Changes in grocery shopping habits

[suzilightning]

yesterday i was kidding with a couple i know at work saying they were on a date(nb - i used to have several couples who would hire a babysitter once a week so the husband and wife could go out for an early dinner at the local diner, do something else if they wished and then come to the library until we closed - 4 hours of together time). eileen said "yeah some date going to the library then grocery shopping".

after work i stopped at our local pathmark(hey, last day of triple coupons and i had some nonperishables to buy) but it was packed.

then i remembered - it was thursday.

growing up every other thursday was grocery day(on the island) when my mom got paid. we went off island once a month for the non perishables and stuff you couldn't find in the local IGA - unless you could get a deal which, when you figure in the cost of shipping to an island, is rare.

now i find myself shopping in a different, almost european? way. from june through august i use the farmers market, buy extra whenever i can and blanch and freeze. i buy pork and beef in bulk and add to the freezer whenever john is up to visit family i give him a list to suss out at Quattros in the valley for the freezer and fresh - as well as my order for christmas! when i am too busy to get to the farmers market on sunday i hit up the local farmstand and buy what they have grown - usually corn, peppers, squash, tomatoes, herbs and melons. i have also found a place that has good pork and chicken from pa as well as a deli that has my beloved prosciutto de san danielle for john's chicken saltimbucco.

in the last three days i have been to the green grocers buying chicken tenders, prosciutto and provolone on wednesday for the saltimbucco, then today for a rib pork chop i had the butcher french so i could pound it and fry it to serve with apple sauce, a mustard, dill and caper sauce, sauerkraut with witbier and caraway seed.

then i tend to buy any cold cuts in slices (eg - 8 slices which will translate into 2 sandwiches) and will buy them more frequently than my mom would.

have your (i'm guessing more likely united states) shopping habits changed over time?

[heidih]

I grew up with the concept of weekly grocery shopping- probably from a working mother. My evolution has been finding specialty markets and integrating them into my weekly routine. I try to write a weekly tentative menu (pending what I see at the farmer's or other markets) and then plan. My goal is to not "over-shop"- a common folly of those mesmerized by farmers market produce while forgetting they are only cooking for 2 versus 10. I make sure I have absolute basics on hand in case the market trip can not occur due to work. Stuff as simple as eggs and cabbage- can make a meal with that. I also have some take-out places on the way home that I can tap if things are not going my away. I can whip up a meal in 15 minutes but if the kids are in distress that is not good enuf. My fave is the $1 taco truck (plus you get the incredible homemade salsas!!!)

[SundaySous]

When I was a kid you would wake up and there would milk at your back door. If you were lucky your mom didn't have a job outside the home and someone would come by and sell you fruits and vegetables curbside, eggs too. If your mom did work outside the home your neighbor would do it for you.

I think I was about 6 years young when I figured out what money was. Every time we went shopping my mom would just say put it on our account. Everybody knew who you were and didn't even ask your name when you charged stuff.

You could wheel your shopping cart home and just leave it in the alley and someone would come and get it. Often if you were on the way to the store you might even bring one back if it was there.

If you saw some mother carrying shopping bags more than ten feet from her home you got in trouble if you didn't offer to carry them.

Your doctor would come to your house when you were sick and if you needed a prescription he would phone it in and it would be delivered the next day or sooner if you really needed it.

When you went to a grocery store most of the people working there lived within two miles of you and were paying mortgages just like your parents.

[Dianabanana]

  eileen said "yeah some date going to the library then grocery shopping".

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This sounds like the perfect date to me!!

[Sony]

  eileen said "yeah some date going to the library then grocery shopping".

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This sounds like the perfect date to me!!

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I second that! I've learned so much about people (and had fun doing it!) from what they read and how they shop for groceries. Isn't that the point of dating?

