The 5 Grocery Stores With The Best Selection Of Produce

All grocery stores stock produce, but quality varies from shop to shop. Grocery stores that offer the best produce know it's crucial to nail a few key factors. First, produce needs to be fresh — that feeling when you get home and open a packet of cucumbers only to find that they're soggy and covered in slime is not a good one. Second, fruits and vegetables need to be priced right. While shoppers can expect to pay a premium of about 50 percent more for organically grown vegetables, anything more than that starts to feel unreasonable. The third, often overlooked point, is the need for variety. You might have got the summer's best haul of eggplant, but even if you use these 11 foolproof ways to make eggplant taste better, there's only so much of it you can eat.

Even if you know what to look for, it can be tricky to determine which grocery stores will provide the best produce selection. So here's our list of five grocery stores with the best produce sections so you can always have your crisper drawer stocked with healthy and delicious options.

Illinois-based Fresh Thyme market is on a mission to help its shoppers live "better, healthier lives", and the selection and quality of produce are locked into this promise. Rooted in the Midwest, Fresh Thyme sources produce from local growers. Not only does this help build strong connections with the community, but it also ensures you have access to fresh fruits and vegetables at reasonable rates. They also have an extensive organic selection, proving that their commitment to sustainability goes beyond words in the boardroom.

This commitment to quality is not lost on their customers. At USA Today's 10Best Awards for 2025, Fresh Thyme ranked in the Top 5 in two separate categories: Best Grocery Store and Best Grocery Store for Produce. While the nomination came from a panel of experts, the rankings were based on votes from customers. "I go to Fresh Thyme for all my produce. Good quality, usually better prices than the chains, and weekly sales," one Reddit user posted, while another specifically called attention to their mushrooms. "Some of the best grocery mushrooms I've found consistently for the last several years. Their produce is overall good, but their mushrooms are fantastic," they wrote.

This family-run grocery chain started as a butcher shop in Shaker Heights, Ohio nearly a century ago. Founder Joe Heinen's philosophy was "you have to find the best to sell the best." That motto soon extended past meats, and Heinen's grew to become the first supermarket in Cleveland. Nearly 100 years after setting up shop, Heinen's is a popular grocery chain with 24 outlets across Ohio and Illinois that sells everything from specialty cheeses to prepared food.

Their produce section is known for its quality and variety. According to the website, the shop stocks more than 400 kinds of fruits and vegetables, including "150 USDA-certified organic produce varieties." The store also offers produce in recipe-ready packs, so you don't need to go through the trouble of dicing onions or prepping zucchini noodles. The quality of the produce means customers don't mind paying a premium. "All I hear is how expensive Heinen's is, but is it really though? I just want peppers that aren't rotten and onions that aren't peeling their layers before I even buy them. I also want to buy spinach and lettuce that isn't molding," one Redditor wrote, while another concurred: "It's cheaper in the long run than throwing out the garbage quality produce from Trader Joe's."

Founded by brothers Gene and Bernie in 1951, Gelson's set the template for the modern supermarket with their first store, relying on new technology to keep their meats and produce in top shape. Over the decades, the owners made high-quality produce their calling card by following thoughtful processes, hand-selecting their fruits and vegetables six days a week, and working closely with local farms.

With 27 stores in Southern California, Gelson's premium produce (and pricing!) is known to attract a fair share of celebrity shoppers, from John Wayne and Michael Jackson to Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. "Gelson's has always been a niche grocery catering to the wealthy elites," a user posted on Reddit, with one of the replies noting that they were a high-end store before high-end stores were a thing. But while their pricing continues to raise eyebrows online, some shoppers can see where the extra dollars are going. "Their stores are generally cleaner. The sandwich and deli counters are way better too. They also have a lot of nicer stuff that you won't find at Ralph's or Vons. I get that people want to hate, but there are actual benefits for the cost," a customer wrote defending Gelson's pricing strategy.

Much like Fresh Thyme Market, Wegmans is a grocery chain dedicated to helping customers "live healthier, better lives through exceptional food." The store has been in business for more than 100 years, has established more than 100 stores on the East Coast, and does over $12 billion in annual sales — strong signs that they're delivering value. Wegmans sources its produce from a network of over 400 local farmers. This density of suppliers ensures you're buying produce that's been grown near the store, regardless of where you're shopping. And produce that's sourced locally tends to be the most affordable as well!

Wegmans also runs its own organic farm in Canandaigua, New York, which doubles up as a research and development center. A person who worked at Wegmans for over a decade says the brand's stated commitment to fresh produce stands up to scrutiny on the ground. "Sourcing and quality is Wegmans #1 priority," they posted. "They don't just buy from wherever. They buy from the best and if it doesn't meet their standard, they don't buy it." There is some criticism online about a dip in standards, but this doesn't seem to extend to the produce section. "One of the few times I seek out Wegmans is when I want the highest quality produce," one customer posted on Reddit. "They consistently have the best and most expansive produce selection in my experience."

Texas-based chain Central Market ranked first in Tasting Table's ranking of the produce selection at 23 popular grocery store chains — and for good reason. Many call it "a foodie wonderland" — and they deliver on this. Beyond just selling top-quality produce, the store also hosts events that put healthy eating front and center. For example, they run a series of cooking classes that help people of all ages pick up new skills and enter their kitchens with increased confidence.

Central Market's selection of produce has been grabbing eyeballs since the mid 1990s. "Variety is king in produce at Central Market," a Supermarket News review from over three decades ago reads, noting the presence of 10 types of potatoes as well as "a wide variety of specialty fruit, and bananas sold at different stages of ripeness". Three decades later, they continue to take in the applause. "Legitimately one of the best grocery stores in the world," one customer posted on Reddit, while another even wrote that it was a key factor in them shifting base to Texas! "The first time I visited friends in Austin in 1999, Central Market was the very first place they took me. Seeing that for the first time was amazing and was definitely on the list of things that made me choose Austin."