Live Longer with Earth Fare

America’s first all-natural and organic grocery store comes to Ocala.

If you’ve driven past the Shady Oaks Shopping Center lately, you may have noticed construction and a “Coming Soon” sign for Earth Fare— the newest grocery store to arrive in Ocala, opening on April 19.

Asheville, NC-based Earth Fare has been leading a mission to bring healthy food to everyone for over 40 years.

“For us, it’s very simple,” said Earth Fare President and CEO Frank Scorpiniti. “Healthy food improves lives, and our entire team is passionate about providing communities with better access to healthier, a ordable food.”

The Ocala store marks the fifth store in Florida and the second location in Central Florida after opening their Gainesville store in 2015.

70% of the produce department is Certified Organic, which is more than any other supermarket in the industry.

A Food Philosophy is Born

It’s easy to question the authenticity of terms like “healthy” and “natural” these days, but Earth Fare is the real thing.

The roots of their Food Philosophy started more than 40 years ago in a tiny storefront in Asheville. The modest shop o ered a simple selection of bulk foods and wellness items. It was the town’s first natural food store, and it had an ambitious mission: Let people take control of their health with real food.

Earth Fare grew from a storefront into a full supermarket at a time when convenience and cheap food ruled and artificial ingredients were on the rise in the food industry. The need to better define “real food” became apparent.

In 1993, Earth Fare rose to the challenge and began to define its Food Philosophy, starting with the ban of hydrogenated oils. The boldness of the Food Philosophy worked—it turned out that people didn’t want to eat fake ingredients. Over the years, the company’s philosophy evolved to include: high fructose corn syrup, artificial fats and trans-fats, added hormones, artificial sweeteners, bleached or bromated flour, antibiotics, artificial preservatives and artificial colors and flavors.

“We are very proud of how unique our Food Philosophy is,” said Earth Fare’s Chief Merchandising O cer Justin Jackson. “If you applied the same list of banned ingredients at a conventional grocery store, the shelves would be nearly empty.”

Although no one has accepted at the time of publishing, the company recently o ered to help competitors come clean by sharing their comprehensive “Boot List” of dirty ingredients.

“Healthy food improves lives, and our entire team is passionate about providing communities with better access to healthier, a ordable food.”

› Frank Scorpiniti, CEO

The Boot List

Shopping at most grocery stores these days isn’t as simple as picking up your favorite items. With so many hard-topronounce, artificial ingredients on the labels, it’s easy to walk away confused.

At Earth Fare, they read the labels so you don’t have to. This list of banned items regulates its Food Philosophy and has grown to include over 100 ingredients, which you can find at earthfare.com/BootList.