SHAWNEE, Kan., Feb. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage^® (NYSE: NGVC), the natural foods chain that has changed many a customer's life with its nutrition education, higher standards and more affordable prices, is opening its fifth Kansas location in Shawnee today at 13335 Shawnee Mission Parkway, (913-631-0844).

"Shawnee is a great community, and we're excited to become a part of it," said Kemper Isely, co-President of Natural Grocers.

Shoppers in Shawnee and the Kansas City area may wonder how a grocery store can change people's lives. "It's because we provide the resources that people need to live with health and vitality," Isely explained.

• Our stores offer ways to help you take the best care of your own health. Knowledge. World Class Customer Service. Exceptional quality in all our natural and organic groceries and supplements. Affordable prices.
• What's missing when you walk through our doors? All those bad things you keep reading about. Natural Grocers will not sell any grocery product that contains artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, preservatives, or harmful transfats. The meats in our stores come from animals that have never been given drugs. Yet our shelves are full of amazing food and products, including fantastic, worry-free foods for children and even for your pets. (See: "What We Won't Sell and Why.")
• We sell only USDA Certified Organic produce. No more guessing whether the produce you are buying is possibly pesticide-filled produce or organic produce. At Natural Grocers, it's all organic. And we work hard to make organic affordable.
• Each Natural Grocers store has a credentialed Nutritional Health Coach (NHC) with the kind of insight and nutrition education for which you'd normally pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars – but we provide it free of charge, because no one should be excluded from receiving the type of information that can help them live a healthier life. NHCs can answer questions on special diet needs, help you design a personalized supplement and eating program, or point you toward the products that support your health and fitness goals, whether you're trying to sleep better or concentrate more. You can even sign up for individual coaching sessions or attend a nutrition class with cooking demo.
• Our knowledgeable staff welcomes your questions, whether about special diets like gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian/vegan, and low-glycemic, or specific supplements or products.
• We offer local products and support local agriculture when we open a store. Shoppers can look for products from over 30 Kansas companies, and we are always looking for opportunities to bring in meat, produce and dairy from Kansas farms. Check our website for new product approval guidelines.
• Shawnee shoppers can come in to get yummy cooking demos, hear speakers or attend seminars to enhance the depth of your nutrition knowledge (schedule: http://www.naturalgrocers.com/nutrition/nutrition-seminars).
• We don't offer plastic or paper shopping bags, but if you forget your bags, we'll gladly pack your groceries in recycled boxes. We do sell inexpensive reusable shopping bags AND each time you shop with your own shopping bag, we will make a donation to the local food bank.
• Tuesday, Feb. 18 is Grand Opening Day! Come share
  • Many delicious food tastings
  • Knowledgeable representatives from supplement manufacturers
  • Body care samples
  • Grand Prizes are as follows: (drawing 3/28 need not be present to win)
  • iPad compliments of Natural Grocers
  • iPod compliments of Country Life
  • $500 Natural Grocers Gift card compliments of NOW Foods
  • Vitamix High Performance Blender compliments of Nature's Way/Enzymatic Therapy lines
  • Cuisinart Food Processor compliments of Garden of Life
  • Tokyo Citizen Collapsible adult bike compliments of Honest Tea
  • Buffalo Meat cuts gift package provided by Wild Idea Buffalo Co.
  • Daily giveaway gift baskets

Of special note is that Natural Grocers will soon be unveiling the strictest dairy standards in the industry, in hopes of keeping GMOs, drugs and other related ills out of the products it offers its customers. "We hope to spark a conversation with our communities and the nation about how our food is raised, and how it impacts so many other parameters that we forget to consider: not only food quality, but health, sustainability, community well-being, and animal welfare," said Isely.

The Shawnee Natural Grocers will be open Monday through Saturday from 8:56 a.m. to 8:04 pm. On Sunday the store will be open from 9:56 a.m. to 7:06 p.m. Customers are welcome to come a little early and to stay a little late.

About Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage
Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC): Founded in Colorado by Margaret & Philip Isely in 1955, Natural Grocers was built on the premise that consumers should have access to affordable, high-quality foods and dietary supplements, along with nutrition knowledge to help them support their own health.  The family-run store has since grown into a successful national chain with locations across Colorado, Texas, Utah, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Missouri, New Mexico, Montana, Kansas, Idaho, Nebraska, Arizona and Oregon, and employs over 2000 people.  The company went public in July 2012. Isely family members continue to manage the company, building on the foundation of their parents' business.  Natural Grocers' popularity and success can be traced back to its founding principles: providing customers with high quality products at everyday affordable prices. www.naturalgrocers.com

SOURCE Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.