersey Shore Dream Center, a mobile food bank that provides assistance to needy families who are displaced and living in motels or other temporary quarters, as well as other organizations, Fette said, to make the most of its food goods.

"The goal is zero waste," Sinatra said, adding that it's a message taken to heart by all of the store's employees; Sinatra said they can make sure food gets distributed without having to get corporate approval to do so.

The local connection has brought in Asian pears that grown at a farm off Route 195 as well as fish such as black sea bass and monkfish that are purchased from commercial fishing boats in Point Pleasant Beach and Barnegat Light, which helps the local economy.

Other seafood, such as cod, comes from Gloucester, Mass., he said; in each case the company doesn't just pick through the catch but buys a boat's entire catch, which Sinatra said leads to less waste and is better for the local economy there. The fish are shipped in whole, which he said helps prevent issues of lesser kinds of fish being passed off as something they're not.

Sinatra said the company is very particular about the species of fish it carries, relying on advice from the Marine Stewardship Council and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch to avoid species that those organizations say are fished unsustainably.

So while you'll find North American longline-caught swordfish and black sea bass on ice in the store, you won't find Atlantic yellowfin tuna, most likely. And don't expect to see live lobsters for sale in the store, he said.

"Lobsters piled on each other in a tank goes against our (company) beliefs" about how the animals should be treated, Sinatra said.

Animal welfare concerns drive how the company rates its meat offerings, but Sinatra said treating animals that are being raised for food humanely leads to better quality meat as well. The store has a "meat room," where customers can watch as butchers carve meat into various cuts. They also will be able to request speciality cuts, which are particularly popular at the holidays, Sinatra said.

They've also created an all-natural pork roll -- one without nitrates or nitrites -- because they know how popular the meat is here in New Jersey.

"Every department emulates an artisanal shop," he said, from the meat and seafood departments, to a grind-your-own nut butter station, to the coffee counter, to its Italian foods shop equipped with a wood-fired pizza oven where customers can get a cooked meal or a sandwich they can eat in an airy dining area that has free wifi available for those who want to work through lunch.

Produce and seafood aren't the only locally sourced products, Sinatra said; the Wall store also is carrying a tomato sauce that has been jarred for the first time by a New York City company; sea salt produced in Cape May and pasta produced in South Jersey.

There's beauty products, including Realife soaps, which are produced in Brielle. All of the products Whole Foods carries meet strict standards, Sinatra said.

And while those standards -- organic, sustainably produced and local as much as possible -- mean that prices are higher than some people are used to paying, Sinatra said that is a reflection of the fact that organic foods cost more to produce.

That doesn't mean there aren't ways to save money, he said.

"If you shop the sales and use digital coupons" that Whole Foods has begun to offer, he said, "there's great values to be found."

"We often encourage customers to buy in bulk," Sinatra said. And buying in season results in lower prices for produce.

He said another thing people often overlook is buying frozen vegetables.

"They're picked and frozen at the peak of freshness," he said, making them full of flavor and nutrients.

Also helpful in addressing the cost issue is Whole Foods' store brand, 365 Everyday, which he said meets the same standards as the other brands it carries.

"There is a certain perception" of Whole Foods being too expensive, Sinatra said, "and we are working to change that."

The grand opening Wednesday is scheduled for 9 a.m. and Wall Township Mayor Ann Marie Conte and other officials expected to be in attendance. Whole Foods will be donating 5 percent of the day's proceeds to Allaire Community Farm, and on its Facebook page, announced a $10 coupon promotion.

Check out the video about the donation to Allaire Community Farm below.

(Photos by Karen Wall)