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

[catz]

I don't shop Wal-Mart or Aldi's. My most visited big box store is Target. I have like 10 choices for groceries within 10 miles including 2 co-ops and a Whole Foods. We do a CSA as well.

 

ETA - yes, I did write Aldi's. Send me to the grammar police as well. I hope they have red wine in their cells. I've never been in an ALDI for the record. We do have them here, but not in my 10 mile radius zone. :lol:

[Jennifer3141]

I call it Aldi's too. I'm sure the name change happened because the "i" slides so easily into the contraction for "is." Since most corporations have PR firms at their inception, I don't really have much sympathy for them. And if that irritated them, Aldi's could have done something different with their name. It's not called, "Waltons." They called it, "Walmart." Is there an Aldi family?

 

Aldis stores in Michigan are just gross. They are where fresh iceberg lettuce goes to die essentially. I was last in one about 10 years ago and there was no organic option and I'm pretty sure a store like this could not care less about GMO labeling.

 

One of the the things I like about my local grocery stores is that they work with our local food banks and homeless shelters quite extensively. Does anyone know what/if Aldi does to give back to their communities?

[Lady Florida.]

I call it Aldi's too. I'm sure the name change happened because the "i" slides so easily into the contraction for "is." Since most corporations have PR firms at their inception, I don't really have much sympathy for them. And if that irritated them, Aldi's could have done something different with their name. It's not called, "Waltons." They called it, "Walmart." Is there an Aldi family?

 

Sometimes I say Aldi, sometimes Aldis. The s police haven't bothered me yet. :) It's like the Lego people insisting it's LEGO NOT LEGOS. People call the pieces legos. Even die hard lego lovers like my son and my niece's husband add the s. The word might mean something in the language of origin, but it doesn't translate easily to English. We like to add s to words. I've heard there are even parts of the U.S. where they say Walmarts.

 

They are where fresh iceberg lettuce goes to die essentially. I was last in one about 10 years ago and there was no organic option and I'm pretty sure a store like this could not care less about GMO labeling.

 

Ten years ago I couldn't find organic options at any store in my area, except maybe organic boxed mac and cheese and other processed Amy's food. Definitely no organic produce. I had to order from a (now defunct) co-op, and the pick-up location was someone's garage in a suburban subdivision. Aldi does now carry organic food though it's a recent thing for them. I rarely buy iceberg lettuce, so I don't even know what it looks like at my Aldi, or if they even sell it. They do sell this lettuce.

 

One of the the things I like about my local grocery stores is that they work with our local food banks and homeless shelters quite extensively. Does anyone know what/if Aldi does to give back to their communities?

 

 

They do. Read through their Corporate Responsibility and News and Awards pages.

• Greenpeace seafood retailer scorecard ranks Aldi in the top ten.

• Aldi worked with Extreme Makeover Home Edition to help rebuild homes in Joplin after the tornadoes.

• They work with a variety of local hunger drives and food banks.

• They use as little packaging as possible and often what they do use is recycled material. Oddly enough, this contributes to people's ick factor since their products are not beautifully (and wastefully) packaged.

 

There's more. Those were just a few things I culled from browsing the site. Much of the information isn't just Aldi tooting its horn, but comes from actual news articles.

 

Aldi also pays better than most grocery stores and has better benefits. This applies even to entry level employees. I consider that to be giving back to the community as well.

 

ETA: While there's no Aldi family, there are the Albrecht brothers. Aldi comes from Albrecht Discount. From what I've read there's Aldi North and Aldi South. Aldi North owns Trader Joe's while Aldi South owns Aldi.

[4Kiddos]

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 ;)

 

 

Hi Gao!

 

I wanted to apologize for my post. I sounded very ungrateful and grumpy. I know that many people love Whole Foods and I would too if it were not so expensive. Before when we lived in a different state I used to shop there. It is a lovely store and so nice to shop there. For some reason, their prices at the store near us are just so much higher than other places. My husband works very hard and we love to have good food. But, we just can't afford three times my current budget to shop there. I buy organic when I can and a lot of the local food is organic which is nice. Plus, all of the food we grow ourselves is wonderful.

 

We are also probably food snobs. :) I make everything from scratch and we don't eat any processed foods. I would love to find Sockeye Salmon for $7.99 a pound! Yum!

 

All in all, I did not mean to offend you and wanted to apologize for my post. It sounds very ungrateful and complaining. What a blessing it is for your family to have you buying lovely food for them to nourish their bodies and keep them healthy! Have a lovely day!

[creekland]

 

They do. Read through their Corporate Responsibility and News and Awards pages.

• Greenpeace seafood retailer scorecard ranks Aldi in the top ten.

• Aldi worked with Extreme Makeover Home Edition to help rebuild homes in Joplin after the tornadoes.

• They work with a variety of local hunger drives and food banks.

• They use as little packaging as possible and often what they do use is recycled material. Oddly enough, this contributes to people's ick factor since their products are not beautifully (and wastefully) packaged.

 

There's more. Those were just a few things I culled from browsing the site. Much of the information isn't just Aldi tooting its horn, but comes from actual news articles.

 

Aldi also pays better than most grocery stores and has better benefits. This applies even to entry level employees. I consider that to be giving back to the community as well.

 

ETA: While there's no Aldi family, there are the Albrecht brothers. Aldi comes from Albrecht Discount. From what I've read there's Aldi North and Aldi South. Aldi North owns Trader Joe's while Aldi South owns Aldi.

 

 

Thanks for the info. It still doesn't mean I'm going to shop there (just yet), but I do like to know the info. I have no idea if our local one does things for the community or not and I can't think of anyone I know who works there (unlike other stores). I might though. Teaching at school helps you know a LOT of local people. Maybe... at some point... I'll get over "my" bad experience and give our local one a try. ;)

[*lifeoftheparty*]

 

 

Hi Gao!

 

I wanted to apologize for my post. I sounded very ungrateful and grumpy. I know that many people love Whole Foods and I would too if it were not so expensive. Before when we lived in a different state I used to shop there. It is a lovely store and so nice to shop there. For some reason, their prices at the store near us are just so much higher than other places. My husband works very hard and we love to have good food. But, we just can't afford three times my current budget to shop there. I buy organic when I can and a lot of the local food is organic which is nice. Plus, all of the food we grow ourselves is wonderful.

 

We are also probably food snobs. :) I make everything from scratch and we don't eat any processed foods. I would love to find Sockeye Salmon for $7.99 a pound! Yum!

 

All in all, I did not mean to offend you and wanted to apologize for my post. It sounds very ungrateful and complaining. What a blessing it is for your family to have you buying lovely food for them to nourish their bodies and keep them healthy! Have a lovely day!

 

Well let me apologize too, lol, I didn't mean to sound offended, I'm sorry if my post sounded rude or anything. It's very hard to relay things when you can relay tone, facial expressions and hand gestures!

 

I just always try to tell people my experiences to let them know that it is possible to shop there without going into the poor house.

 

And I was just answering the question in your post about how people can afford to shop there, that part really doesn't "sound" as bad as it's written :)

 

For what it's worth, I would take your food set-up any day over whole foods!!

[stripe]

Aldi also pays better than most grocery stores and has better benefits. This applies even to entry level employees. I consider that to be giving back to the community as well.

 

I totally agree with you. Many of the "Aldi alternatives" (besides Walmart) that people are proud to shop at, including fancy grocery stores, pay $8/hr or less and do not schedule reliably/consistently/full time.