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

[Crimson Wife]

I think what Aldis is like varies by where you live. The one near my mom is smaller than the local Walgreens. The produce section consists of bagged apples, oranges and maybe some salad bags. They don't have meat at all. It's mostly cereal, some crackers and canned foods.

 

 

This is what the low-cost market near me is like, only they do have meat (that typically is very close to the sell-by date). Mostly junk food, hardly any produce.

[Laura Corin]

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.

 

 

I can't afford the farmer's market or the local butcher. I'd love to shop there.

 

Laura

[creekland]

I detest Aldi's - when I went in there the produce looked horrid and the "other" things I needed (causing me to go into the first store I saw) were made in China with no alternative.

 

I love Walmart - at least - the two around where we live. I can find made in US products there moreso than any other store, they carry local produce in season, and their produce is good. I know several people who work there and are satisfied with their jobs. They also contribute a bit to local fundraising events.

 

The rest of my grocery shopping is done at our locally owned and operated grocery store. Their prices are usually higher (except for some sales), but again, I know people who work there, it's the closest to my house, and they allow local fundraising/service projects.

 

I will admit that if we had a Wegman's nearby I'd be REALLY tempted to shift my shopping schedule (generally once per week at each store). Wegman's is the only store I've been in that I've fallen in love with. They had great produce, great options for other things, and lower prices.

 

We also eat deer, have our own chickens, and our own garden produce limiting how much I need to buy elsewhere.

[G5052]

We do local meat and eggs, and have a big garden. I shop mostly at one local store for convenience, and hit Costco further away once a month.

 

No Aldi's close by, but when I'm close to one I buy cake mixes, chocolate chips, diet crisps, flour, and sugar. I'm not impressed with the rest.

[stripe]

Peace, peace. I was only relating my experience with my local Aldis. Mine is pretty nasty. The produce was wilted and dying. No one had a clue about country of origin. There was a very small section of some organic blueberries and that was it for organics. Mine is mostly boxed food. And none of it looked appetizing and none of the boxes I checked had ingredients that I'd be comfortable with consuming.

I don't buy produce from them, though! I just don't think it's as weird a selection as the dollar store, where it's like lentil soup from Czechoslovakia (!) next to chili cake mix from Mexico or something, but nothing much normal.

[stripe]

Edit to add: And for those who say Walmart doesn't carry what I eat... well, that depends on the WM, mine carries organic whole Wheat flour, Bob Mills flax seed, a local brand of WW bread with no preservatives or HFCS, tons of other "healthier" options. Not everyone who shops at WM lives on Hamburger Helper (which my DC hate, I tried once as I had fond memories since my mom didn't cook much :laugh: so in my memories it tasted good, now not so much!)

There is a Walmart somewhat near me that is like a small city. I went there for the first time a few months ago and was glad I had my phone with me. I figured if I got lost without a phone, I might never make it out. I went there specifically to buy a 25 lb bag of wheat from Wheat Montana. It's non-GMO and not sprayed. Walmart carries this in many of their superstores. I have been looking for wheat for > 5 years and this was my first success. They appeared to have tons of organic and other stuff there. Otherwise I don't go there, but I have tons of options. Not everyone does.

 

As I said before, I wouldn't be quick to assume the fancy stores have good worker conditions.

[Momof3littles]

Hate to burst your bubble, but the hot dogs you think are "nitrate free" actually say "no added nitrates except those naturally occurring in celery juice"

 

The labeling is deceptive. What the label doesn't say is that when you add celery juice or powder and lactic acid then nitrates are formed. And that is what they do. They add lactic acid and celery, and then deceive the public into thinking the meats are not cure with nitrates, when they are.

 

Nitrates are nitrates. It doesn't matter I'd they are shaken from a jar or created by a chemical reaction of celery and lactic acid.

 

It is a sore spot with me. I like Trader Joes, but the "No Nitrates Added" processed meats and hot dogs are a fraud on the consumer and undermine my trust in the company.

 

Bill

I'm aware of the controversy. My DH is a chemist :p They still have fewer icky ingredients than some of the other conventional brands out there. We don't consider them "health food" or anything like that ;)

No bubble burst. I'll still buy them :)

[Momof3littles]

I responded upthread about where we shop. Right now I live within 15 mins of WFs, TJs, and our local mainstream grocery stores have some decent organic or healthier options that we can pick up there in a pinch. We are getting a Wegman's in a few months as well. We also have a fantastic place with pastured meats, although with food prices what they are, we don't buy there as much as we once did.

