These core values and commitments are the pulse of our heart-centered, locally-owned, holistic, health & wellness market, and the very truths that separate us from other similar groceries and markets in our area:
- Product Standards: We provide a diverse selection of whole foods and products with an emphasis on local, organic, minimally-processed, sustainable, fairly traded, and health-promoting.
- Food and Product Safety: We only offer foods and products with superior safety standards, labelling and ratings. Our staff and store is Athens County Health Department code-compliant, maintaining the highest ratings at all times. Our responsibility is to be a conscientious buying agent for you rather than a selling agent for miscellaneous vendors. We care deeply about your health and well-being, especially where our products are concerned. As such, we prioritize the health and safety of our community above profitability.
- Environmental Impact: As certified members of the Rural Action Zero Waste Pledge, we are “committed to using natural resources wisely, increasing environmental consciousness, and supporting the local economy through improvement in waste reduction, reuse, recycling, and composting”. We offer hundreds of bulk items, including foods and drinks, honey, cooking oils and condiments, herbs, spices, herbal tinctures, essential oils, chemical-free household cleaners, health and beauty products, and DIY ingredients for salves, teas, tinctures, brewing, health and beauty and more. In addition, we only use compostable or fully recyclable containers and utensils in our deli and food cart. We only use full-spectrum LED lighting throughout our building, and we operate high-efficiency coolers and freezers. We also strive to support and promote conscientious vendors who operate under the same environmental goals and ethics as we do.
- Community: We are fully entwined with our community and remain so by supporting and promoting local farmers, growers, vendors and artists, participating in the Athens Farmers Market, and engaging in and creating events and opportunities for community members to work together, compassionately, to support each other. Our current Compassionate Community Projects include (but are not limited to)
- Free Delivery: in response to the Covid 19 crisis, we have been offering free delivery since March 2020, and will continue to do so for anyone who needs it.
- The Giving Tree: a Pay It Forward effort that has allowed us to provide free groceries and supplements to community members in need during the Covid-19 crisis. Funded entirely by customer “tips” for free deliveries, customer donations, and proceeds raised from the sale of masks made by the Tidd family, we have provided a channel for community members to share compassion as well as a safety net for others to receive compassion with no questions asked.
- The Little Free Library: This adorable little library sits at the corner of our lot, facing Stimson Ave. and has provided a source of joy to so many folks looking for a good read, or happy to donate their own gently read books. We welcome anyone to share, browse and borrow books at our little corner library.
