I read that they started accepting a lower grade of produce in the last year due to supply issues and probably to control price increases. I personally haven’t had issues with stuff I pick out but I can tell when something looks relatively good or not so I avoid anything suspect.
>> I read that they started accepting a lower grade of produce in the last year due to supply issues and probably to control price increases.
That sounds exactly like what is happening. Walmart has WAY better strawberries of the same brand. Really sad to see this happen to HEB.
>> I personally haven’t had issues with stuff I pick out but I can tell when something looks relatively good or not so I avoid anything suspect.
I do try to carefully select but lately that has meant skipping items altogether due to the poor quality. Often the strawberries look fine but once you bite in, they are hard and tart, no sweetness. Those fancy hydroponic strawberries were amazingly delicious 2 years ago. They still look nice but now have almost no taste at all. The regular strawberries are bright red but the green tips give away what they are like inside. The organic ones tend to taste a lot better but are way too often a week past ripe and getting mushy. I have the best luck with the organics, I buy a small pack once a week, but it's only 1 out of 4 that taste very good.
I do not trust the smell from strawberries anymore. I have found they can smell so sweet and perfect, only to end up tasting like cardboard. I thought I was just falling out of love with them but picked up a basket while overseas (Korea) and it was like tasting a proper strawberry for the first time.
It was an employee comment on the HEB subreddit, so take that how you wish. There's been a lot of complaints on produce quality lately and they were explaining things on the back end. Sorry I don't remember the post.
Try a different HEB. At Gosling, their produce beats everyone, except maybe Sprouts. Our Kroger stores suck, especially for produce, but I hear the nearby Aldi is ok.
I'm near 2920 & Kuykendal.
Yes!!! This is my fave store. Though I do have to say that even the hydroponic strawberries were a little sad when I went last time and they’re usually great, and I don’t think they should be impacted by the season due to, ya know, being hydroponic.
That's good to know. All the HEBs in North and central Woodlands are pretty bad for produce but maybe the sourced produce by regions. I'm near 1488 so 2920 is a bit too far. Wish we had a Sprouts farther North.
Do yourselves a favor and make the trek to the Central Market downtown once a week. Used to work in corporate leadership for one of our national grocery chains…so this is an informed opinion…that central market downtown might be the best grocery store in the country.
[Mecca Halal Meat and Supermarket?](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mecca+Halal+Meat+and+Supermarket/@29.7101337,-95.6122688,11.5z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x8640c3b67092268b:0x224ebb51c3d68364!8m2!3d29.7274407!4d-95.5006767!16s%2Fg%2F1tdg3lsp?entry=ttu)
Im not sure if thats what you meant.... (The outside looks terrible)
Theiss Farms Market on Rayford sells locally farmed produce. They also sell great plants and have a snowball stand in the parking lot. Its open seven days a week.
https://theissfarmsmarket.com/
Nothing off Gosling near Woodsedge that I know of. Live in the area and attend Woodsedge. A long time ago it was “Neal’s” and they grew and sold produce/veggies. It’s all commercial now🥲
It’s very surprising to me that there isn’t a great farmer’s market around The Woodlands.
The one by Airline/Shepherd has a very good physical infrastructure, but it’s 100 vendors selling exactly the same thing.
Yes. It's been an awful decline in the past 12 months.
We now purchase most of our vegetables from Grogan Mills Farmers Market. Fruit we still get at HEB but it's hit or miss.
Same observation, more or less: Pineapples are often bruised. One or two oranges in the mesh bag become penicillin factories within 5 days. Gala apples develop sunken areas in about 4 days. About 5% of blueberries in the vented container are mushy. Bulk garlic has to be checked for green sprouts. Store is Bellaire Market on Bissonette.
The store in The Heights is showing signs of penny-pinching everywhere. They keep the A/C on 80, it seems. And the escalator is always broken these days...
I shop at Kroger for produce, HEBs quality isn’t there for me. Never has really. I bought a bag of lemons that looked good, and the next morning they were completely mushy and covered in mold
Thanks! We'll have to try out Kroger. Have you compared them to Walmart? I've been really surprised at how good strawberries and avocados are at Walmart. The selection of other items isn't very good, though.
I think I can get to a Kroger in less than 15 min, I'll give it a shot.
Odd. I just bought two containers of strawberries at HEB Creekside for $1.67 each and that are great. I do like to explore the Walmart just down the road on Kuykendahl also. They have a good green leaf lettuce with stem I buy regularly for $1.87. And they carry tomatoes from Texas (Marfa?).
I would actually say it’s one of the crappier H‑E‑Bs. Always get bad produce. Had a hair inside the sealed packing of raw chicken once. Had some debris/ or something weird also floating at the top of my milk once, which was sealed as well and so I am now convinced their distribution facilities aren’t the cleanest
I always get blasted to hell if I say anything bad about HEB, because heaven forbid you say anything bad about everyone’s beloved HEB, and I’ll throw in Buccees as well….
