Where do you buy your food, and why?

[bluebirrrd]

We are very fortunate to produce most of our own food in the summer. We have a large garden and orchard, raise our own beef, and have laying hens for eggs. One of our friends goes on an annual elk and deer hunt in Colorado and salmon and halibut fishing in Alaska. We trade beef for these things. I'm not ambitious enough to can or bake my own bread. Everything else we need comes from:

Whole Foods - chicken, dairy products, health and hygiene products, cleaning supplies
Fresh and Easy - nuts, any emergency staple items
Vons - condiments, bread, paper products, incidentals
Costco - frozen foods

 

[swingirl]

We shop at a family owned grocery store. The have a butcher shop with local meat and fish. I prefer to buy local produce and meat. I do buy some basics at Costco but stay clear of the big named corporations.

And I try to hit the local fruit stands when things are in season. I also like to buy fish off the fishing boats.

Why? Because I like supporting local businesses.

 

[Mayk]

40% Publix - Staples center store
25% Fresh Market - perimeter... Meat, produce, wine
25% Target - household stuff
5% - pet store - premium cat food - 1 cat
5% - specialty stores

I love National Brands. Since I work in the industry (25 years) I know what goes into the products we sell. I have been in the plants and feel pride in what we make. I watch what I eat so I am careful about anything processed so moderation is key Also, those national brands will send my daughter to college one day and our company employs a bunch of people. All good things for our economy. I love and buy a lot of fresh fruits and veggies and local is a bonus.

I don't love to shop but given my background I loved reading this thread. Interesting!

 

[texaskj]

Dallas/Fort Worth is one of the most competitive areas of the country for grocery stores. We have tons of choices. The only problem is when you decide you can't live without a certain item and have no idea where it came from. In no particular order, I shop at:
Albertson's
Brookshire's
Costco
Target
Central Market
Sprouts
Tom Thumb
Occasionally I stop at a 24-hour CVS for milk after work, which is around 12:30 a.m.
(Very expensive) dog food comes from a feed store on the highway.

We also have Kroger, Aldi, Sack 'N' Save, Minyard's, Carnival, Fiesta, Wal-Mart, Sam's, Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, HEB; the list goes on and on.

 

[Cehrabehra]

During the winter I buy my meat at the open markets but during the summer it's way too gross so I buy it (lower quality, higher prices) at Tesco (big name super market). I buy veggies at the open market all year. I buy cleaning supplies at Tesco or Metro. I buy quite a bit from metro - it's kind of the local version of costco but it's NOT costco. Not nearly. There are more ways it is dissimilar than similar. It is similar in that it is a wearhouse style and that the quantities are sometimes larger (not always like at costco). I go there because there are some import things there. I have to go to a LOT of stores to buy various import items.

You guys have no idea how easy it is to have 2-4 stores that you do your main shopping at and are done - most of you can drive less than a mile to get milk. If I need milk at 7pm I would have to call my driver, wait 40 minutes for him to get to my house, drive 40 minutes into town, buy the milk, and drive 40 minutes back from town. And half the time the store doesn't have milk. And I couldn't call to ask if they have milk because I don't think anyone on the phone would understand my bad chinese lol

 

[somethingshiny]

In this area, we have no Kroger, Albertson's, Trader-Joes, Whole Foods, Costco, Sam's club. We have Walmart and a locally owned (insanely expensive) store. About half an hour away we have a sav-a-lot, aldi, Jewel and Hy-vee.

We do shop at the farmer's market too when we don't have our own freshly grown veggies.

 

[lliang_chi]

Community supported agriculture: Share of a local farm, I get about 50% of my veggies/fruit from them.
Dominicks or Jewel: the two local supermarket giants/chians in my city. I get 70% of meat, 10% of produce, basically the fruit my DH likes to take to work or eat. Milk, eggs, flour, oil etc.
Stanleys: local produce only store, 40% of my veggies, and the fruit I normally eat. it's typically organic or "seconds" so the super perishable fruit (e.g. berries etc) spoil quickly so I have to eat them pretty quickly.
Wine superstore: DH's beer and maybe 20% of my wine (although I'm not buying wine anymore), and spirits.
Online wine retailers: 70% of my wine
wine club: 10% of my wine
Local meat packer/fish warehouses: 30% of my meat or seafood, especially if I'm having a big party or something
Ethnic food stores: Italian grocer/wholesaler for all my pasta flour, Indian grocer for all my spices, Chinatown for all my Asian/Chinese groceries. These are usually once every 3 months.

I never go to Whole Foods if I can help it. My choice, but I don't like how they treat their suppliers (local farmers).

~LC

 

[MichelleCarmen]

75% fred meyer/owned by krogers.
The rest is from target, top foods, safeway.

I go to whole foods about once a month for a salad or something. Go to trader joes about once every other month for stuff like olive oil & pasta, etc

 

[Jennifer W]

ETA OOOPS! I was trying to quote Bluebirrd's post!

Sounds like you have a fantastic place!
I keep a couple of hens for eggs, forgot about that. I do bake all our bread, but cooking is my relaxation, so it's fun for me to do that. I wish we had enough land for more livestock, but we have a fruit cage, a greenhouse and some raised beds for veggies, and I planted a small orchard a few years back - we're staring to get some really nice fruit now. Mostly apples, but some pears, plums, greengages and cherries. The cherries have had some sort of pest attack this year though.