 

When I lived in a different state with a big local foods movement, we mostly bought from local farmers at the farmer's market (a real one LOL, not one where people are selling imported produce iykwim). We were CSA members, did PYO biodynamic strawberries and PYO non sprayed blueberries. We had local cheese, local pastured meat and eggs, etc. There was an awesome farm tour 1x a year where you could go visit any of the 50 farms on the tour and see for yourself what type of practices they use on the farm. Most of those farmers also sold at the market, so it was fun to get to really not just know them from the market, but also to know their farm. We also had a co-op grocery that bought a lot of locally sourced items.

 

I have a lot of convenient stores now, and some good local options, but it was definitely a bit easier to do it well where i lived before.

[TravelingChris]

I go to Publix, Fresh Market and the Commissary. Most often PUblix but do a lot of my shopping at the commissary. I do go to the commissary less here though since their lighting makes me sick so either I go for short trips or send dh. There is an ALdi in town but I have only been there once. It isn't in an area I normally travel to. I can't buy meat at either Walmart or Target, due to my dd's allergies plus I am not interested in injected meat. If I had more money, I would shop more at Fresh Market. I am sure I will shop more there when my youngest has gone off to college and there is just dh and me. Why? Because they sell all their meat through a meat counter system (like a butcher) and I can get small portions,

I have to shop at Publix even if I didn't like it (I do) since they have the only brand of half and half we can use (no citric acid in their house brand).

 

But I really mostly shop stores withiin 2.5 to 3 miles from home (Publix, Fresh Market and Target the other way) and then the commissary (about 4.5 miles away). The stores likes Earthfare and Aldi are all more like 10 miles away.

[FaithManor]

Hate to burst your bubble, but the hot dogs you think are "nitrate free" actually say "no added nitrates except those naturally occurring in celery juice"

 

The labeling is deceptive. What the label doesn't say is that when you add celery juice or powder and lactic acid then nitrates are formed. And that is what they do. They add lactic acid and celery, and then deceive the public into thinking the meats are not cure with nitrates, when they are.

 

Nitrates are nitrates. It doesn't matter I'd they are shaken from a jar or created by a chemical reaction of celery and lactic acid.

 

It is a sore spot with me. I like Trader Joes, but the "No Nitrates Added" processed meats and hot dogs are a fraud on the consumer and undermine my trust in the company.

 

Bill

 

 

Just like the "0 grams of hydrogenated oils" label that people think means there is NO hydrogenated oil in the product. Nope...as long as there is less than a gram per serving size, they can make this claim. Meanwhile, John Hopkins researchers have been screaming for a decade about how dangerous hydrogenated/hydrolyzed food additives are.

 

Grrr....I HATE deceptive food labeling practices.

 

Faith

[NotSoObvious]

I detest Aldi's - when I went in there the produce looked horrid and the "other" things I needed (causing me to go into the first store I saw) were made in China with no alternative.

 

I love Walmart - at least - the two around where we live. I can find made in US products there moreso than any other store, they carry local produce in season, and their produce is good. I know several people who work there and are satisfied with their jobs. They also contribute a bit to local fundraising events.

 

 

It's always interesting to hear what people take away from stores. The above confuses me (being honest, not snarky) based on what I know about WalMart. My mom works for a huge clothing company and she went to visit some other designers in China. They said they don't touch WalMart with a ten foot pole because of their business practices (like a lot of other US companies, I realize).

As for US made products, read about the Rubbermaid factory in Winchester, VA. Some products might be made in the US, but WalMart has such buying power, they can drive down prices so low, the employees of those companies live in poverty.

 

If you want to support the real, local economies, buy locally produced products, or at least from locally owned stores.

 

I'd love to have a civil, new thread about WalMart and like companies. When I know better, I do better (or try) and I'm constantly learning.

[Momof3littles]

Just like the "0 grams of hydrogenated oils" label that people think means there is NO hydrogenated oil in the product. Nope...as long as there is less than a gram per serving size, they can make this claim. Meanwhile, John Hopkins researchers have been screaming for a decade about how dangerous hydrogenated/hydrolyzed food additives are.

