Glut Food Co-Op — Local services in Mount Rainier

Before the purveyor of mass produced, flavorless "organic" produce nicknamed Whole Paycheck came into being, there were TRUE Health Food Stores in the DC area --Glut, Stone Soup, Fields of Plenty and August Moon were a few of them. Glut was one of my favorites. I began shopping there around the late 70s or early 80s. I could feed my growing family from a bag of healthy groceries with a $20 bill back in those days. Whole grain organic rice, popcorn, whole oats, manuka raisins, honey were a few of the items I regularly bought there (in bulk) at rock bottom prices. Eventually, I moved away to the Midwest and was saddened to return recently and find Glut has since come upon hard times. It appears that the millenials like shiny and new vs tried and true!! Whole Paycheck may be shiny, but beware all that glitters is not Gold!

I should add that another reason Glut is such a community institution is because everybody shopped there back in the day. You'd run into people you knew and hear about all the local happenings. It's the community watercooler. We need Glut for this reason as much as we need it for the food it provides. We are losing connection with one another through all this online...

Each time I’ve experienced awful customer service from the employees. Today I politely asked for an item that I couldn’t find in the produce area & the employee was busy packaging cake/sandwiches etc; in the fridge in that same area. She became very irritated by me stopping her & wave toward the direction the item supposed to be. Needlessly, I gave an awkward smile & walked away feeling embarrassed by her actions & body language. Another employee I believe who’d seen the whole transaction between us immediately came up to me and enthusiastically helped me by walking over showing me exactly where the last 4 items where tucked so neatly away. I graciously thanked him & tried to get my other things an leave as quickly as I was dismissed by that...

If you haven’t been to Glut, you haven’t been to Mount Rainier, it’s the beating heart of this little town just along the District border. Great music, it’s a worker owned co-op so no membership required. Though it’s health food store in an expensive part of the country they price many items low, I get pasta, cheese and ice cream cheaper there often than I do at larger chain health food stores. They have folks to help you figure out herbs and supplements that might help what ails you. Fresh organic produce, herbs and bulk grains, nuts and granola, toiletries and natural black skin and hair products. Check it out for the novelty, keep coming back for joy,convenience...