RAW & ORGANIC MARKETS
These are some markets and raw stores that I like. There may be others that I might like, but that I do not know of. If I find them, I will list them.
I am not listing Whole Foods because I do not necessarily like them. Here in New York City, they have forced a lot of independent natural food markets that I used to like out of business. I also do not trust their honesty about organic food. If you want a Whole Foods, there are a number of them listed in the phone book.
INTEGRAL YOGA FOODS: I love this market – they refuse to sell anything they cannot guarantee is organic (so you won’t get young Thai coconuts there!). They have all sorts of nuts, seeds, and beans.
BTW, Integral Yoga Foods also has a bookstore, right next door, as well as a “health store”, which offers vitamins/nutritional supplements, one of the best selections of herbs I’ve seen since Aphrodisia closed, and a very good assortment of essential oils and flower essences. (the only competing selection of herbal compounds, and essential oils I’ve seen is at Willner’s Pharmacy, Park Ave. & 41st St. I go both places, but this is an excellent one-stop shop, for sure)
229 West 13th Street (btw 7th and 8th Aves.)
New York, NY 10011
212-243-2642
8:00am – 9:30pm, weekdays
9:00am – 8:30pm, weekends
1, 2, 3, A, C, E trains to 14th St
L to 8th Ave.
New York, NY 10011
(212) 420-9099
Sat 9 am to 10 pm
Sun 9 am to 10 pm
all organic, very reasonable prices, and they have a deli with raw food creations for takeout. They also have a good selection of natural vitamins, herbal remedies, and essential oils. ( This place is so good that I really almost thought about moving to the neighborhood and paying the scary rent just to be nearby.)
913 8th Ave. @ 54th Street
New York, NY 10019
212-586-5262
7 AM – 12 AM weekdays
9 AM – 12 AM weekends
E train to 50th St. Station
cheap vegetables, and everything else, downstairs, and a secret (hard to find) upstairs organic market with just about everything you can think of. Their upstairs organic market is as big as any other organic market in town.
2127 Broadway
New York, NY 10023
212-595-1888
6AM-1AM Daily
SECOND FLOOR ORGANICS 8AM-10PM DAILY
#1, 2, or 3 trains to 72nd St. Exit north end of station, walk 2 blocks north.
raw focus store with raw prepared goodies to buy. Interesting place to visit (the actual place is tiny, but the personality of the owner is BIG. The book selection is good, and they offer free seminars from time to time).
138 East 3rd St (btw Ave A and 1st Ave)
New York, NY. 10009
212 777 6645
1 888 554 6645
11 am – 7 pm, weekdays
12 pm – 6 pm, weekends
F/V train, Second Ave. Station, 1st Ave. exit
walk north to 3rd St, east on south side of 3rd St.
101 Stanton St, (btw Orchard and Ludlow Sts., one block S of Houston)
New York, NY
(212) 334-4593
10 am to 10 pm daily
F, V train to 2nd Ave. Walk one block south of Houston Street.
6 train to Bleecker St. Walk one block south to Houston, 5 blocks east to Allen, then one block south to Stanton Street.
J or Z train to Essex Street. Walk two blocks north on Essex, then 2 blocks west on Stanton.
NYC FOOD CO-OPS
Although some food co-ops will allow non-members to shop there, most require membership before you can enter their doors. Membership in a food co-op involves a financial commitment as well as a commitment to work a certain number of hours for the co-op (depending on the co-op, this might be in various capacities — most people do stocking, cashiering, and similar jobs). They are pretty serious about the work part – not too long ago, Park Slope Co-op canceled the membership of a fairly well-known actor (I say “fairly well-known because I know his face and remember his first-name, but have never been interested in anything he has done) — the coop’s membership cancellation for this “celebrity” was in the newspapers.
PARK SLOPE FOOD COOP (members only)
($25 registration + $100 investment)
782 Union Street
I would love to be able to tell you about Park Slope Food Coop, but, no matter what I do, no matter how many times I call, no matter how sweetly (or not) I talk to them, they just blow me off. One woman did tell me that normally they have to make an appointment for such a review, and said that she would call me back, but she never did. Sorry, folks, I don’t have enough time to go down there for the orientation session to see what the coop is about. Several people have told me that this is a nice coop, but I cannot verify that. What I can say is that they are NOT reviewer friendly (this as of 2/21/2012. If I ever do get in, I will change this review)
Brooklyn
(718) 622-0560
trains:
M, R to Union St ( Union St and 4th Ave)
2 or 3 to Grand Army Plaza ( Flatbush Ave & Plaza St)
B, Q to 7th Ave (Flatbush and 7th Aves)
4th 4th STREET FOOD COOP (open to the public, member discount)
($25 yr + 2-1/4 hr. wkly work shift)
Nice market, and you don’t have to be a member. They even have a blog which will tell you what vegetables they’ve received fresh during the week, as well as, if you’re interested, what political issues they are currently supporting.
58 East 4th Street
Manhattan
(212) 674-3623
Mon-Thurs 10am – 10pm
Fri 10 am – 9pm
Sat 11 am – 6pm
Sun 12pm – 9pm
TRAINS:
R to 8th St/NYU
D,B,F,M to Broadway/Lafayette
6 to Astor Pl.
FLATBUSH FOOD COOP (open to the public, member discount)
($25 registration + $25/yr until $200 investment paid) This is the one I would join, even though it is a hefty commute from my home. It is as big as your local supermarket (perhaps even bigger). They have everything organic and the prices are surprisingly low, even for non-members. They even carry organic meat products (not my thing, but some people might be interested — or put off — just don’t go to that section if that is not you). My first time through there, I was mesmerized by the astounding variety of products they offer. The fresh vegetables and fruit, the raw nuts and seeds…. I was in 7th heaven. This is the place I most recommend.
1415 Cortelyou Road (btw Rugby & Marlborough Roads)
Brooklyn
Tel: (718) 284-9717
6am – 12am 7 days
train:
Q to Cortelyou/East 16th
PRETTY SMART RAW FOOD IDEAS 
Accidentally I found myself on Cortelyou St one day, and when I passed by, Iwent in to scope out this coop. It is very nice and HUGE.The prices are very reasonable and the selection wide. I’m thinking about joining.
Hi. I wanted to suggest there is now a store on the upper east side called, A Matter of Health. Everything in their store is organic.