Rainbow Grocery: my supermarket mecca

It’s official, I’m in love with Rainbow Grocery.  During my trip there the other day, I literally caught myself giggling down the chip isle and saying things to myself like, “La la la, what to buy?!”  Sounds excessive, right?  It was simply a natural reaction toward the mountains of natural and organic goodies inside Rainbow Grocery.  There are local products in big tubs and bins, organic fruits and veggies, pre-packaged meals like salads and veggie sandwiches (the quinoa salad looked especially delicious), baked goods and desserts, stationery, wine and spirits, cleaning products, body products, yoga products… you get the picture.  It was, in a nutshell, a supermarket heaven. 

Not only does Rainbow Grocery have the most enormous selection of organic goods in all of San Francisco, it involves the community in its business too.  Par example, they put on cooking demos, compost, and recycle electronics.  Part of the reason I love them so much is simply because of their mission:

• Providing affordable vegetarian food products which have minimal negative impact ecologically and socially
• Buying goods from local organic farmers, collectives, bakers, dairies and other local businesses whenever possible
• Providing our customers with the best possible service
• Providing Rainbow Grocery Cooperative's workers with a livable wage
• Creating a nonhierarchical work space based upon respect, mutuality and cooperation
• Offering low-cost health care products and resources
• Supporting other collectives and worker-owned businesses
• Supporting fair labor practices
• Donating to local non-profit organizations and schools
• Encouraging bicycling, mass transit, and alternative transportation
• Composting all in-store green wastes; recycling, reducing and reusing resources whenever possible
• Creating a diverse, non-discriminatory multilingual environment

How can you not want to support a business like this?  In my opinion, this is the optimal structure for any type of organization.

Consider yourself warned: upon visiting Rainbow Grocery, you will most likely find yourself aimlessly wandering the aisles, neglecting any list you brought with you in order to avoid aimlessly wandering the aisles.  Just roll with it. 

www.rainbowgrocery.org