Um, does anyone here NOT shop at Aldis or Walmart for groceries?

[Guest inoubliable]

I have to confess that I don't understand the cult following for Trader Joe'ss, either.

 

Does anyone else shop primarily through a local butcher or farmer? Given the recent threads here on food, and how many here took the time to watch any of the food documentaries recommended, I'm wondering if anyone stopped shopping at Walmart or Aldis and is now looking into local food.

[Miss Peregrine]

No Aldi's here and I don't shop at Walmart. Not much " local " food here.

[MomtoCandJ]

There really isn't any where else to shop in my area that has comparable prices

[Guest inoubliable]

There really isn't any where else to shop in my area that has comparable prices

 

 

Hmm. I hadn't thought of that. I wonder how much of the country only has an Aldis or Walmart to do their shopping at.

[4kidlets4me]

We don't have an Aldi's and I detest Walmart more than any other store. Our WM doesn't really have groceries it's not a super center. I get most of my stuff from Costco, Safeway, my farm stand and a local butcher. Oh no I grow quite a bit of our produce as well.

[TammyinTN]

I shop at the commissary at Fort Belvoir, then Costco and Aldi. I don't know of any local butcher shops here...but this spring/summer/fall I'll be hitting the farmers market for stuff I'm not growing myself.

[Whereneverever]

We eat all local meat. I prefer local grocers to Walmart, and Aldi is not out here. Walmart is the cheapest, by far, but I vastly prefer the selection and service at a real grocery store.

 

I think Walmart is cheapest almost everywhere?

 

I know a lot of people who live too rurally to have a Walmart close.

[Jennifer3141]

I stopped shopping at Walmart years ago, for reasons totally seperate from the food problems there.

 

I understand that some Aldis seem to be lovely but ours up here are disgusting. Maybe they are better in areas with better year round produce?

 

And I've never been in either a Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. Neither of those are up here either.

[Guest inoubliable]

We don't have local butchers or farmers.

 

I shop at Shop Rite mostly.

 

 

I had to Google Shop Rite. It looks similar to the Food Lions around here.

[Unicorn.]

Most of my shopping is at a local (tx) chain. They do try to buy local produce as much as possible, but it doesn't always work out that way. I rarely buy at Walmart, unless I'm there for something else. I do buy gf sweet rice flour there, because they are the only place in town that carries that particular brand. I occasionally hit whole foods when I'm in San Antonio, but it's way too far to drive for just that. I wasn't impressed w/ TJ's, and its across the street from whole foods, so no biggie. Our farmers market tends to be kind of expensive, so I'd rather just go to the grocery store.

 

I do buy a lot of my meat from a family owned meat market/butcher that's about 20 miles from me. If they sold local produce, I'd buy from them!

[Element]

I am sure that many areas have wonderful, non-gross Walmarts and Aldis to shop at. My city does not. (Our Kroger is pretty gross too.) So that leaves Schnucks, which isn't local but is regional and often offers merch from local vendors. It's not terribly pricey, but you do have to buy things when they are on sale to get the most for your money. Our local farmer's market is pretty much useless. You can buy hair bows, beads, and Panera bread (?) but you can't get a lot of produce.

[Veritaserum]

We don't have Aldis and I won't shop at WalMart. I buy much of our meat and produce at Costco (organic) and the rest at a local grocery chain. We just got a Trader Joe's in our state, but it's about an hour away.

[Guest inoubliable]

I stopped shopping at Walmart years ago, for reasons totally seperate from the food problems there. Same.

 

I understand that some Aldis seem to be lovely but ours up here are disgusting. Maybe they are better in areas with better year round produces? We went to our local Aldis a couple of times last summer to see what the big deal was. The produce was awful. The stuff on the shelves wasn't very appetizing, either.

 

And I've never been in either a Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. Neither of those are up here either. I've shopped a Trader Joe's before. The one I've been to didn't have much fresh produce at all. It was mostly processed food. I've never been to a Whole Foods.

 

[twoxcell]

There are no Aldi's around here. I shop at Walmart some but only get a few groceries there. We buy most of our groceries at a locally owned grocery store. They have the best selection and prices and sell a lot of local produce.

[Whereneverever]

Oh, and Keeper of the Bear spray? I've got bear in my deep freeze. I don't think Walmart sells that.

[MomtoCandJ]

Well we have Walmart and save-a lot. There are a few local stores but the costs are quite a bit higher. We do go to local farmer for beef (got a half cow last year and still have a bit left) and lots of venison (2 dh shot, the most recent I hit with my car) so 3 deer. Vegetables we are going to try to grow some this year. Fruit well I have been buying at Walmart but seen some u pick farms around so going to check them out. Making our own maple syrup right now :) oh and heard of a near by farmers market too

[Jennifer3141]

Oh, and Keeper of the Bear spray? I've got bear in my deep freeze. I don't think Walmart sells that.

