SO grocery changes thread…How do you grocery shop?

[kanne323]

Do you do all your shopping at one store?
Do you shop at the same store every time you shop?
Do you shop at specialty stores?

I do the bulk of my shopping at Hannaford. It's the closest, though between mid-June and Labor Day, I don't go to the local one, because it's the busiest location of the chain. Whole Foods and Trader Joe's (only one of each in the state) are about a half-hour away; I go to WF when I'm in the area (every few weeks), but I only go to Trader Joe's when I'm running out of their face lotion, because it's just not a nice place to be. The employees are great, but it's so crowded and not designed well, so it's impossible to go down aisles. I also only go to Market Basket once every few months; it's never a pleasant experience. They actually have a larger selection on many things than Hannaford does, but it's further away and checking out is always unpleasant.

I usually shop myself; I've done pick up once at Hannaford and once at Whole Foods. Both were fine, but I like to pick my own meat and my own produce. While I do attempt to meal plan, I also do a lot of last minute changes during shopping trips based on what looks good. During the summer, I'm a big farmer's market fan and used to belong to a CSA (maybe again this year, we'll see.) And during the fall, I'll drive out of my way to go directly to the apple orchard to buy apples, squash, cider, etc. Oh, once a year, I'll buy maple syrup from a local sugar house.

 

[tvguy]

I only go inside the grocery store for emergency last-minute shopping these days and that is very rare. I do all my shopping online through our local grocer and pick it up curbside. It’s so nice to have them shop it, bag it and load it in the car for me.

This may sound strange. but I don't have the time to shop online. Our meal planning is done in the store, by price and in the case of produce, meat, poultry and fish, by the quality of what I am seeing. I certainly can price check from home, but that takes more time, and does not include the "in store" "managers specials" in the individual stores. And how a piece of meat/fish/poultry produce looks is important to me. If the steaks don't look good, we aren't buying any that week.
And, apologizes for not remember the screen name of the DISer who was having issues with getting what he/she wanted when having delivery. Ordered a Turkey Roast, and got a turkey roast. A frozen collection of pressed turkey meat. What she really wanted was a fresh boneless turkey breast.
And more than once, we have had one of those young adults the store hires to assemble the online orders ask us if we felt something met the description of what was requested. The bananas needed to be of "medium ripeness".
Or my old boss who was making french onion soup and ordered 4 pounds of onions, and found a 40 pound sack of onions on her front porch.

 

[AustinTink]

This may sound strange. but I don't have the time to shop online. Our meal planning is done in the store, by price and in the case of produce, meat, poultry and fish, by the quality of what I am seeing. I certainly can price check from home, but that takes more time, and does not include the "in store" "managers specials" in the individual stores. And how a piece of meat/fish/poultry produce looks is important to me. If the steaks don't look good, we aren't buying any that week.
And, apologizes for not remember the screen name of the DISer who was having issues with getting what he/she wanted when having delivery. Ordered a Turkey Roast, and got a turkey roast. A frozen collection of pressed turkey meat. What she really wanted was a fresh boneless turkey breast.
And more than once, we have had one of those young adults the store hires to assemble the online orders ask us if we felt something met the description of what was requested. The bananas needed to be of "medium ripeness".
Or my old boss who was making french onion soup and ordered 4 pounds of onions, and found a 40 pound sack of onions on her front porch.

I get it. I recently ordered 2 pieces of fresh ginger and got 2 pounds in my order instead! I had to call and let them know so they could remove it from my bill.

 

[NYCgrrl]

During the summer, I'm a big farmer's market fan

Yessssss! Can’t wait for my local farmers’ market to open after Memorial Day weekend

 

[LoveDaisy]

During the summer, I'm a big farmer's market fan and used to belong to a CSA (maybe again this year, we'll see.) And during the fall, I'll drive out of my way to go directly to the apple orchard to buy apples, squash, cider, etc. Oh, once a year, I'll buy maple syrup from a local sugar house.

I have always wanted to join a CSA but I have a garden and my DH will kill me if there are more tomatoes in our house. . There is one by me that is 50% veggies and 50% fruit. Every year I ask if they are doing an all fruit one.

Sugar shacks should open soon. I see all the lines on trees!

 

[lovesmurfs]

Just the two of us. Aldi for basics (and CHEESE!). Then on to Publix to fill in what we can't get at Aldi (or don't like from Aldi -- we have yogurt dislike issues with their brand).

