I know this isn't a requirement, but...

...I think it behooves anyone who works at and/or owns a health food store to at least understand the basics of food allergies and ingredients/properties of their food.

A new health food store opened up near here a few months ago. I was excited because it would save me the 20 minute trip to Trader Joe's or the 35 minute trip to Whole Foods if I needed something. I finally made it in there today.

Their prices are not surprisingly high, but they are typical "small health food store prices" at least for around here. We picked up a quart of rice milk, sunbutter, and some egg free/dairy free mayo (I wish they made a soy free one too!). $14 and change.

Then at the counter, I asked the nice ladies there if I could order bulk wheat berries from them. I used to do this from another store, but that store is an inconvenient distance away and this would be so much easier!

So like I said, I'm there asking them about wheat berries.

"Wheat berries? What are those?"

Oh, you know, the whole wheat "seed" thingy before it's ground up.

"Wheat berries? Who makes them?"

Umm..well, God, I guess (I didn't say this, but I thought it, LOL). I couldn't think of a particular distributor.

"Are they a frozen food?"

I deserved this one, because at some point I said I had some at home in my freezer to keep them fresh...

"Are they gluten free?"

WHEAT berries, ladies, WHEAT berries. Do they sound gluten free? At this point I'm seriously considering offering my services as some kind of "food allergy info" consultant...but I didn't want to seem rude.

Finally one of the ladies starts scanning through their supplier book; she at least figured out they must be some kind of bulk grain and is looking in that section. Probably because I told her they were a bulk grain. ;-)


Boy, am I spoiled by the workers at the Whole Foods who know their merchandise inside and out, and if they don't they know someone else in the store who does...