Is it Harvest Market or County Market?

New developments excite me. I like seeing what people are so passionate about that they are willing to put financial, emotional and relational investments into. I also like to eat, so when a new restaurant or grocery store comes along, I am very interested in visiting at least once.

South Neil Street in Champaign is booming with commercial development. Restaurants like Brixx Pizza and Skinny Chicken line the road. A giant hotel is nearby. And then tucked behind all the bustle, where the Worden Martin car lot used to be located, County Market brings a beautiful health foods store, Harvest Market, to Champaign County.

Let’s be real. We wanted a Trader Joes. And I wanted a Whole Foods. I mean, have you been to a Whole Foods? Not only do they have Chantilly Cake, but, (outside of the Chicago area) the Whole Foods employees that I have encountered are the nicest and most helpful staff.

I mean where else can you buy the freshest, ethically raised shrimp hundreds of miles away from home and the fishmonger runs to the back to get you perfectly shaved ice in bags and a bucket so that the ice won’t melt all over your car? Where else can you find a fishmonger preparing Haddock patties for samples in the middle of the aisle? And when asked, he prepares two patties for you to take on the road while you’re traveling through Canada? Also, Whole Foods has grilling cheese. People, you can buy cheese to fry by itself in a pan and you end up with melty cheese goodness.

I mean, yes, when shopping at Whole Foods you’re going to pay for what you get. This is why Whole Foods is also known as “Whole Paycheck.”

But you know what Whole Foods is? Whole Foods. And you know what Trader Joe’s is? Trader Joes. Do you know what Harvest Market is? County Market with a pretty dress on.

I was down on South Neil Street the other day, so I thought, “Why don’t I pop into Harvest Market and see how the County Market chain brought healthy, organic food to Champaign?” It’s a pretty store. You walk up to the new building, painted with neutral colors and accented with a fresh green, and into the doors where you are greeted by a coffee bar, some carnations and a beautiful deli section with every salad you could imagine.

We were greeted by an employee who asked if we’d like to try a salad, but we’d just eaten breakfast at the Original Pancake House. He informed us that their Farm Restaurant made breakfast, and the next time we go out, we should try it. At some point, I probably will.

We moved onto the bakery where you can find the same cupcakes as you can at County Market or Walmart. And there were also some bread loafs; the same bread loafs you can buy at County Market and Walmart. As we made our way into the grocery section we found products like bologna, Oscar Meyer deli meats, Eggos, aisles of sugary cereal, Cottonelle and Charmin: the same products you find at County Market and Walmart at slightly higher prices because they are located in a clean cooler at Harvest Market.

I think that County Market is having the same problem as so many humans have year after year; they have recognized that who they are is not who they want to be, so they changed their outside appearance hoping to fool the masses, but forget to change what actually makes them who they are, the characteristics on the inside.

You know what I mean? Instead of being Nessa, they changed their name to Vanessa. They changed out of their blue jeans and put on a maxi dress (still comfortable, but acceptable to the wear to the dinner party). They accentuated their mascara with eye shadow and a pretty red lipstick. But they forgot to remove the chemicals, harmful sugars and they still use many of the companies that practice harmful processes to get their products on the shelf.

County Market said, “I want to be Whole Foods or Trader Joes. In order to make money, I have to change something about me to succeed in today’s market, so I’m going to build something that looks like what people want, but still give them what they’ve always had.”

Look. Grocery stores are grocery stores. I shop at IGA and Meijer most of the time, and there’s no way I could actually afford to shop at Whole Foods all the time. I think there is a place and purpose for all grocery stores.

But I do believe this is a great illustration of a bigger problem we all face. We look at our Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and say, I need to change something about me to make it in the world today. I need to make a pallet wall, I need to make family Halloween costumes, I need to make sure I wear a certain type of clothes or have a certain type of make-up or drive a certain type of car because if I do, then I will present what people want to see, then they will want to get to know me.

Then, once you are comfortable enough to get past the typical chit chat and begin to talk about your life and your heart, you reveal that you still harbor greed, shame, anger, jealousy and all the weight we carry around. Then your friends see that you haven’t really changed. They see that you just put on a pretty dress, but you’re still doing what you’ve always done.

So, can people (and grocery stores) change? Can a County Market become a Whole Foods? Well, what is wrong with a County Market? And is Whole Foods the end all of everything? Does it not have its own issues? My guess is there are still maggots and roaches in the back room of both establishments.

I think County Market should own up to being County Market. And Whole Foods should own up to being Whole Foods. But, if County Market wants to become Whole Foods, then they need to offer products like cinnamon flavored cereal without sugar, meats without hormones and antibiotics from animals that are raised and cared for responsibly, natural body care products and organic, organic, organic fruits and vegetables stacked in patterns that will make you think twice about if you really want to take it out of the bin because you know that they people who stocked the produce took time to make it look like a rainbow of colors.

It won’t cut it to just put on a pretty dress and make-up. They need to make some changes on the inside. County Market (people) needs to ask, “Why did I want to change?” If it is to stay up with the trends in order to make money, then they will always be changing because the world is always changing. But if they want to change to identify with their true self, then they need to change the whole thing, not just what is on the outside.

I know that true change does not happen unless we examine our foundation, our purpose in the big world. It’s not all about making money and friends. It’s about knowing and accepting yourself so that you can give your best and bring out the best every single day.