 

 

 

What does bear taste like?? And don't tell me, "Chicken!" :laugh:

[twoxcell]

I think Walmart is cheapest almost everywhere?

Not here, our local grocer is generally cheaper. There are only a handful of things I can get cheaper at Walmart. Also the store I shop the most at has a much larger natural food selection.

[HRAAB]

No Aldis or Trader Joe's here. Walmart is considerably cheaper than two of the larger grocery chains. I usually shop at Costco or at a local grocery store. For the most part, I prefer not to shop at Walmart, but there are times - it's close and when the traffic is bad I will go there.

[Guest inoubliable]

I am sure that many areas have wonderful, non-gross Walmarts and Aldis to shop at. My city does not. (Our Kroger is pretty gross too.) So that leaves Schnucks, which isn't local but is regional and often offers merch from local vendors. It's not terribly pricey, but you do have to buy things when they are on sale to get the most of your money. Our local farmers market is pretty much useless. You can buy hair bows, beads, and Panera bread (?) but you can't get a lot of produce.

 

 

Most of our farmer's markets here are meant to cater to the tourists. The people who come up from D.C. for the day. We end up going downtown and walking around until we find farmers that are truly selling out of the back of their pickup trucks. Otherwise, you're getting postcards of the Shenandoah Valley or pumpkin bread made in a town in PA. Not exactly fresh, local produce.

[Whereneverever]

 

 

 

What does bear taste like?? And don't tell me, "Chicken!" :laugh:

 

 

I'd hate to meet the chicken that tastes like a bear.

 

It's kind of an indescribable taste. You either love it or hate it and I hate it. Lol.

[EKS]

No Aldi here (I've never even heard of it) and I avoid Walmart for most things and have never shopped there for food. We do a CSA in the summer with a farmer who (literally) lives across the street. We also have a grocery store (and it's a good one!) owned by a local family that buys a lot of locally produced goods where I do a lot of shopping as well as a large supermarket where I get everything else.

[-M-]

My husband, who does most of our shopping, gets the food from Mariano's, Jewel, and/or Dominick's -- depending on his schedule and the list. (For example, we prefer the breads and produce from Mariano's, the prepared salads from Jewel, and the fresh flowers from Dominick's, but the meats? Well, Mariano's had the best stew meat, but Jewel and Dominick's have good chicken. And so on.)

 

He shops Walmart for paper goods, detergents, cleansers, and cat litter. The prices cannot be beaten, and since he hears me intone, "Retirement," every time he arrives at a checkout station, he will not pay, say, Jewel prices for laundry detergent. *wry grin*

 

My one brush with Aldi was not a good one. It reminded me of a movie set for a post-apocalyptic film... and not in a good way.

[FaithManor]

I shop at a Mennonite Bulk Food store that has a huge amount of locally grown food suppliers and for what I can not get there, Meijer. Our closest Meijer has a huge amount of organics, plus a wide array of Seventh Generation and other Eco-friendlier products. I can self-scan check-out and it works so I don't have to stand in line, and if I need health and beauty products, I can get them there just about as reasonable as Walmart.

 

Oh, I should add that during the harvest season, I go to my favorite Amish farmer's road side market stand, as well as pick blueberries, blackberries, and wintergreen berries off state land, and frequent a u-pick strawberry farm as well. Eggs come from my friend's farm. Her free range chickens literally wander the farm, but we put them into a stall in the horse barn at night for safety.

 

Faith

[Guest inoubliable]

Oh, and Keeper of the Bear spray? I've got bear in my deep freeze. I don't think Walmart sells that.

 

 

LOL!

[nukeswife]

I will shop at Walmart, but mostly because it's the closest thing to me. We buy all our meat from a butcher shop though. I don't know of an Aldi's close by. I can go to the commissary on base, which I do from time to time, but it sucks up a lot of my time because it's about a 30 minute drive each way and the produce there is pretty hit or miss. I do have a local farm stand I go to in the late spring/summer months, but nothing that I know of for during the winter months. I usually stick with Farm Fresh and Harris Teeter because I have to be near them a couple times a week for activities. Oh and I never buy milk at the store, I have Oberweiss milk delivery once a week.

