Gracie Douglas moved to Miami three years ago due to her husband’s job and was introduced to a new way of eating — organically.

“Down there, you have the Whole Foods and all of these small, organic shops and they’re available to you all the time,” Douglas said. “You don’t have to travel to get it. (People here) have to go to Jacksonville, Tallahassee or Atlanta.”

While she always wanted to start her own business, the Valdosta State University graduate who has a bachelor of business administration knew what she needed to do in Valdosta — start her own organic store, Whisk Organic Market.

“I felt like this was something that Valdosta needed and there was a gap in the market. I decided to go for it,” she said.

Douglas said that a lot of people do not understand what organic food is.

Organic food is “produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations. Organic meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones,” according to the USDA National Organic Program.

Douglas was introduced to organic food after moving to Miami from a friend who ate totally organic food.

“I decided to go to a Whole Foods and started shopping there,” she said. “The food just taste so much better. It doesn’t have any chemicals. You can tell the difference, especially in the meat.”

In a way, the food is organic, just the way it was intended to be.

“I was just reading something the other day that said around World War II, people were eating organically because that’s all there was,” she said. “It was popular in the ’60s and ’70s and it’s been growing (in popularity) every year, significantly.”

While Douglas gets the organic food from distributors, most of the produce is coming from Georgia and Florida organic farms.

“I’m trying to be very local, but it’s hard,” she said. “There’s not a ton of organic farms around here and, the ones that are, they aren’t growing very much. I’ve got two farms right now and my distributor that’s coming from Georgia and Florida. That’s our motto, ‘Fresh, simple and close to home.’”

Since opening on Friday, Oct. 29, business has been steady. Whisk is planning a grand opening for Tuesday, Nov. 16.

So far, Douglas said, the produce has been very popular.

“People want fresh produce that doesn’t have anything sprayed on it,” she said. “A lot of people are interested in the grass-fed meat and free-range chicken because they don’t want to eat chicken and beef that’s full of hormones and antibiotics. There’s a difference. (The grass-fed meat and free-range chicken) is so much more tender and better.”

Besides organic food, Whisk is a place for local people who suffer from Celiac disease and must eat gluten-free food. There they can find various items such as gluten-free snacks for kids, bread, tortillas wraps, flower, pizza crust.

“There are a lot of products that are gluten-free,” she said. “I’m trying to cater to that.”

Whisk also carries some vegan products and, according to Douglas, is looking to have more in stock.

Besides vegan and gluten-free products, Whisk also carries Sweet Grass Dairy Cheese out of Thomasville.

“It’s not the conventional dairy farming, so it’s goat milk. The goats are grass-fed just like the beef. They also have cow milk cheese. It’s an organic farming process,” she said. “I’ve visited a lot of the dairies and farms that I’m getting the products from. We also have Sparkman’s Cream Valley Milk from Moultrie.”

Whisk also has coffee and tea to go for customers made from Valdosta’s The Beanery coffee beans and a wide variety of kitchen supplies and decor.

In the future, Douglas would like to open a deli in the store. Right now, she’s taking suggestions from customers on what kind of products they would like to see in the store.

“We’re always continuing the grow and get new products,” Douglas added.

Whisk Organic Market

3009 N. Ashley St.

Valdosta, Ga.

Hours: Monday – Friday: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday: 9 a.m. – until

Website: http://whiskorganicmarket.com