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Making your life greener - one bite at a time.

The push toward organic is not just a local trend. Nationally, organic food sales grow by as much as 20 percent a year, and at $16 billion, make up nearly 3 percent of all U.S. food spending, according to the Organic Trade Association.

By Elizabeth Coe

On the cold, wet morning of Jan. 29, a small group of Loudoun and Fairfax county residents met at Bruin Park in Herndon waiting for a delivery.
When the big, white truck from United Natural Foods Inc. pulled in, they gathered at the back and began to unload boxes of organic cereal, butter, burritos and other foods.

"There's been a lot of interest from Loudoun County," said Lee Ann Lovgren, coordinator for the Herndon-based organic food buying club, which broke off from a United Natural Foods buying club in Arlington this year. "People eat organic for all kinds of reasons. A lot of people do it for environmental reasons or for kids with allergies."

More people all over the region are going organic, said Karima Shamma, a Cascades resident who was an Arlington club member for two years and has switched to the Herndon club.

"It's just healthier," she said. "I think a lot of people are realizing they need to be more aware of what they're putting into their body."

United Natural Foods is a wholesale distributer of natural and organic foods. The company supplies goods to stores like Whole Foods and Wegmans, but it also delivers directly to food-buying groups all around the country, saving members money when they buy in bulk.

The Herndon club started Jan. 1 and expects to have close to 20 members by the end of February, Lovgren said.

"We're on the verge of completely exploding," she said.

Organic food-buying co-ops may be attracting new members, but they have been around for years in Loudoun County, said Gina Faber, spokeswoman for Hungry Mothers, a United Natural Foods buying club based in Purcellville.

But there is a need for one in eastern Loudoun, she said.

As it is now, the Purcellville club and the newly formed Herndon club are the only large buying groups in the area.

"[Hungry Mothers] has people that come from as far away as Sterling," Faber said. "There are so many people in eastern Loudoun, there is definitely a need."

The advantage of the buyers club is that members save by buying in bulk, and then after the group becomes established, members get additional discounts. In Arlington, the discount was close to 25 percent off the already reduced bulk rate, Lovgren said.

Members can join at any time, and place their orders each month online. Then a delivery is scheduled. The group must spend a certain amount, usually at least $750 a month.

The United Natural Foods catalog includes more than 40,000 products, from organic ketchup to organic laundry detergent. Fresh produce is not included because it spoils too quickly.

Individual unit prices are comparable to stores, but with the bulk discount, members can save a good amount.

For example, a half-gallon of milk costs $3.99 when bought individually, but a case of 12 costs $24, or $2 each. So members buy together and split the case.

As the club becomes more established and the volume of food orders increases, members receive additional discounts.

Sterling resident Jean Cattaneo is new to the Herndon club.

She said she joined the food-buying group to help make things easier for her family, which includes five kids.

"It's like Costco, but all organic," she said. "You can order whatever you want."

Scott Pellow, a Brambleton resident, said he would be interested in learning about buying clubs.

He's been eating organic for about two years now, and it has changed his life, he said.

"I was a skeptic at first, but after switching, I noticed a change in the taste of things," he said. "Things started tasting better, and I started feeling better all around."

And buying organic doesn't necessarily cost more, Pellow said.

"You can't put a price on your health," Pellow said.

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