 

Grrr....I HATE deceptive food labeling practices.

 

Faith

Yeah, and they get away with rounding down when many Americans are probably eating 2-3x the serving size listed on the label in reality, so it isn't unlikely that some people are almost the max daily amount of transfats in one sitting, even with a label on there saying 0 g of transfats.. I think public health agencies suggest keeping it to under 2g (not that I'd recommend eating any at all!). If they have 0.4 per serving and someone eats double or triple the serving size, which I'd say is not atypical at all, they are racking up quite a lot in one sitting with a "zero" transfat product.

[creekland]

 

It's always interesting to hear what people take away from stores. The above confuses me (being honest, not snarky) based on what I know about WalMart. My mom works for a huge clothing company and she went to visit some other designers in China. They said they don't touch WalMart with a ten foot pole because of their business practices (like a lot of other US companies, I realize).

As for US made products, read about the Rubbermaid factory in Winchester, VA. Some products might be made in the US, but WalMart has such buying power, they can drive down prices so low, the employees of those companies live in poverty.

 

If you want to support the real, local economies, buy locally produced products, or at least from locally owned stores.

 

I'd love to have a civil, new thread about WalMart and like companies. When I know better, I do better (or try) and I'm constantly learning.

 

I think the difference may be that we live in a more rural area. Our way of life (even at Walmart) tends to be different than what I hear from city folks. I base where I shop based upon local info - from real people I know and their experiences - not from the internet. There may be poorly run stores out there. There can be unhappy workers anywhere (esp on any given day). But the workers I know at the stores where I shop are happy, and the store itself supports a bit in our community - therefore - I support them.

[creekland]

 

As for US made products, read about the Rubbermaid factory in Winchester, VA. Some products might be made in the US, but WalMart has such buying power, they can drive down prices so low, the employees of those companies live in poverty.

 

 

I also find the Made in US products to be of a better quality than the Made in China alternatives, not to mention I doubt the workers in the factories in China who ship products to my local grocery store or stores in the mall have better working conditions or income. I do pay more for Made in US, but when the product lasts longer or works better, it's a better bargain. My boys gave me a can opener made in China for Christmas. They bought it from a Kitchen specialty store in the mall (and unfortunately, didn't keep the receipt). It's already broken. I'll be replacing it tonight with a Made in US version from Wally World. That's where I got the one I'm temporarily using (from our camping supplies). That's gone through a lot more and is still working just fine.

[Χά�ων]

I live waaaaay out in the sticks. I do not eat meat but if I did I would buy from the butcher in town. Prices are the best and he is super picky about what he sells. I grow and store as much of my own produce as possible but I do shop at Costco every month and sometimes I shop at Trader Joes, but not often because it is over an hour each way. Most of my groceries came from a local chain.

 

The nearby Aldi's are disgusting. If I make the drive to Walmart, I have to pass several local grocery stores on the way. Plus the Walmart is impossible to get in and out of. I prefer to shop someplace where I do not have to worry about backing up and hitting a child running without an adult or an old person who is not paying attention and driving the wrong way up and down the lanes. When I have to go there I park in the back where I can pull through.

[happypamama]

 

 

I think the difference may be that we live in a more rural area. Our way of life (even at Walmart) tends to be different than what I hear from city folks. I base where I shop based upon local info - from real people I know and their experiences - not from the internet. There may be poorly run stores out there. There can be unhappy workers anywhere (esp on any given day). But the workers I know at the stores where I shop are happy, and the store itself supports a bit in our community - therefore - I support them.

 

Half of the time, the workers at the local stores in our area are family of the owners! I love when I can support family-run businesses, especially those who homeschool. It's just not always possible for me to do so.

[Catherine]

I get as much as possible from the farmer's market, which is wonderful, and from our garden. Whole Foods, BJ's and local butcher and grocery store are next.

[creekland]

Half of the time, the workers at the local stores in our area are family of the owners! I love when I can support family-run businesses, especially those who homeschool. It's just not always possible for me to do so.

 

Around here even the McD's is family run with the owner having his kids (and many others from school) working there. They also do a LOT to support our school and community. I eat there with no regrets too - just not all that often due to the health concerns.

 

People can choose healthy vs not on a whole separate issue than where they spend their shopping $$. We're not fanatically healthy (we mix healthy vs not), so when I go to McD's I'm not looking for health food. At Wally World I buy a mix too.

