For Goodness Sake customers in Bonita Springs are happy to see the familiar smiling face of Jodi La Sage, who recently returned as the store’s natural health consultant. Responsible for reviewing the latest science about natural products La Sage is excited about being able to integrate the new science and latest products into the store’s philosophy of “plants before pills” and “energy before chemistry” after her two-year hiatus of managing Jacksonville, Florida’s Grassroots Natural Market. La Sage, who has extensive experience in the health food industry, got an early start at age 22 when she began working in the health and beauty department of SunSplash, in Naples. “I lived within walking distance of the store and had shopped there for years, plus I was vegetarian. My love for a healthy lifestyle made for an easy immersion into the industry. I was enthusiastic to learn all about supplements, vitamins, and herbs,” says La Sage, whose second love, photography, also led to starting Jodi La Sage Photography. 

Born and raised in Naples, La Sage relocated several times, but always remained within the Southwest Florida area. “I’ve worked in mom and pop stores from Marco Island to Sarasota. I was working in Port Charlotte for more than five years before I came to For Goodness Sake the first time,” says La Sage, who recalls her family challenges when she transitioned to vegetarianism. “My parents were steak and potatoes people and my mom put bacon fat in everything.”

In her 22-year career, La Sage has seen a shift in customer demographics. “In earlier years, the cultural perspective was largely that crunchy granola, Birkenstock-wearing hippies ate tasteless and boring tofu and shopped in health food stores. Today, the demographics are very varied. There are no age limits. Young people are being proactive with their health and older individuals that have been seeing conventional doctors their whole life are now considering food as medicine and shopping around for natural modalities to treat their chronic symptoms, as well as for supplements and herbs that either don’t interfere with their medications or ones they can use to help reduce the dosage of them. The business has become very innovative, and the food now is delicious and very flavorful. This is reflected in all our area’s restaurants now offering healthy, organic food on their menus,” remarks La Sage.

Two of La Sage’s favorite aspects of her career are offering personalized service and helping people understand that the body is fully capable of optimal health and healing itself when it has everything it needs. “When someone comes to the store expecting a knowledgeable person who offers personalized service in finding a product that can provide relief from particular issue and I can suggest options, I’m elated when they come back weeks later and tell me that the product made a big difference in how they feel. Big box stores can’t provide the same kind of personalized service that For Goodness Sake can. During COVID, we have not only been offering curbside pick-up service, but also providing special accommodations. We’ve opened up before or after our store hours to allow a customer an individual shopping experience. We are doing all we can to help our customers through this time of transition to whatever the new normal turns out to be. In my opinion, it is also critical for Southwest Floridians to support their local small businesses, which are suffering the most.”

The fresh coat of paint, new signage and new store design, as well as the addition of the kratom and kava bar were things La Sage was delighted to see when she returned. “I love watching customers hanging out and enjoying each other. Rather than running in, buying something and running out, they are relaxing, getting to know each other, networking and creating a sense of community that is essentially, along with sales, the lifeblood of small health food stores. As a business owner, Bruce Ford has breathed new life into For Goodness Sake with things such as our specialized CBD brands and our cognitive brain function station. Tye, who masterminded the kava/kratom bar, channels his enthusiasm into creating new delicious drink recipes and educating our customers on the health benefits of kava and kratom. We are all in this together, and I’m glad to be back and helping Bruce, Tye and Myra, our store manager, to serve our community,” says La Sage.  

For Goodness Sake is located at 9118 Bonita Beach Rd. SE, in Bonita Springs. For more information, call 239-992-5838 or visit ForGoodnessSakes.com.