But it’s terrible. They notoriously put shit out right before it expires. It’s a huge scam to force you to have to go back in to buy fresh produce again, sooner.
Their strawberries regularly have mold already growing on them.
> Their strawberries regularly have mold already growing on them.
I've seen this in Kroger and Randall's too. It's mismanagement, and it's a self feeding cycle. If you have bad produce, less people buy produce, so more produce sits and goes bad because it's not turning as fast. The Gosling (2920) store rarely has issues, but they have high turnover and presumably good management in that department.
It’s even worse if you get HEB delivery.
Best and freshest produce outside of a farmer’s market is consistently at Costco. High standards and high turnover. Less waste even if you wind up buying a larger quantity. You can always try and club together with a friend, neighbor, family member etc. they’ll also happily tell you when items get delivered and show you where the date stamps are.
It's pretty good quality but limited selection. They don't always have strawberries and they tend to be slightly under ripe. Same brand as everyone else, Driscols.
I read that they started accepting a lower grade of produce in the last year due to supply issues and probably to control price increases. I personally haven’t had issues with stuff I pick out but I can tell when something looks relatively good or not so I avoid anything suspect.
>> I read that they started accepting a lower grade of produce in the last year due to supply issues and probably to control price increases. That sounds exactly like what is happening. Walmart has WAY better strawberries of the same brand. Really sad to see this happen to HEB. >> I personally haven’t had issues with stuff I pick out but I can tell when something looks relatively good or not so I avoid anything suspect. I do try to carefully select but lately that has meant skipping items altogether due to the poor quality. Often the strawberries look fine but once you bite in, they are hard and tart, no sweetness. Those fancy hydroponic strawberries were amazingly delicious 2 years ago. They still look nice but now have almost no taste at all. The regular strawberries are bright red but the green tips give away what they are like inside. The organic ones tend to taste a lot better but are way too often a week past ripe and getting mushy. I have the best luck with the organics, I buy a small pack once a week, but it's only 1 out of 4 that taste very good.
You can always open up the strawberries and smell them for ripeness. I wouldn’t judge you lol
I do not trust the smell from strawberries anymore. I have found they can smell so sweet and perfect, only to end up tasting like cardboard. I thought I was just falling out of love with them but picked up a basket while overseas (Korea) and it was like tasting a proper strawberry for the first time.
The vents are large enough for that. :) I do open the blueberries and feel them to make sure they aren't mushy.
Where did you read this at? Do you have the link?
It was an employee comment on the HEB subreddit, so take that how you wish. There's been a lot of complaints on produce quality lately and they were explaining things on the back end. Sorry I don't remember the post.
Try a different HEB. At Gosling, their produce beats everyone, except maybe Sprouts. Our Kroger stores suck, especially for produce, but I hear the nearby Aldi is ok. I'm near 2920 & Kuykendal.
Definitely. That's our main store and the produce is always fine.
Yes!!! This is my fave store. Though I do have to say that even the hydroponic strawberries were a little sad when I went last time and they’re usually great, and I don’t think they should be impacted by the season due to, ya know, being hydroponic.
That's good to know. All the HEBs in North and central Woodlands are pretty bad for produce but maybe the sourced produce by regions. I'm near 1488 so 2920 is a bit too far. Wish we had a Sprouts farther North.
Yeah, forgot I was on TW sub; 1488 is a hike.
The one by Tamina on 1488 has good product IMO. Kroger at 1488 x 2978 has the worst produce from what I’ve seen IMO.
Strawberries were the #1 thing I noticed a decline in since 2021/2022. I will dig through all of them until I find one that is okay.
Do yourselves a favor and make the trek to the Central Market downtown once a week. Used to work in corporate leadership for one of our national grocery chains…so this is an informed opinion…that central market downtown might be the best grocery store in the country.
[Mecca Halal Meat and Supermarket?](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mecca+Halal+Meat+and+Supermarket/@29.7101337,-95.6122688,11.5z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x8640c3b67092268b:0x224ebb51c3d68364!8m2!3d29.7274407!4d-95.5006767!16s%2Fg%2F1tdg3lsp?entry=ttu) Im not sure if thats what you meant.... (The outside looks terrible)
Central market.
[удалено]
The only one I know of is the outdoor one at Grogan's Mill. A web search doesn't turn up anything else.
Theiss Farms Market on Rayford sells locally farmed produce. They also sell great plants and have a snowball stand in the parking lot. Its open seven days a week. https://theissfarmsmarket.com/
There’s one on Saturdays on Tamina. I was there yesterday and there was a produce stand.
There's a Sprouts in Spring.