[Devan]

Our Aldi is new and the produce, eggs, bread and dairy prices beat everyone in town. We go through a lot of produce so it saves me a ton of money. I try to avoid shopping at WM, although it's closest to me so I do go there occasionally. I love the farmers markets in the spring/summer but even then they aren't always cheaper.

I go to Target as well sometimes, and sometimes Kroger or Publix for their sales.

We have a large garden as well as several fruit trees, so we do grow a lot of our own fruits and veggies.

[Lady Florida.]

ha! you have a point!, well it was a long shot :)

I like to try!

Thank you for trying!

 

But hey oranges! I bet none of your oranges are from Chile right? :)

 

florida is more local to us than Chile.

 

You send me oranges I will send you lots of meat and produce, oranges are so pricey here!

 

Deal! :)

 

Honestly, I buy lots of "real food" at Aldi.

 

On most trips, I buy: potatoes, onions, carrots, bell peppers, lettuces, fruit (whatever looks good that day), old fashioned oatmeal, real maple syrup, various kinds of nuts, dried beans, rice, unsweetened frozen fruit, "just tomatoes" tomato paste . . . It's just, you know, food. It's also 20 - 25% less money out of my pocket than I would spend at a "regular" grocery store (and probably less than half what I'd spend at Whole Foods).

 

I think the set-up at Aldi turns a lot of people off. At most of the Aldi stores around here, chips and snacks are right at the entrance. First impressions, right? Once you walk past them, you find plenty of "real food".

 

Hmmm . . . I generally have a negative feeling about Amazon, because I resent them for driving real bookstores out of business. But I guess that ship has sailed. I'll check it out. Thanks!

 

See, I think of big box bookstores (Books-a-Million, Barnes & Noble) as having put indie bookstores out of business. Amazon is putting big box bookstores out of business. One big business squashing another doesn't make me cry.

 

Edit to add: And for those who say Walmart doesn't carry what I eat... well, that depends on the WM, mine carries organic whole Wheat flour, Bob Mills flax seed, a local brand of WW bread with no preservatives or HFCS, tons of other "healthier" options. Not everyone who shops at WM lives on Hamburger Helper (which my DC hate, I tried once as I had fond memories since my mom didn't cook much :laugh: so in my memories it tasted good, now not so much!)

 

My Super Walmart carries local produce in season. They carry King Arthur ww flour. They have quite a bit of organics (not just produce either). While we have no issues with wheat or gluten, I noticed last time I was there that they have a fairly decent gluten-free section (mostly Bob Mills but other brands as well).

[Lady Marmalade]

Nope! I tried shopping at Aldi's twice- two different locations because I heard that some were better than others. Nope. I'm not ever going in there again, I would rather forage than shop in there.

 

I don't buy groceries at Wal-Mart either. We'll still pop in there on occasion to buy bathroom necessities- things like shampoo, razor blades, etc, because no one can beat those prices. But we don't buy anything else there. No clothes, toys, housewares, etc. Just bathroom essentials.

 

I am very fortunate that I have several wonderful grocery stores to choose from- also many local butchers too. Unfortunately, at this point we simply can't afford the real butchers or buying from a farmer. But we hope to in the future.

[Spryte]

I've never been inside an Aldi. Don't do WalMart for a multitude of reasons, though there is one within 15 minutes.

 

Our beef and eggs come from a local farm. I don't always get to the Farmer's Market (which is not impressive in our area anyway), even in season, so we often use Wegman's for that - we buy organic and local when possible. Chicken & milk - we buy organic and pay out the nose for it at Wegman's, Costco, or Harris Teeter. We use Amazon S & S for a lot of specialty items, or I order directly from the company (KIng Arthur Flour comes to mind). We've used a CSA in the past, but it was not cost effective at all for us.

 

When all else fails in our house, I use Harris Teeter's express online shopping option, though their prices are higher than Wegman's for organics - this is when health issues dictate that a shopping trip is not possible.

[happypamama]

I just tried out Aldi's, after the recommendations here. If I can combine it with other errands in the same town, I'll pop in there. Avocadoes, for instance, were a dollar each on sale at our big chain grocery store (and that's about what WalMart sells them for too); Aldi's had them for $.59 each (or was it $.69?). I was able to get nice-looking fresh broccoli, which is a rare thing for us (usually it's frozen, because we'll eat two full pounds at a meal), because it was so much less expensive at Aldi's than our other stores. It does sound like they vary, though. I'll have to try the one a bit north of us and see if it's any good.

