Norel-Pom Natural Foods is an oasis of great food in a town that generally has poor food choices. As a consumer that is highly aware and conscious of the foods I eat, I am glad I can find non GMO and organic foods without heading out of town. The two grocery stores in town have some good products in them, but they sell a lot of garbage food. As a parent in town, I don't want to take my child into one of the other grocery stores. I can tell my daughter to walk around Norel-Pom and pick out a treat and I'll say yes to just about anything (except when she goes straight for the chocolate). It's a wonderful environment and a great place to shop. I am always seeing children with junk food and energy drinks that they buy at the Dairy Store. These are not good choices for growing bodies to be eating after school or on weekends. We should be encouraging them to pick out organic foods because we don't know the effects of some of these products on people over a long period of time. We know the effects of eating organic food over your lifetime. That's because we have been doing it for thousands of years. Some of these sodas, preservatives, and GMO ingredients will have adverse effects on our children who are growing up on them. These chemicals in our food are so recent that it can't possibly be known whether they are 100% safe for our kids. You can't possibly think that they are good for your kids just because the FDA is allowing them to be sold. We have a place right here in town now where you can pick out great foods for the whole family and be assured they are safe to eat (unless your child has an allergy or something). I should take a minute to describe the bulk bins. There used to be jars of things in the store that made it a nightmare finding what you wanted. It was a really stupid layout and unless you knew exactly what you were going in there for, it was hard to find things. Now it's different. There is an entire wall will lentils, grain, chocolate, dried fruit, trail mix, flour and more. Then there is a liquids dispensing station where you can get cooking oil, maple syrup, even refill your Dr. Bronner's. The bulk bins are great for me buying little bits of things to try. I can take a small bag of something and see how my family enjoys it and then buy a big bag of the stuff we like next time. It is also nice to be able to see, unpackaged, what you're about to eat. The dry mango slices are something to try. I'm sure there is some idea that the Natural Foods store is for hippies. That is not true. Yes, there are lots of hippies who go there. Moreover, lots of hippies do enjoy eating organic. It's not just for hippies and it's not just for vegetarian and vegan people. I am a Hayfork resident and I am not a hippie. I buy MEAT at Norel-Pom. Go check out the Cowboy Bacon there. Its thick slices and in weird chunks. It's better than any bacons at the other grocery store. Eating organic needs to stop being seen as a hippie thing. At home, I don't put weird chemicals in the foods I grow to eat so I certainly wouldn't accept that from something I buy in a store. Hayfork residents have somewhere that they can choose to eat healthier food so why not do so? The staff at the store are extremely helpful. They are all very knowledgeable about the ingredients in products and where things come from. They are Norel-Pom customers too. They are telling you about stuff they have been cooking from things in the store. It seems some of them are even cooking while they work. Their demeanor and level of customer service are excellent. If there is something I want that isn't in the store, or is in low quantity, they can order it for you. It's great to know that my selection surpasses the actual contents of the store. If I'm having a birthday party and need to buy a bunch of stuff, I call the store ahead of time and they will make sure my order is filled. I will finish off by suggesting the spicy Thai trail mix. It is very filling and has some kick to it. Coconut water is a great summer treat. It is sweet and really rehydrates you. Dried mango and dried banana chips are a great snack. Kids and adults alike will enjoy these sweet, sugar boosting snacks. As I mentioned above, the Cowboy Bacon is amazing. Strawberry Kefir is also one of my favorites. I have blended other fruits into it to make some incredible smoothies. There is lots of fresh produce. I've been buying figs a lot too. Tanka bars are great if you like beef jerky. They are well and slimy but delicious. Lots of different cheeses to choose from. I regularly buy the Havarti there and the family seems to eat it faster than I can replace it. I have yet to buy any of the herbal tinctures but if you are someone who knows about such things, they have a wide variety of products for you to choose from. There's lots of good reasons to check out Norel-Pom if you have never been. Just check it out and see how you like it. read more

I was going to visit my friend in Redding and stopped in Hayfork for a while to eat lunch. I am pretty picky about what I eat and where it comes from. A stranger at the hotel told me that there's a place around the corner, Norel Pom. I went in and it was actually pretty nice. They have a very friendly staff for one thing, and a huge selection of natural foods and drinks. Food was fairly priced. I felt that what I got was a good value for its cost. Snacked on some dry fruit in the car and it was delicious. Ended up stopping there on my way back and getting a bunch of trail mix and dried fruit. It's nice to have found some really healthy snacks there. read more

The quality and choice of the food at Norel-Pom is excellent. Lots of great stuff to choose from. The bulk bins were certainly the highlight. Every kind of grain, dried fruit, nut, or trail mix you can think of. They sell those coconut waters there too which I'm really into. The store was very clean and the staff were quite knowledgeable and friendly. For about the same price as going to Wiley's or Discount, you can be eating healthy organic food without a trip out of town. read more