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Hello, Everyone,

 

I was quite amazed this weekend when I went shopping at the Food4Less
grocery store in Cameron Park, California.  It's a big box grocery store
which offers discount prices, and while a nice place, not the place I think
of to find many gluten-free specialty offerings.  Although I only had a few
things on my list, I browsed up and down the aisles throughout the store.
As I casually looked at the fresh pasta section, I discovered that they now
carry several varieties of gluten-free fresh pasta!  It's made by RP's Pasta
Company.  I bought their spinach fettucine.  (I haven't tried it yet, but it
looks good.)

 

I kept walking around the store, and when I got to the frozen section, my
astonishment grew.  They offer quite a few brands of frozen, gluten-free
breads, including Udi's, Canyon Bakehouse, Against the Grain, Kinnickinnick,
and several others.  Against the Grain pizzas are the first thing you see at
eye level when you approach the upright freezers in the frozen section from
one direction, and many other gluten-free items including Kinnickinnick's
wonderful donuts and many Amy's gluten-free frozen dinners are also
available.  They even had a large number of Udi's goods in the first
horizontal freezer closest to the cash registers, really highlighting their
gluten-free products.  The gluten-free products throughout the store are
placed next to the gluten-containing ones, being organized in the standard
fashion by food type and by manufacturer.  I'm sure there's more offered in
other sections of the store which I didn't explore, but I wanted to share
what I did find.  It's been some time since I last shopped at Food4Less, so
all of these gluten-free selections were quite a surprise - and a welcome
one!

 

As I checked out, I complimented the store on its impressive selection of
gluten-free offerings.  I learned that this Food4Less, along with several
others, is owned by a higher-end local grocery chain, Nugget.  Food4Less is
a franchise, apparently, and Nugget has been and is continuing to expand its
gluten-free offerings in the Food4Less stores which it owns (I can't speak
to what other Food4Less's might offer - it would best to call in advance to
inquire about their gluten-free offerings if the one you're interested in
isn't closeby).  I shared recommendations for a few more things I'd like to
see, and the person I spoke with was very receptive and said he would pass
along the information to their buyer.

 

For those of us in Northern California, it seems that at least one of the
big box grocery stores is beginning to target the needs of us celiacs.
Perhaps this signals a broader trend throughout the country. it's so nice to
see!

 

Kirsten

 

 

****

Kirsten Klinghammer

Rescue, CA, USA

 


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