Nashville-based grocer Turnip Truck is working to make organic food more accessible to consumers.
The 14-year-old company, which has stores in The Gulch and East Nashville and is building a much larger store on the east side, announced Wednesday that its stores now stock more than 100 “value-priced”ย Field Day grocery items, from olive oil to oatmeal and gluten-free products.
Distributed to Turnip Truck by United Natural Foods Inc., Field Dayโs website says 91 percent of its products are organic and 94 percent are non-GMO. Product categories on its website include baby products, canned beans, crackers, juices, maple syrup, organic pastas, organic vegetables, paper products, peanut butter and water. Prices are not listed and vary by retailer.
Turnip Truck also plans to offer monthly discounts on seasonal produce items.
โWe want to give all of our neighbors access to high-quality food, and this is a major step in that direction,โ Turnip Truck founder John Dyke said in a statement.ย โWith these budget-friendly options, we are opening the doors wide for families and individuals who want to make the best possible choices but may have previously felt priced out of doing so.โ
Turnip Truckโs announcement comes as mainstream and big-box grocery retailers, including Walmart and Target, encroach on the organic foods market as demand for those products grows. Meanwhile, Whole Foods Market recently announcedย a new store chain called โ365 by Whole Foods Marketโ that the companyย plans to launch next year. The plan for the new chain: to stock lower-priced items aimed at younger customers.
Dyke founded Turnip Truck in 2001 in East Nashville. For 14 years, he has supported local agriculture and helped to elevate Nashvilleโs food economy. The Turnip Truck market opened in The Gulch in 2010.
Construction is underway to replace the original East Nashville market with a store four times the size at 701 Woodland St.
Slated for a fall opening, the new Turnip Truck will have a hot food bar, salad bar, juice bar, bulk foods, produce, beer and wine, a bakery, a meat department, natural food groceries, and health and beauty products.
Dyke said the new lower-priced grocery line at Turnip Truck will better position the company to compete and also make organic and local foods more approachable for customers. He said the Field Day line complements the existing inventory in the stores.
โOur goal is for people will be able to fill a cart at Turnip Truck at a comparable price to a big-box grocery run,โ Dyke said.ย โHealthy eating should not be a luxury, and we are very passionate about breaking down the cost barrier.โ