Revolutionary Grocery Store Offers Healthy Options For The Same Price As Fast-Food


Healthy eating can be expensive. This is nothing new. Waltz into a Whole Foods store and compare the prices to Walmart’s or even a McDonald’s drive-thru.

It kind of sucks and low-income families are well aware of this. Which is why the efforts of Trader Joe’s former president, Doug Rauch, are worth talking about.

When Rauch was made aware of the fact that nearly 40% of the food produced in the U.S. is thrown away, he knew an innovative solution was needed. So, he founded the Daily Table in Dorchester, Boston to offer healthy food to consumers at an affordable price.  As TIME reports, “Tons of items are under $1”. 

Founded on June 4, 2015, the Daily Table is reducing food waste while helping residents in the area eat healthier.

Credit: Jonathan Wiggs / The Boston Globe
Credit: Jonathan Wiggs / The Boston Globe

At the innovative grocery store, you can purchase a dozen of eggs for $1.29, cereal for $0.70 and tuna for $0.55.

According to the Daily Table’s website, their prices are low enough to compete with fast-food. They have put out “grab-n-go” options for those with limited time.

The answer here isn’t a full stomach, the answer has to be a healthy meal,” said Rauch.

Credit: Jonathan Wiggs / The Boston Globe
Founder of The Daily Table, Doug Rauch Credit: Jonathan Wiggs / The Boston Globe

How is this possible? 

Rauch told Fast Coexist that the prices are afforded by working a deal with vendors to purchase food that might ordinarily get thrown out for arbitrary reasons. As you might expect, this allows the store to obtain perfectly safe and nutritious food at dramatically reduced prices or even for free.

As TIME reported in 2013, ‘use by’ dates just indicate when a product has reached its “peak,” but don’t necessarily mean the food has spoiled at that time. This is especially the case for packaged goods which don’t require refrigeration. Unfortunately, the majority of the population is unaware of this truth, which is why nearly 40% of food in the United States is wasted, and 1.3 billion tons of food (or about a third of all food produced in the world) is allowed to spoil before consumption. 

Credit: Jonathan Wiggs / The Boston Globe
Credit: Jonathan Wiggs / The Boston Globe

Said Rauch:

“When 49 million Americans aren’t able to eat properly, and because of it their health suffers—and they get obesity, heart disease, diabetes, in their teenage and young adult years—this is going to be a health care cost tsunami that hits all of us.”

Credit: Jonathan Wiggs / The Boston Globe
Credit: Jonathan Wiggs / The Boston Globe

Based upon the produce received, the menu changes daily at the Daily Table, hence its names. Some days, for example, a bounty of zucchini will be received. Chefs need to be creative and invent various ways to utilize the squash, such as Zucchini Chocolate Muffins.

Credit: Jonathan Wiggs / The Boston Globe
Credit: Jonathan Wiggs / The Boston Globe

With over 5,000 members and new locations presently being planned, the refreshing store model is thriving – which is great news. Food deserts are becoming increasingly common and diseases of affluence are on the rise. What citizens need now more than ever is easy and affordable access to healthy food so dietary and lifestyle-related diseases can be prevented. 

If you’re in the area, you can shop at the Daily Table by simply signing up for a membership. This allows the company to keep track of where they’re generating demand and what neighborhoods are finding the resource useful.

Credit: Jonathan Wiggs / The Boston Globe
Credit: Jonathan Wiggs / The Boston Globe

Looking forward to the future, some are even seeing this model as an alternative to food banks. The benefit of cheap food, opposed to free, is that it allows customers of all types to buy with dignity – not to mention participate in reducing food waste. 

Credit: Jonathan Wiggs / The Boston Globe
Credit: Jonathan Wiggs / The Boston Globe

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