My shopping habits have changed since I finished school and started a travel-heavy job. I used to shop frequently, almost every other day, while I was in school (starting sophomore year of college) because there was flexibility between classes. Cooking and food shopping were "built-in breaks" because you HAD to eat, right? And even though I certainly didn't NEED to spend 2 hours shopping for and preparing food, somehow I could justify that better than spending 2 hours going to see a film or concert (especially since the extra time might be spent processing less expensive "whole" foods into "convenience" foods, like breaking down whole chickens, making stock, etc.- money wasn't too plentiful during school).

Now, I've become something of a freezer junkie. Really nice-quality meat can be bought frozen from local producers around my new digs in upstate NY, but usually in larger amounts than I might be used to. Being on the road every few days, I often find that I may not be home on a schedule that would allow me to finish a quart of milk before it expires. So, it becomes a white sauce that goes into a frozen pasta dish that I can take for lunch when I'm actually in the office. Same with many fresh vegetables. I know in my mind that it's probably just as well for me to buy frozen vegetables (the ones that don't suffer too much in quality)...

But the thing is, I LIKE grocery shopping! I like that even when I'm tired, I still want to find something fresh to cook and eat, and that can still be a priority for me at this stage of my life. In fact, I actually fear that the inclination will go away if I stop making it a habit. Having a 24-hour Wegmans in close proximity helps a lot....but that's another change in the way I grocery shop. Later hours. It's not unusual for me to head out at 10 PM for groceries.

That being said, 2 weeks may pass before I make it to a grocery store. The perk about driving around (often rural) upstate NY is that 3 out of 4 seasons, there's tons of roadside stands with fresh produce that's grown hardly any distance from where you pay. That's become my "new way" to grocery shop on a frequent basis. Combine that fresh stuff with a few pantry or frozen goods, and I'm settling into my new way of grocery shopping.

[Special K]

I grew up with the weekly shopping trip, too. Even though Mom didn't have a job outside the home, we still went grocery shopping on Saturday mornings, with the crowds. I never figured out why she didn't just go during the week, but I'm glad she didn't, because I enjoy(ed) it.

Now, it's the reverse. I volunteer full-time at the local high school (my husband's chemistry class). [Go Beavers!] During his prep period/lunch break, I walk, so I'm able to shop daily, and just pick up whatever looks good to me that day, and on Friday I pick up stuff for the weekend as well. There are several major grocery stores, each a convenient twenty blocks away. Perfect: a good reason to get a walk in, just enough time to get there, buy something for dinner, and get back before the next class. And if I choose to head north, I have my choice of Safeway or QFC, AND Value Village is right there!

There's also Top Banana, for fresh fruits and vegs, right across the street, and of course the Farmers' Markets in the area.

[MarketStEl]

"Market day" -- one particular day of the week when people shop for food -- has an ancient pedigree. In Philadelphia, it stretches back at least to 1742 (and probably earlier), when farmers would travel from the hinterlands around the city to sell their wares in the market "shambles" along High Street. Those shambles proved such an important part of city life then that they eventually gave High Street its present name, Market Street.

The Food Trust has revived the custom with a Sunday farmers' market in Market Street's younger sister, the New Market (1745/1803) on Second Street in Society Hill, that has proved enormously popular.

If the food is only going to be available on one or two days of the week, then it would behoove one to do the grocery shopping on that day. And even after that was no longer the case unless you wanted to buy food fresh from the farm (or closer to it), most people's work schedules militated against doing much shopping during the work week.

This may seem paradoxical, then, but it seems to me that the main thing that has disrupted the "market day" habit now is the increasing demands placed on our time even on our days off. Many of us are less inclined to set aside a block of time to do shopping in bulk. And for people who prefer to use the freshest possible ingredients, it is probably preferable to do shopping in smaller batches, perhaps stopping by a greengrocer or butcher on the way home, as French urbanites have long done.

As for me, I still do the bulk of my shopping once a week, on Saturday, the day that has become "market day" for most Philadelphians, judging from the crowds I encounter in the supermarkets on Saturday afternoons. Thanks to the Head House Market, though, I now do some of my shopping on Sunday morning.

[miladyinsanity]

The only reason why I don't go to the supermarket or some sort of market every day is that I can't afford to.

