Everyone in Morgan Hill knows about the town’s two Safeways, Nob Hill and Trader Joe’s. But beyond those stores, Morgan Hill is also home to a growing and thriving holistic food store.
People and Planet, a family-owned natural foods store tucked away on Vineyard Boulevard near Specialized Bikes, is more than a grocery store – it’s an art gallery, a farmers’ market, a massage studio and a hub for the community to gather, relax and support each other in natural living.
“It’s like an old-time general store,” says store owner Mike Monroe, a longtime Gilroy resident, on a recent afternoon at his business.
At first glance, the storefront doesn’t look like a grocery store at all. Instead of racks of clanging metal shopping carts and vast displays of sale items near the entrance, People and Planet looks like the kind of place someone might sit with a soy latte for a few hours. A few comfortable seats are arranged around a small display of gourmet chocolate bars. Oil paintings of ripe fruits and vegetables hang on the walls and decorative ceramic teapots are displayed on shelves.
Beyond the entrance, a hallway winds around to an expansive warehouse-style space filled with thousands of natural food items, gardening supplies and aesthetic displays of magazines and books.
Monroe sits behind a cashier’s desk, chatting with a customer he knows by first name. His assistant, Jennifer Smith, is laughing with another customer near an aromatic stash of organic, fair-trade coffee.
Locals are encouraged to make People and Planet a type of second home. Shoppers can help themselves to a cup of caramel apple Yogi tea sweetened with raw cane sugar as they browse the store. One room is set aside for community gatherings and natural-living classes and events; a certified massage therapist occupies another. Soon, Monroe hopes to host exercise classes for the community.
“From one moment to the next I might go from talking about tomatoes to Pilates,” he says, laughing.
Monroe and his wife, Erin Monroe, started the store from their Gilroy living room in 1994 when they began researching the economics of global food trade.
“I learned about how people from developing countries make a living, and how we can be a part of making sure they are treated fairly,” Monroe says.
Calling himself a partner in the “justice business,” Monroe gets fired up when he talks about international justice issues.
A former economics geek from Santa Clara University, he sees the world – everything from the environment to civil rights – through an economic lens.
“If we allow farmers from developing countries to make a living, maybe they won’t be so prone to immigrate, so there are economic benefits too,” he says.
Monroe’s fascination for social justice merged with his commitment to healthy eating when he began to sell humane coffee and tea products to local schools and churches for events and fundraisers. Thus began People and Planet.
Seven years ago, Monroe opened up shop at his current Morgan Hill location and has built an entire underground community around his passion for holistic living.
The store runs the gamut of products that are natural, healthy, local, allergen-free and fair-trade. On one wall, a collection of 100 percent compostable paper plates, napkins and cups are for sale. Next to that are chemical-free, natural cleaning products and a rack stocked full with hundreds of gluten-free cereals, chips and snacks.
The refrigerated section boasts an array of alternative milks – raw (unpasteurized) milk, organic milk, soy milk, almond milk, coconut milk, flaxseed milk and more. Magazines and books on gardening, allergen-free cooking and organic living are spread throughout the store.
It’s a paradise for those with food allergies, food sensitivities or anyone who is conscious about what they put in their bodies.
And while traditional grocery stores such as Safeway and Nob Hill have jumped on the gluten-free cake and cookie mix bandwagon, the stash at People and Planet obliterates the competition.
“If you’re gluten-free, you know how hard it is to find good sourdough bread,” Monroe said, indicating to a table of freshly baked gluten-free sourdough baguettes and croutons from Rise and Shine Gluten-Free Bakery in San Martin.
Gluten, a protein composite found in processed wheat products, is a common culprit for digestive issues for those with sensitive stomachs. More and more, people are switching to a gluten-free diet and find themselves feeling healthier, happier and more energetic, Monroe says. That’s why he prides himself in shelving his store with more than 1,900 gluten-free products.
Another highlight of the shop is the bounty of honey flavors from Uvas Gold Apiary in Morgan Hill, including regular, raspberry, orange and huckleberry.
As Monroe talks with a local farmer whose produce he plans to carry this summer, Uvas Gold proprietor Wayne Pitts and self-proclaimed “King Bee” pops by to check his honey inventory.
“I got to bring more by,” he says to Monroe, sounding surprised. “Those (honey jars) sold fast.”
Smith has worked part-time at People and Planet for eight months. Thin and perky, she recalls her life before she switched to a gluten-free diet last year as having constant digestive and fatigue issues. Cutting out gluten made a “world of difference,” she says – and she now loves to see her customers make dietary lifestyle changes and watch them get healthy.
“After awhile, they’ll start coming in looking energetic, not run down and exhausted. It’s just so good to see that change in people,” she says.
With words “compostable,” “organic” and “gluten-free” thrown around as often as they are at People and Planet, someone might be quick to write the store off as a place for the most extreme of Tevas-wearing, hippy types and instead make a beeline for Trader Joe’s.
But that’s certainly not the case. The holistic business fits right in with South County’s small-town, agricultural roots and has much more of a down-home country feel than a bohemian grocery boutique for holier-than-thou vegans or people who preach gluten-free like its a religious cult.
Before Monroe buys a product for his shelves, he asks three questions:
Is it local?
Is it healthy?
Was it made or harvested in a fair manner?
Because of these ideals, the prices at People and Planet are higher than that of other grocery stores. A can of gluten-free chicken noodle soup is about $3.50. Their specialty allergen-free flours can run up to $19 for a two-pound bag. A medium sized bag of organic lentil chips is about $4. The locally baked gluten-free bread is $6 per loaf.
But Smith and Monroe say that many people are willing to pay a few extra dollars to support local industry and to honor their personal dietary lifestyle.
“People will spend a little bit more to buy food that doesn’t make them sick,” Smith says.
“When you open your wallet to make a purchase, you have a great deal of power,” Monroe adds. “You can affect the world with your choices.”
