I seek to pursue a healthy lifestyle.  That's why I'm always doing cross-comparisons on fruit & vegetables in Ottawa's supermarkets.  During the summer, I try to shop for as many fruits & vegetables as I can from local farmers.  I buy direct from farms or go to local farmers' markets.  My favourite is the one at Lansdowne Park.

This also happens to be the area where Whole Foods set-up shop.  Whole Foods is an American supermarket retailer.  I refer it to as the supermarket equivalent of Starbucks – very much based upon image rather than substance it seems to me.

During a recent shopping for fruits & vegetables I travelled widely.  I made visits to Loblaws, Metro, Food Basics, Your Independent Grocer (Loblaw owned), Farm Boy, Produce Depot and Whole Foods.  I have also made visits to Sobeys.

Farm Boy gets the  highest marks from me as far as overall freshness and offering of a wide variety of fruit & vegetables, followed by Loblaws.

The other supermarkets were okay but tend to offer a less wide selection.

It might surprise you that Ottawa's Whole Foods was at the botom of my ranking.  However, when I went there I saw a considerable bunch of not-so-delicious yellowing broccoli along with “greening” potatoes that you definitely should not eat.

Overall Whole Foods fruits & vegetables lacked the appearance of freshness that can be readily found in established competitors locally that have a better supply system.