Deep Roots Market
3728 Spring Garden Street
Greensboro, North Carolina 27407
phone: (336) 292 – 9216
fax: (336) 292 – 3643
http://www.deeprootsmarket.com/After weeks of questionable eating habits, my body was giving me signals. Midday scarfing of Harris Teeter sushi and late night-trips to the Bojangles drive-through do not make for a balanced diet, and my last several reviews have been anything but health conscious. I decided to stop into Deep Roots Market for some gastronomic detox.

Deep Roots is a cooperative organic market approximately half-way between Guilford and UNCG. In operation for 31 years, the market has become a mainstay for environmentally and health conscious patrons in the Greensboro area. For a nominal fee, and a little volunteer work, anyone can become an owner and reap the benefits of discounted chemical and additive-free food. Non-owners can just come in and shop, and be amazed at how much the market has to offer.

This was my first trip to Deep Roots and I experienced sensory overload as I walked in. Outside, a freezer advertised free-range Turkey for the holidays, and as I entered the store a mingling of fragrant herbs greeted my olfactory cells.

I first toured the vitamin area, where, admittedly, I was totally out of my element. The market offers hundreds of vitamin supplements, and even cosmetics untested on lab-animals. I realized that I wasn’t in the ice-cream section of Food-Lion anymore.

Soon I stumbled on a Shangri-La of sorts. It was a tower of multi-gallon containers full of honey, and I stood there for a moment like a character in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, gaping at this monument to the industry of bees. “Honey may not be the healthiest of products,” I reasoned, “but it’s better than refined sugar, right?” I grabbed a pound of the orange-blossom.

The produce section, while small, exudes freshness and variety. Leeks jut up like little palm trees, bordered by collard greens and a compelling selection of lettuces. The products of area orchards offer apples and pears displayed with none of the shiny, waxy look that define super-market fruit. This part of the store definitely displays pride in locally grown produce.

I budgeted myself for $20. By the time I made it to the check-out I was seriously thinking of raising this to $40. For once, self-control took over.

My basket contained organic sour cream, habanero salsa, spinach and flax lavash (a middle-eastern flatbread similar to tortillas) a can of organic refried beans, a pound of orange blossom honey, and Dagoba chocolate. Okay, so not necessarily the healthiest shopping list, but hey, it beats Hardees. The bill came to $20.03.

The visit to Deep Roots reminded me that eating is not just about opening your mouth but opening your mind. More often than not, this is a very healthy thing.