The Friendly City Food Co-op is a new grocery store coming soon to
downtown Harrisonburg. What’s the big connection between where you buy your groceries and health and wellness? The answer lies in both the care that FCFC will take as it stocks it’s shelves and also on what we represent to the community.
What’s on our shelves? What’s in our food? The Friendly City Food Coop will carry fresh local products. Local products have been shown to have a higher vitamin and mineral count. We will emphasize organic products, shown to carry less pesticides and pesticide residues and higher nutritional content. Our national brands focus on whole grains, limited additives and preservatives, and a variety of allergy-safe foods. Nearly every day more is disclosed to the public about the effects on our health and wellbeing of trans-fats, dyes, artificial sweeteners and other ingestibles made in a lab that are replacing food from the natural world in many of today’s products. Steering away from these and towards whole food is a sure boost for nutrition. In addition, natural health and beauty products such as shampoo and natural household cleaners help us avoid chronic exposure to toxins in our homes.
Friendly City Food Co-op will be a health-food store in our community. As such we will become a hub for people looking for alternative health practitioners, current information about GMOs and food safety, support for special diets and natural supplements and more. FCFC will engage in education through an informed staff, written materials and community events.
And lets’ not forget laughter, the best medicine of all. Livable wages, an emphasis on community and a pleasant atmosphere mean that the co-op staff will be well cared for and will make FCFC an uplifting place. Everyone is welcome at Friendly City Food Coop, and the health of each person who enters informs our practices and products from the top down.
Deb Rhizal is a contributing blogger to www.HarrisonburgSummits.com