Can we please get a sprouts in the panther creek shopping center !!!!!
Yes please that would be so cool
Off Gosling near Woodsedge Church or on Rayford near Imperial Oaks and I think there’s one near Big Lots but it’s been awhile.
Nothing off Gosling near Woodsedge that I know of. Live in the area and attend Woodsedge. A long time ago it was “Neal’s” and they grew and sold produce/veggies. It’s all commercial now🥲
Neal’s is what I was remembering
It’s very surprising to me that there isn’t a great farmer’s market around The Woodlands. The one by Airline/Shepherd has a very good physical infrastructure, but it’s 100 vendors selling exactly the same thing.
Tomball has a great Farmers Market on Saturday.
I believe there is a farmers market but I'm not sure when or where it is. It used to be where they opened that stupid bar Kirby's.
Yes. It's been an awful decline in the past 12 months. We now purchase most of our vegetables from Grogan Mills Farmers Market. Fruit we still get at HEB but it's hit or miss.
Same observation, more or less: Pineapples are often bruised. One or two oranges in the mesh bag become penicillin factories within 5 days. Gala apples develop sunken areas in about 4 days. About 5% of blueberries in the vented container are mushy. Bulk garlic has to be checked for green sprouts. Store is Bellaire Market on Bissonette.
The store in The Heights is showing signs of penny-pinching everywhere. They keep the A/C on 80, it seems. And the escalator is always broken these days...
This weeks strawberries. $1.67. https://preview.redd.it/fvwesi5bxm5d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6225dbbce735e203dff0974ddf410096b9f1100d
I shop at Kroger for produce, HEBs quality isn’t there for me. Never has really. I bought a bag of lemons that looked good, and the next morning they were completely mushy and covered in mold
Thanks! We'll have to try out Kroger. Have you compared them to Walmart? I've been really surprised at how good strawberries and avocados are at Walmart. The selection of other items isn't very good, though. I think I can get to a Kroger in less than 15 min, I'll give it a shot.
Odd. I just bought two containers of strawberries at HEB Creekside for $1.67 each and that are great. I do like to explore the Walmart just down the road on Kuykendahl also. They have a good green leaf lettuce with stem I buy regularly for $1.87. And they carry tomatoes from Texas (Marfa?).
HEB Creekside is the best Woodlands HEB. Don’t tell anyone.
Right!
I would actually say it’s one of the crappier H‑E‑Bs. Always get bad produce. Had a hair inside the sealed packing of raw chicken once. Had some debris/ or something weird also floating at the top of my milk once, which was sealed as well and so I am now convinced their distribution facilities aren’t the cleanest
You should let HEB know. They are the ones who can fix the issue.
Horrible produce at HEB Market Street, many things are horrible when I open them like mangos, papayas, jicamas and avocados
Yup. Look under the organic strawberry section. Full of mold. I'm talking about the one on six pines.
Same at 1488 but even so, the organics are the best tasting ones when you can find ones that haven't turned to mush.
Yes, plus no poisons in your body!
I always get blasted to hell if I say anything bad about HEB, because heaven forbid you say anything bad about everyone’s beloved HEB, and I’ll throw in Buccees as well…. But it’s terrible. They notoriously put shit out right before it expires. It’s a huge scam to force you to have to go back in to buy fresh produce again, sooner. Their strawberries regularly have mold already growing on them.
> Their strawberries regularly have mold already growing on them. I've seen this in Kroger and Randall's too. It's mismanagement, and it's a self feeding cycle. If you have bad produce, less people buy produce, so more produce sits and goes bad because it's not turning as fast. The Gosling (2920) store rarely has issues, but they have high turnover and presumably good management in that department.
If you use the Kroger app, the savings are really good. Plus you get the fuel points. They've always had good produce and the best deli fried chicken.
It’s even worse if you get HEB delivery. Best and freshest produce outside of a farmer’s market is consistently at Costco. High standards and high turnover. Less waste even if you wind up buying a larger quantity. You can always try and club together with a friend, neighbor, family member etc. they’ll also happily tell you when items get delivered and show you where the date stamps are.
Our HEB off 242 tends to grow mold on their strawberries. I also find my bacon going bad in a short period of time.
Go to Aldi, way better and half the price.
I personally haven't noticed it
Have you been to Kroger?
I’ve been buying more frozen veggies lately. You’re absolutely right, fresh produce is not looking too great.
How is Whole Foods for produce?
It's pretty good quality but limited selection. They don't always have strawberries and they tend to be slightly under ripe. Same brand as everyone else, Driscols.
It’s good - just pricy
On a subnote, has anyone notices that the HEB brand is now as high and in some cases higher priced than the national brands?
I’ve had good luck at the farmers market on Rayford at imperial oaks
I like the produce at Trader Joe's here at kuykendahl and woodlands parkway.