On Feb. 13, President Donald Trump established the Make America Healthy Again Commission, tasked with addressing the high rate of childhood chronic disease. Secretary of the Dept. of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leads the commission, which subsequently released the MAHA Assessment. The report named four chronic disease drivers: a nutrient-poor diet of ultra-processed foods; increased exposure to synthetic chemicals; a combination of low physical activity and high levels of stress; and overmedication.

Just before becoming surgeon general, Casey Means, MD, published “Good Energy,” a guide to healthful living. In the book, Means recommends a daily diet of whole, unprocessed foods containing micronutrients (vitamins, and minerals), omega-3 fatty acids, fiber and protein. Means also recommends daily consumption of fermented foods like yogurt and sauerkraut.

Produce that is certified organic, according to the standards of the US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), must be grown on land that has been free of pesticides listed in the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 for at least three years before the harvest date. “Certified Naturally Grown” is less expensive for farmers than “Certified Organic”; CNG farms are annually inspected by a non-USDA-accredited group that verifies compliance with organic standards.

One budget-friendly strategy is to prioritize organic purchasing for foods that retain a great deal of synthetic chemical residue when they are grown with pesticides. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) publishes a list every year of the “dirty dozen” – produce items that have the highest levels of pesticide residue, as measured by the USDA.

The 2025 “dirty dozen” is (from highest chemical levels to lowest): spinach; strawberries; kale, collard, and mustard greens; grapes; peaches; cherries; nectarines; pears; apples; blackberries; blueberries; and potatoes. On the flip side, pineapples, sweet corn, and avocados had the lowest amount of pesticide residue.

Four major chains with stores in the Lehigh Valley – Giant, ShopRite, Wegmans and Whole Foods – have organic versions of virtually all the “dirty dozen” produce items. Walmart’s organic selection is more limited, but is priced competitively. Prices and availability mentioned below are as of July 23 for the store locations listed; all are for organic produce.

Giant has multiple Valley locations. The Route 191 location (3926 Nazareth Pike in Bethlehem) is one of just two Valley stores offering organic collard greens; priced at $3.99 per bunch, they were out of stock at press time. Chris Keetch, corporate director of produce and floral, notes that there are usually more than 125 organic produce items, including apples, various berries and mushrooms.

“Before organic produce became prevalent, items were priced higher,” Keetch says. “Today, in many cases, organics are close to the same retail as their conventionally grown counterparts.” He recommends looking for in-season organic produce “to take advantage of the quality and the weekly promotions.”

ShopRite (4701 Freemansburg Ave. in Bethlehem Township) is the other local chain selling organic collard greens ($4.99 for a 10-ounce package). ShopRite’s prices were among the lowest for grapes ($5.99 for a two-pound package), peaches and nectarines ($6.99 for a two-pound package), and pears and apples ($1.99 per pound).

Sam Colalillo, a third-generation grocer whose family owns and operates the Bethlehem ShopRite (as well as four other ShopRite locations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey), is enthusiastic when he talks about his stores’ organic offerings, especially locally sourced items. “We love working with our local farmers to provide fresh organic produce to our customers,” Colalillo says. “When you walk into my family’s store, you’ll notice a display right at the entrance with signs showing which farm each fruit and vegetable comes from – it’s our way of sharing their story with customers. Most recently, we’ve featured organic blackberries and blueberries from Rosedale Farms in Hammonton, N.J.”

Beyond certified organic, ShopRite offers chemical-free options from local growers. Colalillo notes, “ShopRite is also proud to source lettuce and greens from Little Leaf Farms, which is located in McAdoo, Pa. While Little Leaf Farms is not USDA Organic certified, its leafy greens are free from pesticide, herbicide and fungicide. The greens are produced with a hands-free [hydroponic] growing process that ensures the lettuce is clean and safe to eat without utilizing chemicals needed to grow in traditional field farms. Working with Little Leaf Farms in Pennsylvania, we can get their fresh lettuce to our ShopRite stores in about a day. Cutting down on shipping time allows us to add days of shelf life to the product, reducing overall costs. And the greens are delicious!”

Slightly further afield, organic greenhouses provide options after the outdoor growing season, without going all the way to California. Colalillo explains, “We were very excited last year to start working with an Ohio-based greenhouse that grows organic strawberries in the winter months, when it is more difficult to source organic, field-grown strawberries. The regional organic strawberry greenhouse – one of the first of its kind – has helped us bring great organic strawberries to our ShopRite stores at times of the year when, historically, it was difficult.”

Walmart has several locations in the Valley. The best organic price at the Bethlehem store, at 3926 Linden St., is $2.88 for a one-pound bag of fresh green kale. The store also sells organic spinach and grapes.

Wegmans has three stores in the Valley. At press time, the store at 5000 Wegmans Drive in Bethlehem had the best prices on spinach ($4.99 for an 11-ounce package), strawberries ($7.99 for a 32-ounce package), and blackberries ($6.99 for a 12-ounce package).

Whole Foods Market has a store at 750 N. Krocks Road in Allentown. The chain was acquired by Amazon in 2017, and offers better pricing to Amazon Prime customers than to the general public. Its Prime prices are the most competitive for strawberries ($3.99 for a 16-ounce package) and for peaches and nectarines ($3.49 per pound). Whole Foods Market’s prices are the lowest of those we checked for cherries ($5.54 per pound, $4.99 with Prime), blueberries ($6.10 for an 18-ounce container, $5.49 with Prime), and potatoes ($1.69 per pound).

Certified organic produce can also be found at the Easton Farmers Market. Salvaterra’s Gardens, Cabbage Throw Farm and Dragonfly Hill Farm are all organic. Primordia Mushroom Farm is chemical-free. All offerings are seasonal, as the produce is grown locally.

An additional benefit of shopping at the Easton Farmers Market is that individuals and families receiving public assistance can make their dollars go further. Thanks to a partnership with The Food Trust, people buying tickets with SNAP Electronic Benefits Transfer cards can double their value, up to $10 per day (doubled to $20). People using Women Infants and Children (WIC) to buy tickets can triple their value, through the Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP), up to $10 (tripled to $30); people with senior citizen FMNP benefits can also triple their benefit, capped at $5 (tripled to $15).

How far does an 18-ounce package of blueberries go? What about a one-pound bag of fresh kale? A sample of recipes from Surgeon General Means includes a spinach-and-egg frittata for breakfast, with half a cup of baby spinach per person. A typical lunch recipe is a salad with salmon for four people, containing one small red onion, one apple, four celery stalks, two medium bulbs of fennel, and half a cup of olives.

A dinner casserole for four to six people includes eight ounces of wild mushrooms, one large onion, one garlic clove, one cup of lentils, half a cup of walnuts, two cups of baby spinach, six cups of cauliflower, two cups of celery root, two medium-sized carrots, and two garlic cloves. For many American families, these recipes provide at least one day of leftovers.

More information on ultra-processed foods is available from the Cleveland Clinic (health.clevelandclinic.org/ultra-processed-foods). EWG’s ranking of produce by the amount of pesticide residue is online (ewg.org/foodnews/full-list.php). Guidance on how to shop with EBT and take advantage of “double SNAP” is online (eastonfarmersmarket.com/shop-with-ebt/).