Steve from The Health Concern

As stated earlier, I went to the organic food store The Health Concern to complete my multimedia project. I met with Steve Wollett, one of the store's managers, to talk about what makes them stick out against the other health food stores in the area. I was completely impressed by Wollet's knowledge of local small businesses and his enthusiasm for organic foods.

After my interview, he gave me a tour around the store. Unlike Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, The Health Concern has an "herbal pharmacy." While there is not a pharmacist on staff, customers can request over 300 herbs for their own use. Wollett said that customers often choose to create their own remedies by selecting herbs they feel will cure their ailments; sometimes people buy empty capsules and make pills, while other people mix the herbs into teas. The herbs are all placed in jars, almost resembling a colonial apothecary shop. 

In addition to the herbs, the store has a "make your own peanut butter machine" and containers full of honey. The center of the store contains a selection of nuts, seeds and beans that customers can measure out at their own leisure. The entire atmosphere of the store is customer-friendly. Unlike chain stores, The Health Concern gives customers the freedom to choose exactly how much of each product they want. 

After the official interview, Wollett gave me a tour around the store. While near the organic milks and juices, he told me how soy milk is quite unsuitable for humans. He went on to explain that there is so much estrogen in soy milk, that when given to children, it causes early sexual development and problems with reproduction in adulthood. As we walked past the organic cleaners, Wollett explained how citrus products are great cleansers as an alternative to bleach. During my visit, I probably learned more about organic foods than I had during the rest of my life. I appreciated the out pour of knowledge I received during my visit. 

The only problem I encountered during my visit was that the extra batteries I packed turned out to be an set that had already die. For some reason, I foolishly did not throw out the dead ones last week, but set then aside to the news ones. This clearly posed a problem when I went to take pictures of the store after the interview. Fortunately, I was able to go back later in the day, but Wollett had already left. 

Overall, I felt that the really charm of the multimedia project was the ambiance of the store. The entire atmosphere is different from larger chains: the staff wanted to speak with you and was knowledgeable, and customers were encouraged to wonder the store until they found what they wanted. Overall, a great location to focus a story on.