[lea_lpz]

I shop at Safeway, Costco, Trader Joe'd and the farmers market. When I lived in the East Bay we shopped at an independently owned store with an excellent produce, organic bulk bins and excellent prices on organics all around called Berkeley Bowl primarily.

 

I have shopped at SuperMax and SuperWalmart before. They are inexpensive and ok for pantry staples but the produce is terrible and so I prefer to go to one place and not have to get that there or this there. Also both of those stores are in the next town over. Since we can afford it right now I tend to get every thing in one spot, but if money were tight I would probably go back to shopping for staples and some produce there and hit the farmers market weekly. They are really the best deal in town for produce, both with price and quality. I live in a very farm rich community.

[Saddlemomma]

We raise our own pigs for pork, grow most of our own produce, have chickens for eggs (too tough for meat birds), and get our beef from a local farmer. The fruit trees I've planted haven't matured enough yet to get a harvest, but once they do, we'll have plenty of that in season. We also have our own grapes to make jelly.

 

The rest we go to the local grocery store to buy. We do buy lots of flour because we also make our own bread, cakes, pies, whatever. We try to buy as little as possible. It's tough.

[Ravin]

I shop at mostly walmart, with a monthly trek to Costco, a monthly stop at American Discount Food (a damage package/rejected by retailers discount place), and usually a trip to Albertson's (closest to us) or Frye's for meat because the meat section at Walmart isn't great.

 

I frankly can't afford to shop at "ideal" places, nor the gas to go all over town to specialty shops and then pay more. I used to shop at TJ's a lot, and we still get certain specialty items there a few times a year, but mostly I try and minimize gas expenditure for grocery shopping, and save where we can on things that are no different from one store to the next, which is the category most canned and boxed shelf stable food falls in. Our Walmart has good produce and I can get smokin' ad match deals on it for Food City, Ranch Market, and Sprouts, and I find Great Value products are good quality.

[m0mmaBuck]

We don't have an Aldi's anywhere in the state. I don't shop at WalMart primarily because it is further from my house than WinCo and Grocery Outlet and their prices are just as good if not better. If I drive all the way to WalMart, I might as well drive another 10 minutes to the Commissary (DH is retired military).

 

I use Bountiful Baskets for fresh produce. We have a local farm stand that has good prices on produce if I need something specific and meats. I shop Grocery Outlet and WinCo for everything else.

[dirty ethel rackham]

Me! Me! I don't shop there because they don't have what I buy. I shop at Trader Joe's because most of their food has limited ingredients (no HFCS or trans fats or fake foods.) I try to buy organic where possible and TJs has great prices on what we buy. Also, TJs is walking distance to my house. The local Walmart and the local Aldi are not just farther away and inconvenient, but they are just plain gross. Dirty stores, screaming kids, clueless parents - an all around unpleasant experience. I bought a side of beef from an organic farmer in the next state (a few of us went in on it.) My other meats come from a local butcher. I bake my bread. I will shop for special things at Whole Foods - like good produce - they have the best around. I used to belong to a CSA, but it got really expensive and they grow many foods that I have not been able to incorporate into our regular menu. Our local farmers' market is really expensive as well - conventional peaches were almost double for the same amount of organic peaches from TJs last summer. I hope to expand my garden this summer and grow more of our veggies.

[OH_Homeschooler]

I shop at Aldi as one of several stops on my weekend shopping sprees--sometimes I get staples like milk and eggs, and some of the things only Aldi has (chocolate, pizzelle). I love going there to stock up on basics as well, but I don't actually go all the time.

 

I hate going to WalMart but occasionally they have something I can't find anywhere else, so I make that trip count by stocking up on the other things I can only find there. I prefer the Farmer's Market for produce, but they're not open half the year. I do most of my grocery shopping at Kroger.

[creekland]

Our Walmart has good produce and I can get smokin' ad match deals on it for Food City, Ranch Market, and Sprouts, and I find Great Value products are good quality.

 

We also tend to like their Great Value products - often more than the name brands (like for raisin bran). Many times they are healthier as well if one looks at the labels.

