Speaking of maggots...

Be careful of what you eat via Earth Fare. A customer in the Charlotte store found maggots in a candy bar. That in itself would be bad enough, but the real punch line to the inexcusable joke is that other customers had apparently complained - to the store's manager - about maggots being in the candy bars before Deborah Webb bought hers:

"I told the manager and they said other people had called up and told them they also found maggots in the exact same candy bar. I'm just shocked they hadn't moved it off the shelf after they had the first people tell them."

I'm not surprised that NBC Charlotte is having a difficult time getting a response from from Earth Fare's corporate office. After my experience with the Columbia store's Garris Matthews, Earth Fare's corporate office remained aloof, even refusing to reply to my e-mail.

What is it with Earth Fare and its so-called managers? This is one sorry excuse for a health food chain. As Ms. Webb so aptly stated, the candy bar was a bit "too organic" for her taste.

Update 11/18/2013 - Earth Fare's supplier, Earth Source Organics, e-mailed NBC Charlotte, taking a "business as usual" stance: "Worms are part of nature and if a customer wants a 100% assurance that they will not find a bit of nature in their food once in their lifetime then they need to not buy Organic and Raw." No mention was made regarding the issue of removing maggot-infested products once discovered.

Does Earth Fare think its customers are pigs?

I'm not the only blogger seeking to expose the realities of Earth Fare. Television personality Dr. Helen blogs about her recent experience at an Earth Fare in Knoxville, Tennessee, wherein Earth Fare employees referred to people as pigs, intimating that Earth Fare's customers are included. When complaining to Earth Fare's corporate office, it seems your odds of getting a favorable response are much better if you happen to be a public figure:

http://drhelen.blogspot.com/2009/09/all-men-are-pigs.html

For all their green machine talk, what kind of an "environment" does Earth Fare really seek to promote? I'm reminded that shortly after I began picketing - my sign read EARTHFARE ABUSES SENIORS - a lady told me she had already heard that Earth Fare doesn't like seniors. Gee. Seems kinda strange for a "health food" group to be having problems with its attitudes toward people. Maybe Earth Fare isn't quite what its cracked up to be...