I'm living right next to the city center in Manchester now, so it's easy to shop for food every single day--and I admit, for the first week or so after I moved into my hall, that's exactly what I did.

At home, my mother would go to the wet market 2-3 times a week, and then on weekends we'd go to the supermarket.

[gfron1]

Growing up we did weekly with a monthly Sam's Club run for stock up. As an adult, I used to do weekly trips (never on weekends because of the crowds - a dislike I learned from my mom). My weekly trips were focused around coupon shopping. With the advent of Trader Joe's I then went weekly starting at TJs then to the big box. Now, we don't really have coupons in our community, nor do we have TJs (thank goodness for my store's survival), so we plan out 3-4 days (for produce freshness). My weekend meals start with farmer's market finds when in season. My schedule would not allow daily shopping (except at our store), but that sure would be our preference.

[ghostrider]

Many of us are less inclined to set aside a block of time to do shopping in bulk.  And for people who prefer to use the freshest possible ingredients, it is probably preferable to do shopping in smaller batches, perhaps stopping by a greengrocer or butcher on the way home, as French urbanites have long done.

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Probably true, but many in this region still do shopping in bulk. The shopping carts I see at our local supermarkets, & the lines of cars backed up right onto the highway waiting to get into the local Costco, testify to that.

My own shopping habits were kind of ill-formed when I got out of college & wound up in NYC, but quickly gravitated to a Euro style centered around the greenmarkets. Since we moved to Jersey the greenmarket has dwindled to once a week. In the off season I supplant that with produce from a large produce market that's not far away, with guerilla runs to various supermarkets for poultry/seafood/meat & other items. I do bulk shopping only when dictated by need to replenish the cat food larder.

[Jamie Lee]

Fascinating thread... but don't forget to add your lists to this thread... we want to see all!

Shopping Lists

Thanks, all!

[Peter the eater]

Grocery shopping is one of my favorite activities, I'll go several times a week. Usually its the supermarket, sometimes specialty shops and when possible from the farmer' market. We used to do the Costco thing but found we came home with too many things we didn't need. If I go too long without a grocery shopping trip my primal hunter-gatherer urges overwhelm me.

Edited October 13, 2007 by Peter the eater (log)

[eskay]

I'm going to add my voice to the people who really enjoy grocery shopping. Sometimes it's even the best part of my day, which is sad in so many ways

My shopping habits change pretty drastically every 4 months -- my school has a co-op thing which means I alternate terms of classes with terms working in the industry. When I'm at school, grocery shopping tends to be very irregular, and I rarely get to the farmer's market (although I'm going this morning..yay). But I find when I start work I settle pretty quickly into some sort of routine, whether it's a weekly grocery shopping trip on saturday mornings (in the winter), or weekly farmer's market trips, with random supermarket trips to fill in the holes (in the summer).

I don't do costco...no way I'd be able to eat it all, and I can't keep anything for longer than a few months anyway (see above )

[Ann Fisher]

I live on the top floor of a six story walk-up in Brooklyn and I'm no spring chicken. Consequently I've developed a hybrid approach to grocery shopping. I order non-perishable staples from Fresh Direct once a week (they carry the boxes up!) and then my partner and I decide the night before what meats and/or produce will need to be picked up for dinner the next day. He commutes through Grand Central three times a week, where there is a good (though expensive) market, allowing him to grab the necessaries on his way home. I'm a consultant, so I'm all over the city or out in New Jersey, and I base my dinner plans on where I'll be that day and what shops or green markets are near-by.

[MarketStEl]

I'm going to add my voice to the people who really enjoy grocery shopping.  Sometimes it's even the best part of my day, which is sad in so many ways

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Add me to that list.

The Clemens Family Markets chain in the Philadelphia area (since acquired by Giant/Carlisle, Pa.) used to run radio ads that began:

"Okay, all those of you listening who actually like shopping for groceries please raise your hand."

[pause]

"We thought so."

That commercial wasn't aimed at me, as I was one of the hand-raisers.