[stripe]

I detest Aldi's - when I went in there the produce looked horrid and the "other" things I needed (causing me to go into the first store I saw) were made in China with no alternative.

I am not sure what these items are, honestly, I have bought some cookies and chocolates there that come from Germany, and I know someone who works for a a US based food manufacturer that makes Aldi brand version of their product using their packaging.

 

I checked my labels for these items I have in my house right now, from Aldi's

low sugar jam -made in Germany

Bars of chocolate -made in Germany

Maple syrup - product of Canada

Sweetened condensed milk -product of Mexico

Canned pineapple in juice -product of Thailand

Dried prunes, raisins, golden raisins-products of USA

Crisped rice cereal - product of USA

Oatmeal, cream of wheat, steel cut oats, savorritz crackers, canned pumpkin, brown sugar, and chocolate chips -- did not see country of origin notes

 

I am not a big Trader Joe's shopper, but they do have an awesome selection of dried fruit and nuts, and a wide range of prepared foods that are not junky. They have a wide range of frozen stuff. I grew up eating a lot of it and never really liked it, but it is convenient. It is also sometimes a mainstream option to going to ethnic stores or cooking "ethnic" food in some cases, for example, the boilable bags of Indian food or sauces in a jar or a frozen burrito or naan bread. Kind of cheaper and healthier take out, in other words, that appeals to middle class white people. No offense. My husband *so* does not get Trader Joe's, but I have an immigrant friend, who comes from the same region of the world as he does, and she LOVES! LOVES! LOVES! the place.

[Pawz4me]

We also tend to like their Great Value products - often more than the name brands (like for raisin bran). Many times they are healthier as well if one looks at the labels.

 

 

I've found that the Great Value products often tend to be significantly lower in sodium than name brands.

[creekland]

I am not sure what these items are,

 

Feminine items. That's what I was shopping for as I needed them (on a trip). I looked at the produce "just because" I was there and walked by it (plus we sometimes buy grapes for a snack on trips - but deinitely not at that store). I ended up tossing the rest of the Made in China item I had to buy - they just didn't "perform" well so that probably also lowered my impression of the store overall - that and the fact that there were NO alternatives I could have purchased. I really wish there had been a drugstore or another grocery store or something else around, but I wasn't ready to just head down the road and hope. Even one decent alternative could, potentially, have changed my opinion, but it's pretty set now.

[Parrothead]

I only have a small Wal-mart and have lived anywhere with an Aldi.

 

On the few occasions I tried the produce from the Wal-mart in the bigger city it was cruddy stuff.

 

I'll stick with Hannaford.

[4Kiddos]

I have decided to delete my previous post. I am a Christian and my precious Savior Jesus has been convicting me through His Word the Bible that my words were ungrateful and complaining. My speech has not honored my precious Savior and the many ways He has blessed my life. My heart is grieved that I might have dishonored my Lord and His blessings in my life before all of you. I am very privileged to be able to shop at numerous stores. My family has never been hungry or had to go without food. I am so incredibly grateful for the good job that the Lord has blessed my husband with and my husband's hardworking attitude. I try to do all that I can to help my husband by choosing foods wisely considering our budget and health. We have a warm home, good food, and precious children. The Lord has been so good to us. My previous post was ungrateful towards my Savior's blessings and one store in particular. For this I apologize and ask your forgiveness.

[KatieJ]

Costco first, Meijer 2nd, on a rare occasion Aldi's. Beef from local farmer.

 

WalMart, never.

[Trilliums]

I shop mostly at our local food co-op. It is definitely more expensive than chain grocery store though. Their organic produce, however, it always excellent. We love their bulk coffee and local dairy/eggs.

 

I do shop at Walmart from time to time, but 75% of the time I buy produce there, I end up disappointed (mangoes or avocados that are brown on the inside, for example).

 

We do not have a Trader Joe's here, but where we used to live we did and I shopped there fairly regularly. The appeal for me was that it was a small store with a lot of decently priced items I regularly bought. Very nice atmosphere too. The front of the store always had plants and flowers on display. :)

 

We have an Aldis on the other side of town which I go to maybe twice a year. I would go more frequently if we lived closer. Their produce has always been fine and the prices always low.

 

Costco recently opened up in town and we did join, primarily because I thought we were going to buy furniture from them. I go there regularly for pecans, almonds and walnuts.

