Local Alternative: Laurel Health Foods

When you think of historic health food stores, names like Martindale’s and Whole Foods come to mind. But a Laurel business might well have a place in the history books.

, on Bowie Road, was started 40 years ago and was the first health food store to open between Baltimore and D.C., according to Monica Price, the store’s owner. Price’s father, Austin Lowe, opened the store in 1971 and was the go-to natural market in the area.

Organic and natural food is not on every household shopping list…yet. Statistics show it’s headed that way. Growth has been substantial making it a $25 billion industry in 2009, up from a paltry $1 billion just a decade earlier, according to the Organic Trade Association, which promotes and protects organic trade.

Price, who runs the Laurel store with her two sons Philip and Curtis, acknowledges that health food stores – hers included – are no longer the unique entity they once were now that mass market retailers often sell the same products.

“Giant, Shopper’s (Shoppers Food Warehouse) they’re all selling organic foods now, so it makes it more competitive than years back,” says Price.

Competitive is an understatement. Mainstream supermarkets, club and warehouse stores claimed 54 percent of organic food product sales, while health food stores followed with only 38 percent of market sales, according to a report by the OTA for 2009, the latest statistics available.

So how does a small natural food store, in a gripping economy, in a low-visible shopping strip in Laurel survive? It’s a time ‘ole remedy that works every time: customers. Loyal ones.  Price says these loyal ones come from afar and have been doing it for year.

“We get them Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Hagerstown…they say we have products they can’t get where they live,” says Price.

Aby Wilkins drives down from Annapolis regularly.

“Oh yes, this is where I come. They have my low carb bagels,” she says, cradling the bag in her arms. “I can’t get these and other things I need in Annapolis, so this is where I come, gladly.”

The store is welcoming with great lighting, extremely clean, wide aisles and easy-to-read prices. They have an assortment of organic vegetables, fruits and a long row of freezers to hold a variety of frozen meals. The front of the store has a large and interesting spice and herb section. The rear has a newly-installed diabetic bar, although it's not equipped for inside seating yet.

Helpful terms and organizations:

Organic Food – (according to USDA) Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents or chemical food additives.

Natural Food - Legally, food labeled "natural" does not contain any artificial ingredients, coloring ingredients, or chemical preservatives, and, in the case of meat and poultry, is minimally processed.

MDA – Maryland Department of Agriculture - supports agriculture and Maryland citizens by conducting regulatory, service, and educational activities that assure consumer confidence, protect the environment, and promote agriculture.

MOCP – Maryland Organic Certification Program – federally-certified group that certifies and registers farms and handlers of organic products in Maryland.

Gorman Produce Farm – 10151 Gorman Road Laurel