Instead of an overwhelmingly large warehouse filled with commercial food, the Ocean Beach People’s Organic Foods Market is a different kind of grocery shopping experience.
This store has everything from produce, groceries, dairy, bulk foods, herbs and vitamins to body care and aromatherapy products. What is different here, though, is that the market is dedicated to carrying products that are nutritious, organically grown, cruelty-free and produced in an environmentally sound manner. If you’re looking for the butcher, you will not find her at this vegetarian and vegan establishment.
Open and luminescent from natural light, the People’s Market is a nice change from the typically windowless, dungeon-like grocery stores. Constructed with recycled material and designed in an eco-minded fashion, the building that houses the market reflects this “green” philosophy. The building produces about one-third of the energy it uses through photovoltaic cells located on the roof of the building.
The OB People’s Market is San Diego’s only cooperative, or co-op, meaning that the store is owned and operated by its 7,000 members. By paying a yearly charge of $15 you become a member and have the opportunity to exert direct influence on the store, like having say over what products and services the co-op provides. Becoming a member is recommended to avoid the 10 percent surcharge placed on shoppers who are not members.
Being a co-op also means that the money you spend won’t go to fund some rich private owner’s third yacht, but rather, back into the co-op and the local community. So, while you might be able to get good organic food at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, those stores are privately owned and do not put the money back into the community the way the co-op does.
Up the sustainable wood stairs, you’ll find a vegetarian and vegan deli and bakery. There, you choose from a menu that can include anything from lasagna to broccoli and kale stir-fry. The soups are especially good and the salad bar especially fresh. Try Thursday’s flavorful Chinese rainbow stew, a colorful mix of seasoned vegetables and tofu in a coconut milk and miso broth.
The bakery also has a daily menu, but on any day, you’ll be sure to find an array of cookies, muffins and bars. The goddess bar — a delightful combination of nuts and seeds bound together by chocolate — is an especially exceptional find.
The indoor/outdoor dining areas are great places to enjoy a meal among the eclectic OB crowd, or for just wandering around to check out the artwork for sale by local artists that decorates the building. Friday evenings are lively in the deli with free, live acoustic music from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Ocean Beach People’s
Organic Foods Market
4765 Voltaire St.
San Diego, CA 92107
(619) 224-1387
