Stimpson’s health food haven a hop away

Sarah Brown Life Editor

Stimpson’s House of Nutrition opened 35 years ago as a vitamin and body-builder supply shop, and even though it expanded 15 years ago to offer health foods, you’d never know it from the Collegeview Avenue.

“I thought it was just a vitamin shop,” said Kirsten Boreen ’09, after exploring the shop for the first time. “I had no idea the health food part existed.”

According to Stimpson’s employee Doug Patterson, the shop’s main clientele is comprised of avid body builders and Poughkeepsie residents, who use it to stock up on health food. Surprisingly, the shop gets very little business from Vassar students.

“We see around 15 to 20 faces from the College that keep coming back, but that’s about it,” said Patterson.

Even though Vassar students do not frequent the shop with the same enthusiasm that they do other food vendors in the area, such as Babycakes and Zorona’s, Stimpson’s carries a sizeable assortment of products and accepts the V-Card.

The philosophy of Stimpson’s is to be knowledgeable and informative about the products they carry in order to better serve their customers. Employees spend a lot of time seeking new products and making sure they keep prices low. And it’s true—Stimpson’s is a lot cheaper than you would expect a small, privately-operated store to be. Plus, they offer rare, controversial products that aren’t available anywhere else nearby.

“We are the only store in a 60-mile radius that sells pills with Ephedra,” said Patterson. “Although [the stimulant] has gotten a bad reputation recently, we believe that it can be used safely, and that there is no reason why we should keep it from our customers who supply a high demand for the product.”

Nestled in the right corner of the store, just beyond the stacks of pill jars and shelves of bodybuilding accoutrements, lies the health food section. There is a range of dry soy and rice milks, and over ten different kinds of nut butters.

The bread/baked goods selection is a highlight of the shop, with 100 percent rye breads, fiber-rich cereals, whole-wheat tortillas, and multi-grain flax pancake and brownie mixes.

The breads carried come from non-mainstream sources such as “Ezekiel 4:9,” a company that crafts its foods to mimic those eaten in biblical times. Although smelt-filled bread may sound odd to those accustomed to the white bread served at ACDC, it really is superior.

The frozen-foods case alone is worth the trip. Stimpson’s carries vegan burgers ranging in brand from Boca Burger and Gardenburger to Morningstar Farms, as well as vegan soy ravioli and Tofutti ice cream sandwiches.

They even carry frozen wheat-grass shots which, once you can get past the fact that you are downing pureed lawn, are surprisingly tasty.

Stimpson’s also carries over 100 varieties of tea infusions, an extensive all-natural hygiene product section, and aromatic tea-tree oil products that will certainly garner their users increased attention at the Mug.

With Bible bread, tempting tempeh, and vegan chocolate sauce, it’s about time that Vassar students claim this haven as their own.