Green Street Fair: Meijer Promotes Organic Foods

Representatives from Meijer were among the many businesses at the Green Street Fair on Saturday, providing demonstrations and answering questions about its organic line of grocery products.

“It’s a great program,” said Tina Miller, the east Michigan and north Ohio regional healthy living adviser. She explained that since 2007, the company has introduced more than 38,000 organic products to its grocery line.

And to make its organic products easier to understand, Meijer also has developed a new shelf-tag system that lists their nutritional value (on a scale of 1 – 100, with the high end representing the more nutritional end of the scale) right on the tag.

“It’s a little subtle,” she said, “so it takes some education to teach people how to use it.”

Also among Meijer’s volunteers at the fair were local store employees serving the company’s blue corn chips with organic salsa.

As a part of their effort, Chef William “Nick” Nicklosocich, a professor of culinary arts at the International Culinary Institute at the Art Institute in Novi, also performed cooking demonstrations using Meijer’s organic products.

“I was really impressed with all the organic stuff Meijer really had,” he said, explaining his decision to partner with the Michigan-based superstore at the fair.

Throughout the day, he prepared a feast of sustainable foods, including a caramel apple pizza, mint-glazed fresh fruit, organic chocolate fudge (made with dark and white chocolate, and peanut butter), as well as a ruby red grapefruit balsamic glazed salad.

Plymouth resident Dennis Roggenbuch dropped by as Chef Nick was in the throws of preparing his grapefruit salad, and praised the company for supporting local endeavors such as those at the Green Street Fair.

“It’s nice to see one of our big stores participate in one of these things,” he said of Meijer’s involvement in the event. “People need to support it.”

Meijer has strict guidelines governing the handling and production of all its organic grocery products. To qualify for its organic line of foods, all must adhere to the strict criteria, including  no antibiotics, growth hormones, conventional pesticides or hydrogenated oils.

For more information on Meijer organic products,  visit www.meijermealbox.com/healthy-living.