 

[wildcat03]

50% Trader Joe's - cheese, yogurt, ravioli, avocados, pre-washed lettuce, tomatoes
40% Stop & Shop - meat, other fruits/veggies, bread
10% Whole Foods - I usually just stop by for hot food on my errands and sometimes pick up something while there

 

[marcy]

We only have 4 choices here. I like meat from Safeway and produce from King Soopers. I shop at Albertsons too because it's close but they are the highest of the grocery stores. We have a Super Walmart too but I never go there.

 

[dragonfly411]

I thought I had posted in this thread, but I guess not.

We get 70% from Publix
10% from the farmer's market/ local growers
10% from Sam's club
10% from hunting/fishing, home grown pears and blackberries

We are currently working more towards self sufficiency though, we've added peppers, are working on our fall garden, and now have a papaya. We'll also be adding blueberries and citrus trees and figs.

 

[purselover]

When it's farmers market season we get almost all our food there, otherwise we usually go to the local health food store/trader joe's or whole foods. Only if we want to grab one or two things (like this morning when we needed paper towels and cat food) do we use the chain store in town.

ETA- whoops forgot the why! I shop at farmers markets whenever possible b/c I want to support local farms and I like that it is fresher and I can reduce my carbon foot print. Going to these markets also allows me to support local small businesses who participate as well. (and since I am now one of them I definitely see the importance even more!) I shop at health food stores/trader joes/whole foods b/c I want a variety of minimally processed/organic foods, and the chain store when I'm feeling lazy and don't want to have to get in the car for one or two unanticipated items.

 

[ZestfullyBling]

At Meijer because I love the grocery sales and Target for household bargains.

 

[Rhea]

80-90% from a grocery store, usually Sainbury's - fresh veg & fruit, bread, cupboard goods, and some cleaning and beauty supplies.
10-20% from the market on Saturdays - fresh veg & fruit, bread, and cheese - some things are more expensive (the cheese and bread) but others are less expensive (the fresh produce).

I live in London and don't have a car and have both a market and big grocery store within walking distance. City living has changed how I shop. Before we bought a lot of cupboard goods from Costco - huge bags of pasta and rice and jars of olives. No way to get there now!

 

[pregcurious]

50% Safeway--good prices, carries most staples
5% Target--if I'm there for something else. They carry whole fat organic Horizon milk and organic yogurt (YoBaby), which is great for kids.
10% Trader Joes
10% Whole Foods or other organic place
25% Asian grocery store--great product, meats, prepared foods

 

[bluebirrrd]

Thanks, Jennifer! Sounds like you're raising some pretty cool things too. If I had a bread machine I'd use it to make my dough and then bake bread more often. Otherwise, I'm not patient enough and don't like getting flour all over!

I forgot to say why we shop where we do, but it's probably the same as a lot of other people. It's a combo of getting good deals, finding specialty items, buying organic, local, in season etc.

I forgot to mention that I drive by a mushroom farm every day. It's owned by the sweetest elderly Japanese couple and you can get bags full of king oyster and shimeji mushrooms that were trimmed off larger bunches for at least half of what they cost in the specialty markets they sell to. To make it even better, it's called Happy Sun Valley Smiling Farms. The prices are so low that I feel guilty so I tell them to keep the dollar or so change from my purchases. When I do this, they refuse, I insist, back and forth with both of us smiling and insisting, until finally they end up putting handsfull of extra mushrooms in my bags, which only makes me feel worse and then delighted at the same time!

 

[MissStepcut]

I buy everything at the tiny grocery store that's 2 blocks from my home. I don't have a car, so longer treks aren't worth the hassle.

 

[lliang_chi]

I forgot to mention that I drive by a mushroom farm every day. It's owned by the sweetest elderly Japanese couple and you can get bags full of king oyster and shimeji mushrooms that were trimmed off larger bunches for at least half of what they cost in the specialty markets they sell to. To make it even better, it's called Happy Sun Valley Smiling Farms. The prices are so low that I feel guilty so I tell them to keep the dollar or so change from my purchases. When I do this, they refuse, I insist, back and forth with both of us smiling and insisting, until finally they end up putting handsfull of extra mushrooms in my bags, which only makes me feel worse and then delighted at the same time!

Bluebird, wow that mushroom farm place sounds AMAZING! DH loathes mushrooms so I never get to make it much. I'm hoping when we have our kids I can turn them into mushroom lovers so we can out number DH

JenniferW, wow, sounds like you have quite the garden. My mother keeps chickens for eggs on her farm in FL. She doesn't grow veggies though, she's kinda bad at that.

dragonfly, what other veggies are you growing?

I forgot to add I"m growing 4 tomato plants and cucumber and bell pepper plants. THe cucumbers are pickling cukes, that I'm hoping to get tons of harvest from to make fresh pickles

 

[galeteia]

Not a lot of choice where I live, but:

70% Sprouts - Whole Foods type place for fresh breads, cheeses, meats, produce

25% Walmart - Non-food items (detergent, paper towels, etc) frozen veggies

5% the local Boozer for wine and microbrews