Rant: Winco's bulk section is empty!

[kenny]

WHAAAAAAA! MOMMY! WHAAAAAA!

Broke my heart.
Today all the dispensers and barrels were empty at Winco, a super-supermarket here.

My heart sank.
I LOVED buying things in bulk.
It's WAY cheaper.
You're not paying for a brand name, the brand's CEO's multi-million dollar salary, zillions of add-on employees working for the brand, and the brand's ad campaign ... all of which add zero value.
Brands, aka image over substance, just jack up the price.
I considered buying everything possible in bulk to be one of my silent political statements.

Spices, especially, in bulk were astonishing cheap.
Example, the same amount of an herb or spice that Schilling or McCormick would sell for 4 or 5 bucks in a little bottle would cost around 19 cents in bulk.
No exageration.

Brown rice, gluten and lecithin for baking, steel-cut oats, my cherished 25 lb bags of whole wheat kernels, flax seed, bulgar wheat, sesame seeds, all gone.
Cry me a river.

The only other place I can count on having these hard-to-find things is Whole Paycheck!

I'd guess this is fear-fanning lawyers claiming they are protecting Winco from being sued by someone claiming they got COVID-19 from exposed food ........ but HELLO, what about every produce department in the nation that sells unpackaged fruits and veges?

 

[winnietucker]

What did they do with it? Hopefully they didn’t toss it. Those are big containers too...

 

[BMI]

Bummer.
Don't you have to use scoops or push a button to get the food out of the barrels or dispensers? I think that is likely why they took them out.
Our Sam's Club also took the refrigerator doors off of their produce section, I assume so we would't all have to touch the handles.

 

[kenny]

I don't know.
I was so bummed, I didn't feel like talking to them about it.

I do hope bulk comes back some day.

Some regular supermarkets, and Whole Paycheck, that also have bulk sections.
I wonder if there is a statewide bulk-ban in California.

 

[kenny]

Bummer.
Don't you have to use scoops or push a button to get the food out of the barrels or dispensers? I think that is likely why they took them out.
Our Sam's Club also took the refrigerator doors off of their produce section, I assume so we would't all have to touch the handles.

Winco had two kinds of bulk containers.
Above was the plastic dispensers; you pulled a handle at the bottom, which opened a door so the product fell into the plastic bag you held up to the bottom.
Then you wrote the product's code on a large twist tie used to seal the bag.

Below were large bins with hinged plastic covers you open, then use a metal scoop to get your product.

 

[kenny]

In all fairness, some bulk foods were the exact same price as regular packaged.
One example was white sugar.
I think the sugar lobby is one of the most powerful in Washington.

Free market, indeed!

 

[Queenie60]

Kenny: Our local Whole Foods has eliminated the bulk and our local small grocer has done the same. I too was bummed at this as I used the bulk quite often. I am now forced to purchase pre-packaged. A bit extreme, I must say. I too, am bummed at this as I am a "bulk" shopper. Hopefully they bring it back soon. Q

 

[kenny]

Queenie, we need to drown our sorrows in a box of cheap bulk wine.

 

[Queenie60]

Queenie, we need to drown our sorrows in a box of cheap bulk wine.

Oh yes, but cheap? Hell no, I drink the best I can afford - if I don't, my kids will when I'm gone!!! Ok, so where do you find bulk wine?

 

[Queenie60]

@kenny - I'll come to LA to hunker down with you and we can drink cheap bulk wine!!

 

[kenny]

The closest thing I know of to "bulk wine" could be box wine.
Back Box is not bad.

I'm trying their Chardonnay now, but it's just soso.
IIRC, their Merlot is not that bad, or maybe it was the Cab.

 

[Queenie60]

Ok ---- Chardonnay, NO - red, YES. Merlot or Cab I can hang with!!! So what's the brand? Teach me something??? I've never ventured into boxed wine....

 

[kenny]

Tread with caution my friend.
If you are accustomed to fine wines you don't want to go there.

Box wine used to be horrid, not even actual pure wine, full of flavorings and non-wine ingredients.
In some the alcohol itself was not even from the grapes.

I'm no expert, but today there are legit pure real varietal wines of specific vintages that are now sold in a box.
The goovy thing bout them is the wine is actually in an air-tight bag within the box, so it can last up to a month since it never touches the air.
Usually the box is 3 liters , which is four 0.75 L bottles ... at a great price.

All my life I'be been a tightwad when it comes to nearly everything yet, inexplicably, I will suddenly buy some insanely expensive bauble or gizmo.
Of course the later is only possible because of the former.

 

[Queenie60]

Oh yes!! Isn't it something that age teaches us something. I too have ventured into some fine wines that I would have never considered. However, at the ripe age of 59, why the hell not?? And I have convinced my frugal husband to agree! Although I must say that a bit of cheap wine can be fun at times!!! Thank you Kenny, for enlightening me!!!

 

[Queenie60]

And, thank you for allowing me to lighten up a bit. This is such a stressful time for all and many of the forums on PS have been a bit intense - you have been with me since I've been a rookie! I remember you being the person that corrected me and inducted me into the world of PS. Thank you Kenny.

 

[kenny]

And, thank you for allowing me to lighten up a bit. This is such a stressful time for all and many of the forums on PS have been a bit intense - you have been with me since I've been a rookie! I remember you being the person that corrected me and inducted me into the world of PS. Thank you Kenny.

Once in a while I'm not a butthead ... but don't hold your breath.

 

[Arcadian]

Maybe they got rid of because its hellish to clean...thats a lot of plastic to keep clean.

 

[elizat]

Maybe they got rid of because its hellish to clean...thats a lot of plastic to keep clean.

I'm thinking the same. I'm also guessing that it goes away permanently after all of this.

 

[Queenie60]

I'm thinking the same. I'm also guessing that it goes away permanently after all of this.

I hope it doesn't go away permanently. May be the "new normal" - I've enjoyed the bulk.

 

[Starfacet]

Sprouts has pre-bagged all the bulk goods. Better than them making them completely unavailable, even if you have to buy way more of a particular item than you intended.

 

[telephone89]

Most of the stores here have also stopped the bulk stuff. I'm guessing they concerned with safety of all the bulk items. Lots of plastic, lots of people touching everything, anyone can contaminate a LOT of items very quickly. That said, there are still some ways to get it. Some stores have pre-packed their bulk items, so you just grab whatever size baggy of the item. We also have a store called "bulk barn" which, obviously sells only bulk items. You now tell the employee what you want and how much and they scoop it all for you and give it to you in the baggy. Just no re-useable containers.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Tiffany and VCA bought all the supplies.

cheers--Sharon

 

[kenny]

HI:

Tiffany and VCA bought all the supplies.

cheers--Sharon

CG, you are a naughty naughty goil.