Wards Super Market!

I had the brilliant idea of highlighting some of the wonderful stores, shops, bakeries, and groceries that we have in this town. We have several which are far superior in quality to any I've seen. In fact, you might just want to find your dinner inspiration in one of these fine establishments. That being said, I would be remiss to not kick things off with dear old Ward's Super Market!

Ward's Super Market
515 Northwest 23rd Avenue
www.wardsgainesville.com

Ward's is your one stop shop for local meat and produce, organic goodies, bulk food items, craft beer, and just about anything else you could ever want from a food store. While most towns' alternative food markets reek of thinly veiled corporate backing as they try to sell more ambiance than food, Ward's is too legit to quit. First off, it's old. Real old. Second, an actual family owns and runs it. Third, they focus on buying produce directly from local farmers whenever possible. Fourth, they feature products (coffee, barbeque sauce, cheese, milk, baked goods, shampoo/soap, and more) from local businesses. This list could go on and on.

I've started buying all my fruits and vegetables at Ward's and quickly started adding other items from the shopping list. It's actually cheaper than Publix and has nearly everything you'd need. I still hit up Publix for some things, but Ward's easily supports 3/4 of my weekly grocery list.

Let's preview each section:

-Produce: The organic section is nearly as big as the non-organic, and unlike Whole Foods, the prices aren't that much higher than non-organic items. Nearly everything tells you exactly where it came from (state specific, not just "from USA") and they highlight local items regularly. For me, produce is the crown jewel of the place.

-Meats: I don't eat meat, nor have I ever purchased meat from Ward's, but their deli section is supposed to have some of the best, freshest cuts around. They also try to buy locally whenever possible and you'll be sure to know about it.


-Bulk: Looking for nuts, rice, grains, or other similar items? Check out the bulk section for ridiculously cheap prices on as much or as little as you need.

-Traditional Grocery Store Stuff:
They still have typical store brand cookies, chips, junk foods, canned stuff and everything else you're used to in the Traditional Section. It also has a very large aisle of organic versions of all of these.

-Frozen/Cooler Section:
The dairy case features some amazing cheeses, yogurts, and other milk products that are organic and/or come right from North Central Florida.


-Beer!
If a beer is commercially available in this part of the state, Ward's has it. It has totally ruined me for fancy beer bars, as I'd rather pay the same price for a six pack as I would a lone bottle at Stubbies or Alcove.

I've only begun to scratch the surface of what they have here. There's a small nursery out front with decorative and food based plants, a huge chocolate section, a wall of coffee, ethnic foods and condiments (thai, indian, japanese, chinese), a health and beauty section featuring many environmentally friendly products, tons of baked goods from local bakeries and a solidly respectable wine section that can't be beat in price.

You really should be doing most of your food shopping at Ward's!