With all its fresh air and outdoor sports, both locals and visitors to the Tahoe area tend to lean toward a healthy lifestyle. So thankfully, there's Grass Roots Natural Foods and Bakery in South Lake Tahoe. Anyone staying in the South Tahoe area will find this store fully stocked with items for their healthy vacation at the lake.

This shop's been in the Lake Tahoe area since 1973, but it recently moved into a larger 4,000-square-foot building, where it houses natural foods, supplements, an organic orange juice squeezing station, tons of organic produce and cruelty-free personal beauty items. 

Grass Roots has a large organic produce section — Photo courtesy of Grass Roots Natural Foods

Grass Roots Natural Foods also features a bakery with daily fresh-baked items, including pizza and cookies. The store also has a relationship with the local Freshies restaurant to offer organic packaged sandwiches and salads – perfect for a picnic on the lake or on the trail.

Everything in the clean, well-organized store is either organic, cage free, local and/or non-GMO, including their eggs, meat, produce and bulk grain section, which includes popcorn kernels, granola, raw sugar, rice flour and spices.

There's also a bulk honey, vinegar and oil section. For those with a penchant for natural, healing herbs, there's a bulk herb section, where you can fill up your own bags or containers.

The freezer section contains organic and gluten-free items.

Grass Roots Natural Foods even has a pretty garden — Photo courtesy of Grass Roots Natural Foods

Grass Roots Natural Foods and Bakery also has a very popular fresh-squeezed orange juice dispenser, which allows you to bring your own container to the store to fill up with fresh juice.

Along with your organic eggs, you can also pick up some organic, whole bean or ground coffee.

For a picnic lunch or dinner, Grass Roots also sells organic and local beers and wine, including wine from the Truckee River Winery.

Grass Roots' organic beauty section — Photo courtesy of Grass Roots Natural Foods

The community has really embraced Grass Roots over the years with a die-hard local following, perhaps because of their eco-conscious practices. The owners of the store and bakery recycle, reuse and restore as much as possible, and they have a large selection of biodegradable products for use in the deli and bakery. Styrofoam is never used in the store, and customers are encouraged to bring their own bags for their groceries.

Both locals and visitors are also encouraged to ride their bikes to the store, which is conveniently located just off the South Lake Tahoe Bikeway. Grass Roots is located at the "Y" of Highway 89 (to Emerald Bay) and Highway 50 from Echo Lake to the south and Stateline in the east.