Live Longer with Earth Fare HEALTHY FOOD COMING TO FORT MILL If you’ve driven past Len Patterson Road lately, you may have noticed construction and a “Coming Soon” sign for Earth Fare – the newest grocery store to arrive in Fort Mill, opening this fall. Asheville, NC-based Earth Fare has been on a mission to bring healthy food to everyone for over 40 years. “For us, it’s a passion,” said Earth Fare president and CEO Frank Scorpiniti. “Healthy food improves lives, and our entire team is passionate about providing communities with better access to healthier, affordable food.”
Earth Fare offers more certified organic and non-GMO produce than any other supermarket in the industry.
A FOOD PHILOSOPHY IS BORN It’s easy to question the authenticity of terms like “healthy” and “natural” these days, but Earth Fare is the real thing. The roots of its Food Philosophy started more than 40 years ago in a tiny storefront in Asheville. The modest shop offered a simple selection of bulk foods and wellness items. It was the town’s first natural food store, and it had an ambitious mission: let people take control of their health with real food. Earth Fare grew from a storefront into a full supermarket at a time when convenience and cheap food ruled, and artificial ingredients were on the rise in the food industry. The need to better define “real food” became apparent. In 1993, Earth Fare rose to the challenge and began to define its Food Philosophy, starting with the ban of hydrogenated oils. The boldness of the Food Philosophy worked – it turned out that people didn’t want to eat fake ingredients. Over the years, the company’s philosophy continued to evolve, and now mandates that high fructose corn syrup, artificial fats and trans-fats, added hormones, artificial sweeteners, bleached or bromated flour, antibiotics, artificial preservatives, and artificial colors and flavors are all banned from the store’s food products. “Earth Fare’s Food Philosophy creates the cleanest assortment of the best tasting food compared to any other grocery retailer in North America,” said Rich Ramey, vice president of merchandising. “We are proud to provide the healthiest assortment in a convenient, full shop, friendly atmosphere. THE BOOT LIST Shopping at most grocery stores these days isn’t as simple as picking up your favorite items. With so many hard-to-pronounce, artificial ingredients on the labels, it’s easy to walk away confused. At Earth Fare, they read the labels so you don’t have to. Its list of banned items, called the “Boot List”, regulates the brand’s Food Philosophy and has grown to include over 100 ingredients, which you can find at www.earthfare.com/BootList.
