When I first started eating what I now simply refer to as “real food”, the novelty of sourcing amazing produce from all over the countryside felt quite satisfying. But that novelty soon wore off and I realised that one of the most difficult aspects of sourcing organic wholefoods and fresh produce is the lack of convenience. I seem to have streamlined my shopping fairly well these days and can pretty much rattle off the per kilo price of any nut, seed or berry within cooee of my place, but it’s still quite complicated. I guess I am comparing my experience to the “one store sells all” conventional supermarket experience, and it just isn’t like that yet. I do envisage a day when it will be, but today the conventional supermarket is the king of convenience, and the real food movement will need to gather a significant amount of momentum to challenge that, and to shift that convenience into the real food world. Or to shift the real food world into the supermarket perhaps.
The rise and growing success of the farmers market movement has been a coup for real foodies, and my family and I love that aspect of our lives. Sunday mornings at South Fremantle farmers market we wander and chat to farmers, meet the makers, eat great food and catch up with friends. Another glimmer of hope on the horizon of convenience for me has been the discovery of The Wholefood Hub. It’s an online Wholefood store run from a small premises in Mount Lawley, by the lovely Nikki Di Costa. I heard about Nikki’s business through a mutual friend about 6 months ago, and I now order nuts, seeds, dried fruit and baking goods in bulk every couple of months through her store.
Before setting up The Wholefood Hub, Nikki worked as a pharmacist, and was lecturing in change management and pharmacy practice for 4th year pharmacy students. Her heart didn’t align with the conventional medical paradym, more the path of helping people take charge of their own health. Her passion lies in showing people the way to real health through real food.
Nikki’s personal wholefood journey began when she was starting her family in 2009. More recently she had a personal health scare which consolidated her thoughts and set her on her new path. She now has 3 kids, all under 5, she runs her wholefood business AND she also does the hard yards which means practicing what she preaches by running a wholefood kitchen for her family. She has only recently given up her university lecturing position. I think I might be able to give her a few tips on the slow living front!
The reality of the online store was born of a dream to motivate, coach and nurture people through their wholefood journeys. Nikki wants to create a community around her business, a concept which links perfectly with the real food movement. She provides simple access to organic and conventional wholefood staples, and a huge range of grocery items and products to help with responsible food consumption and environmental sustainability. She makes useful community links available, posts fantastic recipes on her blog, and also runs classes and coaching. I’m not sure that Woolworths and Coles could match Nikki’s business model if they tried.
http://www.wholefoodhub.com.au
Linked to With Some Grace for FYBF
my slow living adventure 
I love the whole concept of ‘real food’ being made available to everyone without passing through the clutches of the big guys – Coles and Woolworths.
All the very best to Nikki, will have to check out her business! 🙂
Yes! It is a dream of mine to bypass them entirely but I’m not quite there yet. Nearly.
I’m checking this out. I want to eat more real food .
Go Trish! I’m still cheering after reading your post!
It seems that more and more people are moving to ‘real food’ and it is great that it is becoming more accessible to people.
It is good that awareness and access to real food is improving, but it’s also a sad state of affairs that we have to make the distinction between real food and the other ‘food’ which is often just chemical laden artificially constructed stuff. How did we get to this point?
I heard a segment on the radio discussing the market share of Coles and Woolworths and how there’s becoming less and less of choice for the consumer. I think it’s great that Nikki is out there bringing real food to people with integrity.
It is fantastic, and I think it’s so important to support people who offer alternatives.