Food prices are up

[Dakota731]

As much as I dislike shopping at Walmart (I'm not worried about their employment practices; it just makes me feel gross

I sometimes think that the anti-Walmart sentiment stems from thinly veiled racism. More minorities shop and work at Walmart, and there are entire websites devoted to people who shop there - the so-called "Walmartians". In our town, you see very few people of color at Target - it is pegged as an upscale store. So when people say they feel gross to shop at Walmart or don't want to deal with the other customers or clerks at Walmart, I feel very offended. If Walmart were to shut down, the people who would be hurt the most are the lower income families who can't affort to shop at Costco or at little downtown boutiques.

 

[lakelandgal70]

I have noticed the prices and our grocery bill is so much. But we have to eat a certain way, ie I have Celiacs so no gluten. I have been trying intermittent fasting. Most days I only eat 2 meals and when I do cook I have been trying to use recipes without beef. We also used to eat out several times a week. That has been cut back to once or twice every two weeks. Keep trying to tweek the menus and save where we can. Amazon Prime has been helpful on certain items.

 

[havaneselover]

You have to vote with your money, so if you object to Walmart, more power to you. We are fortunate that our Walmarts are new and clean, and they have a lot of very nice employees inside.....hard to go down an aisle and not have someone ask you if they can help you. And most are full time with benefits. The nice grocery store that pays 50% more has nobody in the aisles anymore, and their employees are cut back to 19 1/2 hours so they don't get any benefits. Short answer is, working in a grocery store may no longer be a career, but a part time, or "while I am in school" job.

I hear you and I do vote with my wallet. And my Walmart is in a very nice area surrounded by very pricy housing and across from a high end mall but it's still horrific.

We're getting Wegmans in central VA soon. From what I understand it's a great company to work for. I like shopping where employees are happy/well compensated so hopefully that will give me another option.

 

[lakelandgal70]

Add me to the list of someone who hates Walmart. I will not shop there. Our stores around here are gross, ie dirty, not organized. I never save money there. Always end up spending way more there than at our local Publix. The produce is disgusting and I have never seen organic. Same with the meat. I can only eat grass fed. Ours doesn't carry any of that. And honestly if they did I probably would still not shop there. I get overstimulated when I go in there. The sights the sounds and all that mess. Just makes me anxious

 

[EMode]

I sometimes think that the anti-Walmart sentiment stems from thinly veiled racism. More minorities shop and work at Walmart, and there are entire websites devoted to people who shop there - the so-called "Walmartians". In our town, you see very few people of color at Target - it is pegged as an upscale store. So when people say they feel gross to shop at Walmart or don't want to deal with the other customers or clerks at Walmart, I feel very offended. If Walmart were to shut down, the people who would be hurt the most are the lower income families who can't affort to shop at Costco or at little downtown boutiques.

I avoid Walmart and it is because of the people who shop there, it has nothing to do with the color of their skin or ethnic background though. Our Walmart attracts trash, and there are just as many foul mouthed, loud obnoxious, let your kids destroy the place, make a mess in the aisles white people there as any other color.
Target attracts a different kind of customer, but again its people of all colors, they just aren't trashy.


I will say that other than the ladies behind the customer service desk, all the employees I've ever had to deal with have been pleasant and helpful.

 

[Dakota731]

We're getting Wegmans in central VA soon. From what I understand it's a great company to work for. I like shopping where employees are happy/well compensated so hopefully that will give me another option.

According to glassdoor.com the employee salaries for Wegman's and Walmart are almost identical. And no one is trying to stop Wegman's from coming to town even though it is a big box store - it's certainly not a ma and pa little grocery store. Again, it's all in image and PR - Wegman's has an upscale, white demographic like Target where Walmart is considered a low class minority store. People can say all that want that they don't want Walmart coming to town because of "employment practices" but it comes down to "I don't like the kind of clientele that comes with a Walmart".

 

[havaneselover]

Sure.

My kids are biracial. I don't care about skin color. I want a clean store where customers don't block the aisles obliviously and cashiers make eye contact and are polite. I've learned I can get the same products for the same price at cleaner stores with better customer service by being a smart shopper.

And my Target is filled with middle and upper middle class people of all skin colors and my Walmart is filled with lots of white people too.

Wegmans employs a lot of younger people and has a ton of perks. I can't comment on what glass door says.

 

[eliza61]

According to glassdoor.com the employee salaries for Wegman's and Walmart are almost identical. And no one is trying to stop Wegman's from coming to town even though it is a big box store - it's certainly not a ma and pa little grocery store. Again, it's all in image and PR - Wegman's has an upscale, white demographic like Target where Walmart is considered a low class minority store. People can say all that want that they don't want Walmart coming to town because of "employment practices" but it comes down to "I don't like the kind of clientele that comes with a Walmart".

I don't think so. LOL we didn't want walmart in Harlem and that's about as Black a neighborhood as you're going to get. I'm a born and bred Harlemite and yes it was about employment practices.
Now I was not on the board who denied zoning but I definitely gave let my experience be known.
but we also did not like their business practices.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...res-business-report-predicts-article-1.991697

truth be told I've never heard of the "walmart is for low class minorities" and target was for upscale whites.
who knew??

