Earth Fare: A Giveaway!

If New Leaf and Fresh Market ever made eyes at each other over a plate of gluten-free brownies at an office Christmas party, Earth Fare would be their love child.  It blends the uber-healthy inventory of New Leaf with the gourmet stylings of Fresh Market and I gotta say that so far, I can actually see myself shopping there on a regular basis.

I've been to the store twice now: once for a pre-opening tour (thanks Sydney!) and once for actual shopping with my pint-sized food critic.  Each time I got the distinct feeling that Earth Fare is exactly what it says it is: a healthy supermarket.  I'm a healthy gal.  It works.

You can read about Earth Fare's food philosophy, community outreach efforts, and customer savings programs here.  In this entry, I want to focus on a few things I think make Earth Fare stand out as a winner in my eyes.

It's Busy-Mom-Friendly.  As a clean eater, a lot of time at the store is spent examining labels and lists of ingredients to make sure it deserves to be in my belly.  But I'm super-busy just like you, so eventually I get tired of that routine and just buy what I already know makes the list. That means we eat the same things all the time because I don't have a lot of time to research the variety.  Since I agree with Earth Fare's Food Philosophy, I can pretty much go in, grab stuff in a hurry, and not have to worry about reading the ingredients because they already did that.  They have a very large variety - like crazy variety - of kid-friendly stuff that you don't have to wonder about. Note - that doesn't excuse you from being informed about your food. It's just a time-saver. :)

Coupons! Healthy food can get expensive, yo. But most coupons do me no good because I don't buy that stuff.  I've already gotten so many coupons from Earth Fare on things I actually eat, like chicken, to justify heading over there tomorrow to do my shopping for the week.  If you sign up for their Health Journey you'll get coupons galore, plus follow them on Twitter @EarthFareTal or @EarthFare and keep up with their 12 Days of Christmas giveaways. Free Burt's Bees? Yes, thank you!

They say they care and I believe them. Childhood obesity is a a serious thing. These are our kids, people.  Tiny little people who eat what we give them (as long as its covered in cheese, right?) and trust us to be the stewards of their health.  Earth Fare's Itty Bitty Bites program is an initiative to help combat it, and has a weekly Family Dinner Night on which kids eat free with the purchase of an entree from their Grab and Go section. That section happens to have pizza. I happen to like it.

Okay, you get it. I like Earth Fare.  They like you, too - they gave me a $50 gift card to give away so you can try it out!  Here's how you can win it:

1. Follow this blog by clicking on "Follow this blog" at the top of this page. Existing followers are also eligible.
2. Leave a comment on this entry to let me know you're following me or want to enter the drawing.
3. "Like" Wellness Without Pity on Facebook and leave me a comment to let me know you're there or if you're already a fan, that you want to enter the drawing.

Do it all by midnight tonight and tomorrow I will announce the winner!  All followers and friends are welcome, but since this giveaway is intended to be used in my local economy, Tallahassee residents take note!

Have a wonderful day!