 

[NannyBeBe]

I only go to Fry's (Kroger), except if I need a cross-rib roast, which I get at Safeway. I go only to the aisles that have what I need. If I go aisle-to-aisle, I will spend too much money on things I do not need. I am lucky to get out of the store for under $300.00 a week.

 

[sasywtch]

That would be it, Auburn Boulevard. Years ago we used to shop at that Walmart, until they opened the neighborhood Walmarts. Other than medical stuff my life now we are retired is largely within three miles of home . Medical stuff is getting to be a huge pain. I have one specialist who was on Coyle Avenue across from Mercy San Juan, and they moved the office to FOLSOM! Another specialist has office hours on Greenback Lane, but only 4 hours a MONTH. And those are booked more than six months in advance, and when you are on six month rechecks, that doesn't work. So my options are downtown, Roseville, or Auburn!

Your specialist wouldn't be a foot doctor, was it? My daughter's foot doctor in that building (I think Sutter imaging is there also) moved to Folsom. To get back: Your Winco is set up a little wierd to me and smaller. We go to Orangevale or Rocklin. Quit going to the one in Antelope (I'm sure you can guess why)

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Every year I ask if they are doing an all fruit one.

Your post reminded me of a recent article from Eater which recommended sites to order fruit. Not exactly a CSA, but fun nonetheless.

ETA: Frog Hollow Farm does have fruit subscriptions. The stone fruit subscriptions are great!


For stone fruit, I am forever loyal to Frog Hollow Farm in California, offering everything from perfect avocados to sweet, juicy mangoes.

Organic Ataulfo Mangos (3-Lb. Box)​

• $42

Prices taken at time of publishing.

• $42 AT FROG HOLLOW FARM

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For something more exotic, Miami Fruit delivers boxes of rare and tropical fruit that will bring some sultry jungle sunshine into even the coldest winter kitchen.

Miami Fruit Miracle Party Box​

• $127

Prices taken at time of publishing.

• $127 AT MIAMI FRUIT

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And for the best pineapple of your life, order from the Maui Pineapple Store in Hawaii.

Maui Gold Pineapple (2-Pack)​

• $60

Prices taken at time of publishing.

• $60 AT MAUI GOLD

If you want to try the Japanese stuff, you can find almost everything at Ikigai Fruits. Do they have the famed Bijinhime extra-large strawberry you ask? The one that goes for $399 per berry? Of course they do! Maybe you and 10 friends could go in on one. (See also: these $130 Korean muscat grapes on Goldbelly.)

Too tough to decide which fruit to order? Try Flamingo Estate’s fabulously curated Peak Season Fruit Box, which currently includes Cosmic Crisp apples, Medjool dates, Moro blood oranges, and more.

Flamingo Estate Peak Season Fruit Box​

• $80

Prices taken at time of publishing.

• $80 AT FLAMINGO ESTATE

 

[tvguy]

Your specialist wouldn't be a foot doctor, was it? My daughter's foot doctor in that building (I think Sutter imaging is there also) moved to Folsom. To get back: Your Winco is set up a little wierd to me and smaller. We go to Orangevale or Rocklin. Quit going to the one in Antelope (I'm sure you can guess why)

Kidney Doctor. They were in what looked like a house closer to Manzanita Avenue, not in the Sutter building at the corner of Dewey and Coyle. Regarding Winco, LOL. I am guessing you consider "my" Winco to be the one in Country Club Plaza? The one in the old Gottschalks store, which used to be JCPENNEY. Only been in there once, right after it opened when Walmart was still across the street in the Country Club Centre mall. Yeah, it was an odd layout. But what caught my attention were their little price comparison stickers on some items, showing their price, and Walmarts price, showing their price lower. But on the items that I knew the price for, they had the Walmart prices higher than they actually were. And especially with General Mills cereals, did not take into account that the custom packaged cereal at Walmart had several more ounces in it for the same price.

 

[Darcy03231]

We have several grocery stores in close proximity - Market Basket, Hannaford, and Shaw's. We also have a B.J.'s. We do the bulk of our shopping at Market Basket as they generally have the lowest prices. We shop sale items at Hannaford and Shaws. B.J.'s is pretty much just gas, coffee, coffee creamer, and vitamins.

It's just DH and I so buying in bulk really doesn't work for us. We've also figured out that we really don't save on meat and produce at B.J.'s.

We also don't shop weekly. We go every couple of days and get what we need. We've found we have a lot less waste.