Blueberry Fields

Five Stars. Still the go-​to store for healthy living in Keene.

I arrived in Keene for the weekend at 5pm on a Friday and left at 2pm on Sunday. In less than 48 hours I went to Blueberry Fields three times and tried to go a fourth time, but they were already closed. I like this place a lot despite the small space. Coming from Hanover I have access to a nice, large co-​op, but Blueberry Fields has a great selection of allergy-​friendly foods that I cannot find in Hanover. Sprouted almonds, carrot/​flax seed crackers, macro vegetarian ginger sushi roll… all awesome new finds for me. I found all of the employees very helpful and friendly as well. Hopefully I’ll have an excuse to swing through Keene again in the future. Maybe Blueberry Fields is the only excuse I need.

Blueberry Fields was th original specialty food store in keene. Before «natural» sections of supermarkets and the recent co-​op in keene, Blueberry Fields has always set the standard of vegan and local foods. The bulk section is really great here, not only can you get the normal stuff like quinoa, bulgar, and flour but also things like raw vanilla beans that you won’t find in any of the other stores.
The local food selection is great as well. local cheeses, local beers, and natural products from badger and other companies make a name for themselves here.
I give them credit for being the original store. Because they have been around so long they also have a wider variety of things they know people want and also better products because of their relationship with farms.
The store may be hit or miss for you depending on what your looking for (especially if you are used to larger food stores) but if youre looking for that one thing you can’t find, get it here. Everyone seems to be very friendly and you can even grab some quick food there and relax in the environment.

It would be really nice if Keene had a natural food store or co-​op like the one in Bratt, which while pricey and imperfect at least has a good selection and is a fairly pleasant shopping experience. Unfortunately, Blueberry Fields is not it.
The selection is limited and produce really needs to be picked through and checked for freshness. What little meat they have is frozen. The staff is sanctimonious.
The last time I was in there was to pick up toothpaste. I’m not too picky, and usually end up with some flavor of Tom’s of Maine with fluoride. They had maybe ten kinds of toothpaste, none of them with fluoride. As I went to leave without buying anything, a staff person aggressively intercepted me (with a definite you-​must-​be-​stealing-​something vibe) and asked if I needed help with anything. I said I was looking for fluoridated toothpaste but they appeared not to carry it so thanks anyway. This prompted a ridiculously long and condescending rant from the employee on the evils of fluoride (complete with government conspiracy theories!). It went far past a simple explanation of why they didn’t carry fluoridated toothpaste and was quite disturbing. The employee continued to rant as I left, going so far as to shout at me down the sidewalk about how I was «poisoning» myself.
I’m willing to dismiss the toothpaste incident as a one-​off with a nutter of an employee, hence the two stars, but I can’t say it’s not representative of the general attitude of the place in the times I was in there.

Good, in theory. Good selection of bulk goods (flour, dried beans, peas, seeds, etc) but the granola I bought from one of the bulk bins had cobwebs in it. Ewww… I appreciate that they put big «local» stickers on their local produce. However, purchased 2 of these local, organic pumpkins around Thanksgiving & they were moldy a week later. Winter squash keeps for MONTHS, so I can only imagine how long those pumpkins were sitting there before I bought them. I’ve been there other times where they had piles of other varieties of winter squash, marked down, that were moldy. They had «marked down» and were trying to SELL moldy squash. Ewww… After an exchange with a rude cashier a few months ago I haven’t been back.
EDIT NOTE — After not being able to find a number of dried herbs I needed at both Coll’s & Maggie’s, I sucked it up & came here a few weeks ago. I was pleasantly surprised. The cashier was nice. They had all of the herbs I was looking for. They did not have the vegan butter I wanted, which was a bummer. They did recently change owners so I’d be willing to give them another go.

This place used to be my fav for finding vegan fare. However recently I visited and tried to help a someone get an application. The manager there was downright Discriminatory! I said I was helping someone find work and all I said was that I was helping someone find work and could I please have an application, his exact words were «we do not have the facilities or ability to hire those sorts of people», I asked –what sorts of people-​, he said «the sort of people who need help finding a job». The conversation went on in this manner. I think this manager is horrible, for being such a progressive, alternative grocery store you would think they would be open, accepting, and tolerant of all sorts of people and the wonderful things they can bring to the store.
I don’t care what developmental disability you have, mental illness, or physical disability; as long as you can perform the essential functions of the job you should be allowed to apply! In fact its the law!
I am truly saddened by this and I will not be going to this store again until changes are made.
In a time in which people are struggling to find work, it astonishes me a local store would be so intolerant and judgmental.

Nice variety of foods. not always up on stocking up. Exspensive. Staff is polite but not knowlageable of the products.