[Guest inoubliable]

Vegetables we are going to try to grow some this year. Fruit well I have been buying at Walmart but seen some u pick farms around so going to check them out. Making our own maple syrup right now :) oh and heard of a near by farmers market too

 

 

We're going to try to grow some here, too. Never much luck in the past. The squirrels go after our stuff and we can only container garden in this rental. We're going to try again, though.

[Jennifer3141]

 

Most of our farmer's markets here are meant to cater to the tourists. The people who come up from D.C. for the day. We end up going downtown and walking around until we find farmers that are truly selling out of the back of their pickup trucks. Otherwise, you're getting postcards of the Shenandoah Valley or pumpkin bread made in a town in PA. Not exactly fresh, local produce.

 

 

That has become a problem for a lot of farmer's markets hasn't it? You've got 10 goat soap vendors and one dork selling strawberries for $8 a pint and another dork selling produce in boxes obviously from the local grocery store....

 

There's a farmer's market near me that meets on Wednesdays on Saturdays. It meets on one side of the river or the other. Saturdays are tourist days. Wednesdays are all foodies and/or canners. Same vendors. VERY different customers.

[Jennifer3141]

I'd hate to meet the chicken that tastes like a bear.

 

It's kind of an indescribable taste. You either love it or hate it and I hate it. Lol.

 

 

 

You've got me curious now. Is it gamey? Does the meat itself have a strong flavor or is it the way bear is usually prepared?

[NotSoObvious]

We don't do WalMart anymore. I don't care if it's cheaper. I only buy half the stuff I see people there buying anyway.

We shop at Whole Foods, occasionally TJ's, and get 90% of our meat from local farmers (we are even lucky enough to live near Polyface), and use the Farmers Market seasonally.

 

We eat less meat than ever and hardly buy any snack items. We drink water and alcohol ;)

 

The organic produce at the other local chains is awful and expensive.

 

However, we are really lucky to have a ton of local food. This wasn't the case in Utah. We shopped a lot at WinCo (like Aldi's).

[Guest inoubliable]

That has become a problem for a lot of farmer's markets hasn't it? You've got 10 goat soap vendors and one dork selling strawberries for $8 a pint and another dork selling produce in boxes obviously from the local grocery store....

 

There's a farmer's market near me that meets on Wednesdays on Saturdays. It meets on one side of the river or the other. Saturdays are tourist days. Wednesdays are all foodies and/or canners. Same vendors. VERY different customers.

 

 

Yep. Lots of candles and pies and aprons. Yeah. Aprons. As far as food - potatoes, onions, watermelons. Apples. We're apple country, here. That's about it. Candles, pies trucked in from PA, cutesy tshirts and aprons, quilted Bible covers, potatoes, watermelons, and 32 kinds of apple. :glare: All at NoVa or D.C. prices.

 

We had mini-adventures last summer going to every farmer's market we could find out about that was within an hour of our house. We found just two that we'd go back to again this summer.

[Whereneverever]

 

 

 

You've got me curious now. Is it gamey? Does the meat itself have a strong flavor or is it the way bear is usually prepared?

 

 

It's gamey. And the fat is greasy. I have tried preparing it every way I can think of and one bite in its still, "Yeah, that's a bear."

 

It least offended my sensibilities ground into brats.

 

I have a set of friends that really love it and gwt excited if I offer to prepare it, so who knows.

[Jennifer3141]

Candles. I forget the fracking candles. :laugh:

[nukeswife]

 

We're going to try to grow some here, too. Never much luck in the past. The squirrels go after our stuff and we can only container garden in this rental. We're going to try again, though.

 

 

I've only done container gardening for years. I bought Earthboxes and put them on my deck. Even though I only plant 2 cucumber plants and 2-3 cherry tomato plants I usually have so much production I'm giving them away to my neighbors too.

[regentrude]

Does anyone else shop primarily through a local butcher or farmer?

 

 

What local butcher?

Yes, I could buy meat from a farmer - if I take half a cow. I don't need half a cow, and I have nowhere to store it.

I live in Missouri. It snowed this week. No local farmer has any crop before May.

I buy from the Farmers Market in the summer.

 

I get eggs from a local farmer.

 

We have no Trader Joe's or Whole Foods; it would take two hours to drive to one.

Our local Aldi's has very good and fresh produce. It is just not local, but it would not be local in any other store either.

[Jennifer3141]

It's gamey. And the fat is greasy. I have tried preparing it every way I can think of and one bite in its still, "Yeah, that's a bear."

 

It least offended my sensibilities ground into brats.

 

I have a set of friends that really love it and gwt excited if I offer to prepare it, so who knows.

 

 

 

That's so interesting.

 

We have bears here. Black bears. But I don't think we have a huge hunting of them. We don't have very many. I've seen one in 7 years basically.