[SwallowTail]

I shop local, at Publix, at TJ's, and through a local co-op and alcoal grocer who carries mostly organic and local stuff. I do not shop at Wal-Mart, Aldi's, or at Target for food (or snything else). (occasional exception for Target w/ their organic frozen fruit or their free trade coffee).

[Garga]

Butcher shop? Never heard of it...

[MomtoCandJ]

Butcher shop = meat market well at least in my area anyway

[KrissiK]

I shop at Walmart, but carefully. I used to think they had great prices on Farmer John bacon. Until I noticed that while the packaging was the same, it was 12 oz. and not 16. Now I wait till my local grocery store has sales on 16 oz. packages of Farmer John bacon and stock up. Not everything at Walmart is as good as it appears. Their Hanes products have terrible elastic (not great for a pair of sweats). I do shop at Walmart, but I'm getting more and more selective.

[MiniBlondes]

We shop at Aldi and we love it. Quite frankly, I've never understand the 'processed food' complaint that I hear from so many people. It's just like any other grocery store. If you don't want the processed food, don't buy it. It's really very simple. We shop at Aldi almost exclusively and we rarely eat anything processed. I'm not sure that I understand the argument. :confused1: Shopping at Aldi enables me to be able to afford tons of fresh produce and non-processed food. Shopping at Aldi has enabled our family to eat healthier than we ever have. Is it a pretty place? No. The floor is always dirty and it's a rather stressful experience. The upside is that I have the entire store memorized so I can get in, shop for a weeks worth of groceries for a family of 4, get checked out, load up my car, return my cart, and be pulling out of the parking lot at almost exactly an hour every time.

[*lifeoftheparty*]

We don't have Aldi's here but we have a ton of other stores. I shop mostly at WinCo which is just wonderful. All of their produce is pretty much all California grown and a lot of it is local. They don't have a ton of fancier items but everything is really fresh and nice. I love their bulk bins which are just such a great price. They just have a lot of great items even specialty items! But, I work hard to stretch our money as far as I can. I also shop at Sam's Club for big bulk items- 50 lbs. flour, 25 lbs. sugar, 25 lbs. rice, etc. I get my meat from whenever grocery stores (Safeway, Raley's, SaveMart) have their loss leader sales. We do have a Whole Foods but I just can't see how people shop there. The Whole Foods here is in a very upscale mall area and they have prices to match. I just can't see spending $6.00 a pound on broccoli or $5 a pound on apples, even if they are organic. Plus, it bothers me that they call things local that aren't. They have jars of honey labeled as local that come from Nevada which is like 150 miles away. Never mind that $15 you pay for that little 12 oz. jar of honey. Their produce is similar. We live in California people! Less than three miles away are plenty of farms who have honey or produce to sell. ( I don't mean to offend anyone who likes to shop there. Here it is just really expensive. But, it is really popular! I just don't know how people can afford to shop there.) We do have a Trader Joes but it is 45 minutes away so I have never gone.

 

All this to say, we live on forty acres and grow a lot of our own food. We have 80 fruit trees and so are overloaded with fruit. I massively preserve in the summer. We get our eggs from chickens. We have an agreement with a local honey farmer. He winters his bees on our property and in exchange we get honey (5 gallons!!!). We grow a lot of our own vegetables and herbs. My in-laws raise cows and pigs and so I get some meat from them (it is a little too expensive so I don't get all of my meat from them- but it is good!) We sometimes trade fruit with the neighbors. We get pecans once a year from one of our neighbors and mandarin oranges from a trade with a person from our church.

 

I don't shop at Walmart hardly at all. Ours is a little terrifying and really, really crowded. I do buy back to school items in August there- crayons, paper, pencils, etc.

 

I just went to Whole Foods today and I'm in the DC metro area, so our cost of living is pretty high. Ours (in Annapolis) is also in an upscale shopping center and is the 2nd largest wf in the country.

 

I bought organic fuji apples for $2.79 a pound, organic broccoli for $3.29 a pound. This Friday, the wild alaskan sockeye salmon will be on sale for $7.99 a pound!! Gonna stock up!!

 

Yes, it costs more than Wal-mart, but I don't find it to be terribly more expensive than other local stores, and the local store produce is not organic and looks pathetic next to my gorgeous whole foods produce. The stuff labeled local for ours is fairly local, depending on the product.