Now we do have a Wegmans. the clientele is different because the offerings are waaay different. I haven't been in walmart in years but last I heard they didn't offer artisian breads and cheeses, nor Wagybu beef at the ridiculous price of 99 bucks a pound.

I love Wegmans because I'm an amateur baker and they routinely have specialty items that I like, such as pastry flour by the pound, superfine sugar and natural Madagascar vanilla paste.

 

[ellone]

Same here, although I do love their pretzel bun, but since I make our own bread for kids sandwich, I hardly go there. They are cheap, sure, but we are paying the price somewhere.. Anyway, I usually managed to stock up on Post Cocoa Pebbles for 99 cents way back then and the chocolate taste is really chocolate..but as prices escalate, no more cereal , it is either eggs, oatmeal, leftover dinner... Cocoa Pebbles also don't taste good anymore! It tastes fake... Moon pies chocolate, Keeblers chocolate cookies also have that waxy fake chocolate taste that I hate...sigh...they increase the price and reduce the quality ..... Target brand Archer still has good cookies, but pricier though...

That's because they don't use much (if any chocolate). Many 'chocolate' items use artificial colors to make something look the right brown color when they have cut back or eliminated the chocolate. The flavors come artificially too.

 

[Dakota731]

According to Hispanic Business Times

But lost in the headlines of mainstream media, is Wal-Mart's stellar diversity record.

This year, like last, Wal-Mart ranked 4th on HispanicBusiness magazine's annual list of the nation's 60 most diverse companies, according to an extensive survey administered by HispanTelligence, the research arm of HispanicBusiness Magazine. In the upper echelons, Wal-Mart's diversity record stands out.
Two of the company's top 10 executive officers -- and six of its top 50 executive officers -- are Hispanic, according to the survey.

On both measures, Wal-Mart posted the second-highest score of the 500-plus companies surveyed by HispanTelligence, which uses the results to compile HispanicBusiness Magazine's annual list of the nation's 60 most diverse companies.

Also, the company's percentage of vice presidents and corporate officers who are Hispanic -- around 6 percent -- fared in the top 20. (About 7.5 percent of Wal-Mart's vice presidents and corporate officers are African American.
Last year, the retail behemoth dwarfed its competitors on philanthropic giving, devoting $423 million to charitable causes -- nearly double the amount of the next best company. In all, just four of the 500-plus companies surveyed surpassed the $100 million mark.

Much of the money is spent on education. For instance, the Wal-Mart Foundation last year awarded a $4.2 million grant to the Institute for Higher Education Policy, which will use the money to help send first-generation immigrants to college. And the company gives $100,000 to each of 20 colleges -- for a total of $2 million -- to help those schools support students seeking to become the first members of their families to graduate from college.

On marketing, the company is making a concerted effort to reach out to Hispanic consumers. In Houston this summer, Wal-Mart opened its brand-new Mas Club, which is modeled on Sam's Club, but aimed at the Hispanic community -- particularly to the owners of small businesses.

Wal-Mart has also been credited for its commitment to supplier diversity. The retailer is among 15 members of the "Billion Dollar Roundtable," a list recognizing the U.S corporations that spend at least $1 billion with minority- and women-owned suppliers.

In 2008, Wal-Mart committed $6 billion -- a 25 percent increase over 2007, Mr. Fan said. However, let's not forget that the company last year took in a mind-bending $405 billion in revenues.
)

Funny how none of this makes the news.

 

[eliza61]

According to Hispanic Business Times

Funny how none of this makes the news.

LOL,
Oh well then by all means let's forget that many of their stores are dirty and nasty.
And hey so what if they have a reputation for treating their workers horribly.
Along with a reputation for treating suppliers terribly also.

Hey, they spend money on diversity. and the last statement says its best. let see, 4 million out of 405 billion. is my math correct and that's what 1%

Impressive. definitely a corporate citizen

I really can't understand what the "media" has to do with this.

Dakota, it's great that you like the store but please stop with trying to convince me that mine and others dislike of walmart is some media inspired, faux memory. I wish I could forget my time as an employee there.
If some one says the store is dark, dirty and crappy, media has nothing to do with that.

 

[tvguy]

LOL,
Oh well then by all means let's forget that many of their stores are dirty and nasty.
And hey so what if they have a reputation for treating their workers horribly.
Along with a reputation for treating suppliers terribly also.

Hey, they spend money on diversity. and the last statement says its best. let see, 4 million out of 405 billion. is my math correct and that's what 1%

Impressive. definitely a corporate citizen

I really can't understand what the "media" has to do with this.

Dakota, it's great that you like the store but please stop with trying to convince me that mine and others dislike of walmart is some media inspired, faux memory. I wish I could forget my time as an employee there.
If some one says the store is dark, dirty and crappy, media has nothing to do with that.

Walmart is an interesting company. Interesting that there are such diverse opinions.
My local neighborhood grocery pays $20 an hour, with most workers assigned 19 1/2 hours a week, avoiding the union contract requirement for benefits if you work over 20 hours a week.
My Neighborhood Walmart pays $12 an hour, most workers are full time with benefits. Just seems like Walmart is a better citizen.