 

Now I'm going to look for it on a restaurant menu and make DH order it. I make him order the weird stuff while I stick with chicken or salmon. :lol:

[nukeswife]

oh I do go to trader joes, but only for pizza sauce and fruit leathers. I can't find ones like either of those things anywhere else I like as much.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I've never shopped at Walmart. I do shop at Trader Joe's for certain things. In the summer I buy produce, eggs and a few other things from a local, organic CSA. I've purchased beef from a fellow homeschooler's mom who has a small farm. I buy milk in glass bottles and butter from the local farmer's market. I do buy some produce that is available in the winter at the local farmer's market, but it's not much where I live. I go to Whole Foods for the rest.

[Ellie]

No Aldi's here. I almost never go to WalMart. Haven't found any local butchers where I can buy just enough for Mr. Ellie and me. Haven't been to any farmer's markets, either.

[stripe]

Hmm. I hadn't thought of that. I wonder how much of the country only has an Aldis or Walmart to do their shopping at.

 

I have tons of places to go, but go to Aldi's a few times a year for baking staples and a few other things. I get organic, low sugar jam from Trader Joe's, and crystallized ginger. I just can't find these things easily in other places. I bought a cast iron pan there in the fall. I went to Walmart a few months ago because it is the only place near me -- and I have been looking for 5+ years! -- where I could find a bag of wheat, not $2/lb overpriced stuff at Whole Foods.

 

I do not shop at Aldi's for produce. I mostly shop at local, ethnic grocery stores whose prices beat Aldi's on produce. I buy meat there, too. But my husband's favorite meat store carries tons of stuff from Aldi's -- I recognize the brands. ;) Other small ethnic markets are selling bags of rice from Sam's club. The small ethnic stores have very nice and cheap cups and whatnot, imported from China, but I won't buy their horrible quality cooking pots and pams. And there is a giant, family-owned Chinese megastore near my house that has all sorts of fun stuff. I shop there too.

 

I rarely go to Whole Foods. It is just too giant for me. I do buy some bulk grains, esp steel cut oats, at the local bulk goods store.

[Carrie12345]

I don't have any nearby Walmarts or Aldises. I do try to pick up certain things from a few farmstands/markets but the price and selection just don't cut it. Most of my shopping is at a "traditional" supermarket.

[AndyJoy]

I live in rural CA. We don't have a local butcher. Or farmers. Or a farmers' market except every other week for a very short season of the year. Or Aldi's. Our WAL-MART is not a Super WAL-MART, so it only has limited groceries. I don't buy food there except for the occasional gallon of milk or bag of fresh jalapenos.

 

We have 2 chain grocery stores. I shop at the cheaper of the two unless there is a really good sale on something specific at the other.

[stripe]

No Aldi's here. I almost never go to WalMart. I don't go out of my way to shop "local," although I'm not quite sure how you define that. Sorry if I'm being dense.

 

I suspect it means buying from the farmer.

 

I am not sure Aldi's is any big difference from Kroger/Ralph's or the A&P or whatever. But since I buy things like toilet paper and plastic bags, which is probably a horror to some, I cannot possibly buy from the farmer on those ones.

[FaithManor]

 

 

You've got me curious now. Is it gamey? Does the meat itself have a strong flavor or is it the way bear is usually prepared?

 

 

I've had it, and it's not particularly gamey IF it's cooked right. The recipe I had called for it to be slow cooked, very slowly low temp cooked for several hours with onion and garlic. It was then pulled apart and placed in a crockpot with some homemade barbecue sauce. We ate it over mashed potatoes with several veggies on the side. It was not gamey. But, I was told that it can be very strong if cooked at higher temps over a shorter period of time without some strong herbs or onion.

 

I used to can venison. It was chunked, browned in olive oil, placed in the jars with drippings and a large slice of onion, and then pressure canned. This took the game flavor right out of it. I am not fond of venison any other way.

 

The bear I ate came from an unfortunate, stubborn black bear that absolutely refused to stay out of my dear cousin's back yard, despite numerous attempts by the DNR to move it back to some deep range country. It eventually decided to get really obnoxious by staying up too close for safety to the house and then sealed it's demise by attempting to, well, get too close and personal with her five year old grand daughter. It met it's end on the wrong end of her husband's hunting rifle. We were all sad about it, but it was really becoming very unsafe and just would.not.stay.away. despite their best efforts to make their yard unappealing for bear. They think that possibly it was a cub that had gotten separated from it's mother or maybe the mom was killed and people in the area were unwise and fed it which made it lose it's fear of people and when the twinkies, ho-ho's, and granola bars stopped being available, became intrusive in it's search for people food. Either way, she couldn't let it continue. We still have pictures of him. He was a very cute bear! :crying:

 

Faith

[nukeswife]

We just got a Whole Foods in VA beach in Oct, but I have yet to venture out there. Due to construction it could easily take me more than an hour to get there from Chesapeake, if the traffic is bad.