 

We can afford to shop there partly b/c my dh makes a good salary, but also because good food is a high priority to us, so we make sacrifices elsewhere, we eat less meat, buy less processed stuff, and try not to waste anything. It was hard when we first started eating this way, but eventually we got used to it, and I learned what goes on sale and when, and to buy the wf's name brand stuff, etc. Now the extra cost doesn't hurt and there is just no way I could go back to regular stores.

 

Hello, my name is Gao Meixue and I'm a spoiled food snob ;)

[mommymilkies]

We only have a farmer's market a few months a year, and 90% or so that is offered are baked goods or crafts. We can't eat gluten and I don't have money for buying crafted stuff, so that limits me. I do buy produce from the others when it is available. But the last few years we've had such extreme heat and drought, that it is slim pickings.

 

No butcher within over an hour from here, but I do buy meat at the hfs from a local free rangeish humane small farm. Otherwise I sop produce and staples at Aldi when were out of town and shop at other markets like Schnucks or Fresh Market when I find one out of town. We are rural, so Walmart really is about our only choice most of the time.

[Slartibartfast]

I don't shop at Aldi or Walmart. I tend not to find much I would use at Aldi, I am a bit sensitive to some preservatives so I avoid a lot of processed food. I know the dairy is decently priced there but I am allergic to dairy so I never cook with it, that makes it not really worth the trip.

 

I usually shop at Costco, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and Publix, I have not been in this state for a farmer's market season but I did attend them where we lived previously.

[Baseball mom]

Not much of a choice. We have walmart, save a lot and a locally owned extremely expensive grocery. The grocery sells the same brands as walmart just 3 times as high.

[regentrude]

I detest Aldi's - when I went in there the produce looked horrid and the "other" things I needed (causing me to go into the first store I saw) were made in China with no alternative.

 

Except for frozen fish, I have never seen that any of the foods I purchase at Aldi's originate from China.

 

I have bought many products of European origin, because they are of superior quality. Muesli, genuine pumpernickel (not the colored fake stuff), lebkuchen, and HFCS free jam from Germany. Pesto, olive oil and gnocchi from Italy. Chocolate from Austria.

 

When the US manufacturers learn how to make these of the same quality, I will gladly try their products again.

[creekland]

Except for frozen fish, I have never seen that any of the foods I purchase at Aldi's originate from China.

 

I have bought many products of European origin, because they are of superior quality. Muesli, genuine pumpernickel (not the colored fake stuff), lebkuchen, and HFCS free jam from Germany. Pesto, olive oil and gnocchi from Italy. Chocolate from Austria.

 

When the US manufacturers learn how to make these of the same quality, I will gladly try their products again.

 

 

European origin would not bother me. Chinese origin does - unless it is something that is supposed to come from China and not sweatshop stuff. In a later post I mentioned that the item I talked about was not a food product, but a female necessity at the time. Aldis was just the first store we came across when I needed one - there were no others in sight, some restaurants (we were eating in one just prior to my "need"), but no stores where I could find what I needed.

 

As an update to a later post I made, unfortunately, we didn't find a Made in US can opener at Wally World last night, so evidently, not enough people were willing to pay the extra couple of bucks to buy them and keep them selling since we bought our last one (admittedly, a few years ago). So... we bought nothing. I have the one from our camping gear that I am using now and I'll look around in yard sales or auction estate sales in the future for a used one still capable of more service. I'm that opposed to buying Chinese when I can think of other options. Sometimes there aren't other options (which annoys me considerably), but in this case, I still think there are.

 

Or, if anyone knows of one available at any other store, let me know. Wally World has generally been my "go to" place for some items still made in the US. I have not found the same options at other stores small or large.

[kwickimom]

We are our own butcher shop :D We eat the deer and turkey we hunt. We raised hogs last year. I rarely buy beef but if I do its grass fed. I couldn't afford to buy from the local butcher.We are back to raising chickens for eggs. I get my produce from a local co op or Aldi. I buy the remainder of groceries at Sams or Aldi, whichever is cheaper. We do not eat all organic but I would love to if I could afford it.

[nukeswife]

I couldn't afford to buy from the local butcher.

 

That's interesting to me. The butcher I go to is quite a bit lower priced than any of the stores in the area including the military commissaries.