 

[Dakota731]

nobody has to work at Walmart if he feels underpaid or underappreciated. He can always seek another job. So why do 1.4 million Americans choose to work at Walmart, many for well under $12 per hour?

Many entry-level Walmart jobs consist of comparatively safe and non-strenuous work such as stocking shelves, working cash registers, and changing price labels. Walmart also pays competitive wages, which, for these jobs, are generally under $12 per hour, because these positions require little or no work experience or technical skills. For anyone with modest credentials, these jobs provide good work experience—experience which they can use to eventually land a higher paying job.

Listen to the critics, though, and you’ll hear Walmart portrayed as if it is holding its employees down. But in fact the company offers incredible opportunities for any hard-working, ambitious person who wants to work his way up in retail. Three out of four Walmart store managers started out as hourly associates, and those managers can earn up to $170,000 per year. Some former hourly associates, such as Patricia Curran, have worked their way up to top executive positions. Curran was named by Fortune magazine as one of the 50 most powerful women of 2006. Walmart even encourages associates to complete training courses during fully paid work time and offers raises to associates who complete these courses.

Little wonder that when Walmart opens a new store, it’s not uncommon for as many as 10,000 people to apply for just 300 jobs.

For Walmart, the pay, opportunities, and perks it offers must serve its goals for long-term growth and profitability. It offers training and development because it judges this to be good business. Such programs reward talent, motivate employees and recruit managers with extensive firsthand knowledge of store operations. With regards to wages, the company pays what it needs to in order to recruit an enormous number of competent and content associates.

Forbes Magazine

 

[Dakota731]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/09/target-multicultural-tips_n_3566873.html

A discrimination lawsuit against Target that will never make the network news.

Walmart's percentage of vice presidents and corporate officers who are Hispanic -- around 6 percent -- fared in the top 20. (About 7.5 percent of Wal-Mart's vice presidents and corporate officers are African American.

Not the case at Target, Wegman's or Costco. But Walmart doesn't have the cool, hip image of these stores. It has been vilified by the media as an evil box store (which so are) Target, Wegman's, Costco) and where are the protests when they move in the neighborhood?

 

[aliceindisneyland]

I thought there were new posts on this thread about food price increases.

 

[manning]

I thought there were new posts on this thread about food price increases.

Yeah, got to be a Walmart bash.

Folks, if you want to bash Walmart go to it, but do some of us a favor and start a "Bash Walmart" thread.

LET'S GET BACK TO FOOD PRICES!!!

 

[pat fan]

Folks, if you want to bash Walmart go to it, but do some of us a favor and start a "Bash Walmart" thread.

LET'S GET BACK TO FOOD PRICES!!!

I second. All in favor? The yea's have it!

We stopped and got some groceries Saturday, not a whole week's worth, but just grabbed some stuff to get us through. 3 one litre bottles of store brand tonic water, a 6 pk of greek yogurt, 2 boxes of cereal bars, a bag of apples and a loaf of bread. I spent about a third of my grocery budget on those couple items. I don't have a ton of coupons because they don't always put the coupons in the Sunday paper any more. It's a crap shoot. Some weeks they have them, some a few and some weeks no coupons at all. Grrrr....

 

[Planogirl]

Our Wal-Marts are quite clean. I'm sorry to hear that so many of you have dirty stores in your area. As for Target, I stopped at one tonight. This one had lots of empty shelves and only four registers open. I thought that Target was supposed to be so wonderful?

Anyway, back to actual food prices... I finally broke down and bought steak the other day because we were all craving it. I can't believe how expensive it has gotten. Wow!

 

[superme80]

I went to Trader Joe's the other day and spent $90! It was basic stuff and I thought I got some pretty decent deals. I went pull up and diaper shopping today. And Almost $80 later.... I did buy toilet paper and some other stuff, but geeze! It is expensive to have a family.

 

[eliza61]

Our Wal-Marts are quite clean. I'm sorry to hear that so many of you have dirty stores in your area. As for Target, I stopped at one tonight. This one had lots of empty shelves and only four registers open. I thought that Target was supposed to be so wonderful?

Anyway, back to actual food prices... I finally broke down and bought steak the other day because we were all craving it. I can't believe how expensive it has gotten. Wow!

Steak is definitely off the hook Plano,
when labor day comes around in September, check you stores. I've found (highly unscientific) that usually around "grilling" holidays they stores really cut the prices.

4th of July I stocked up on Ribeyes. Shoprite and acme had great quality ribeyes for $4.99.

Labor day I'll stock up if the prices stay around 4-6 bucks.

then Thanksgiving I've found that roast beefs and ham's are on sale. Last Easter the shank portion hams were 39cent a pound and if you spent so much you got a free ham or turkey.

so I'm already planning on this Thanksgiving buying maybe 3 shank or butt portions and freezing them.

LOL most normal people get excited for holidays for back to school or black Friday sales, I get excited because I know meats will be on sale. How sad is that?