[Guest inoubliable]

 

I've only done container gardening for years. I bought Earthboxes and put them on my deck. Even though I only plant 2 cucumber plants and 2-3 cherry tomato plants I usually have so much production I'm giving them away to my neighbors too.

 

 

I don't think I've ever seen these Earthboxes! Thanks for mentioning them.

[PentecostalMom]

Publix. My step-dad's house (he's a farmer). Sometimes the Farmer's Market, but there is a local store that sells local produce but I try to not go there unless they have something I cannot get from my step-dad. Just because you buy local does not mean it still is not infused with pesticides. Quite a number of "city" people here love the "u-pick" farm (there's only one close by), but we have known them for years and they use pesticides to deter insects and disease just like most farmers. Some people tend to think that if you pick it, it must be better than a store....not always the case.

 

I cannot wait to move later this year where I can plant a garden. I've always loved farming. :)

 

My dh hunts and it's turkey season right now. Wild turkey is very flavorful. He didn't get a deer this past winter, but was so busy he didn't get to hunt much. We don't each much meat.

[nukeswife]

 

I don't think I've ever seen these Earthboxes! Thanks for mentioning them.

 

 

You're welcome. I've got 5 of them now. I started with 2 and added a new one each year for the past 3 years. I love them, they are so easy to grow in. No weed pulling necessary. My dd used one last year to plant milkweed in, and we successfully hatched 3 dozen monarchs from the 6 plants she grew in her Earthbox.

[gardenmom5]

never heard of aldis. I live in the city, and walmart is very creepy. (I didn't get the creepy vibe when I was visiting it in very rural upstate NY.) I don't go to trader joes. I get my son's GF stuff at whole foods. we do most at Costco, and a local restaurant supply store that's open to the public. we get odds and ends at local grocery stores. we don't do farmers markets.

[Jennifer3141]

I've had it, and it's not particularly gamey IF it's cooked right. The recipe I had called for it to be slow cooked, very slowly low temp cooked for several hours with onion and garlic. It was then pulled apart and placed in a crockpot with some homemade barbecue sauce. We ate it over mashed potatoes with several veggies on the side. It was not gamey. But, I was told that it can be very strong if cooked at higher temps over a shorter period of time without some strong herbs or onion.

 

I used to can venison. It was chunked, browned in olive oil, placed in the jars with drippings and a large slice of onion, and then pressure canned. This took the game flavor right out of it. I am not fond of venison any other way.

 

The bear I ate came from an unfortunate, stubborn black bear that absolutely refused to stay out of my dear cousin's back yard, despite numerous attempts by the DNR to move it back to some deep range country. It eventually decided to get really obnoxious by staying up too close for safety to the house and then sealed it's demise by attempting to, well, get too close and personal with her five year old grand daughter. It met it's end on the wrong end of her husband's hunting rifle. We were all sad about it, but it was really becoming very unsafe and just would.not.stay.away. despite their best efforts to make their yard unappealing for bear. They think that possibly it was a cub that had gotten separated from it's mother or maybe the mom was killed and people in the area were unwise and fed it which made it lose it's fear of people and when the twinkies, ho-ho's, and granola bars stopped being available, became intrusive in it's search for people food. Either way, she couldn't let it continue. We still have pictures of him. He was a very cute bear! :crying:

 

Faith

 

 

 

We lived on the water before we moved to the farm when we first came up here.

 

I woke up one morning to a bird feeder pole snapped right in half. Mind you, we lived about one mile from downtown Traverse City, right on the highway north basically.

 

I took the bird pole back to Wild Birds Unlimited and asked them what the heck could have happened. The guy told me the only thing up here that could do that was a bear and we laughed because a bear crossing a pretty busy highway a mile from downtown to eat birdseed seemed a little bizarre. So he told me it was a bear and I thought, "Bear or crappy pole construction. Whatever..." and wandered off.

 

A few nights later, we heard this weird sound outside our bedroom window. I thought our cat had gotten out so I went outside in my underwear, whipped around the corner and met a nicely sized black bear snuffling around.

 

Whoops. We already had this house so I wasn't too worried but wow. They will come close to a house if they feel like it and had we stayed there, we might have had issues. You did what you had to do to keep your family safe.