Amanda C.
Yelp
This is where I normally buy groceries. I love the selection of local and organic produce, the bulk spices (which are cheaper than buying in containers at regular supermarkets), the selection of organic and/or pastured eggs and meat, dried fruit, and organic and fairtrade nuts, chocolate, and tea, gluten free whole grains, bulk molasses, natural body products, gluten free vegan desserts, etc! I have celiac disease (and am dairy intolerant) and have to get Gluten Free oatmeal, bread, etc. and they have me covered (though they don't have any organic GF bread). They have a pretty decent selection of everything I need.
There are a few items I still get at other stores (Valencia PB at Trader Joe's, more GF crackers and herbal tea varieties at conventional supermarkets, more organic/natural grocery variety at Healthy Living). And there are a few things, such as gluten free dried beans (not bulk because of cross contamination) that are not carried here, which I find frustrating. Even the special orders folks couldn't find a GF dried legume source for me. There are GF dried legumes available to buy online, so figure it must be an issue with their distributor.
Their prepared foods are great, but they don't make it easy to navigate for people with celiac disease. I tend to only eat their packaged prepared foods because there's too much risk of cross-contamination on the hot bar.
There are ingredient lists on the packaged prepared foods (though beware the sushi--the wasabi ingredients aren't listed!). There are also signs up saying the prepared foods without gluten are only "without gluten ingredients" and that the kitchen does process gluten so there's a chance of cross-contamination. This is factually true, but it's unfortunate that they don't also advertise what measures they take to avoid cross contamination so that people with food allergies can make informed decisions without having to thoroughly quiz staff.
On the hot bar they have signs noting which allergens are in each dish, which is helpful. It still doesn't work for celiacs though because GF dishes are next to gluten-containing ones. If they clustered the gluten containing dishes together it would go a long way.
I do eat the packaged potato salads, chicken salads, chili, etc because I have asked questions of the kitchen staff about how careful they are about preventing cross-contamination and it sounds careful enough to me. It's good to doublecheck periodically though, since there is staff turnover.
During COVID they've had good precautions (limiting the number of people in the store, sanitizing every cart and basket before people use them, directional signs on the floor, mask use enforced, hand sanitizer available, etc.). It's still a bit crowded in the checkout area, but they have now painted arrows and spots 6 ft apart on the floor to help guide people on how to distance there.
Another plus to City Market is that the workers are unionized, unlike the other grocery stores in our area. I know several folks who work or have worker here and have been active in the union. Workers have won (and held on to) good affordable health insurance, and have a step system for raises tied to length of service, as well as some other benefits, and they also have just cause protections, and more voice on the job than staff at other grocery stores.
Unfortunately management here seems to be often on par for crappy behavior with management at other places. I could list many examples. A big one is that workers have consistently pushed for livable wages and have been met with management arguing that their wages are already livable (despite being well below the livable wage rates published for VT, even if you include health insu, etc). It's frustrating that with all the good City Market does, that paying livable wages isn't a policy or a priority.
It does do a lot to help make food affordable (for example with the food for all program which gives folks 10% off if you're low income (for example if you have food stamps)), and to support the local sustainable food system and community with grants and assistance for farms & small businesses to be able to sell their products in the stores, etc. They also support renewable energy (solar on their roof), and have beautiful gardens which go a long way toward beautifying and providing habitat for birds and insects in this little area of the city.
I like supporting this co-op grocery store much better than supporting anti-union Hannaford, and the other corporate chain stores in the area, and I absolutely support the City Market workers in their organizing for good and dignified pay, benefits, and working conditions.
