tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post3437838997696805696..comments2024-03-27T03:19:11.216-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: SupermarketAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-16822923459181446662009-05-26T20:57:13.546-04:002009-05-26T20:57:13.546-04:00I recently did a bit of shopping at Danis' Mar...I recently did a bit of shopping at Danis' Market in Pittsfield. It has changed very little since I was 6 years old (some 40 years ago). The signs marking the aisles are still the same. Many of the soft drinks and chips are new, but most of the stuff is just as it was. Remarkably, Pittsfield actually supports 2 markets of similar size. M&M used to be A&P back in the day. I'm guessing many folks in Pittsfield find traveling to Concord (20 miles) to shop too expensive in it's own right.<br />I'm with Nanna about the way people dress. I don't think people need to wear jackets and ties or fine dresses to shop for groceries, but for goodness sake people! Out of respect for either me, or yourself, get dressed.Dubbahdeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00075702513873912334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-71205369939883344402009-05-26T19:46:38.306-04:002009-05-26T19:46:38.306-04:00Nice. But,actually, without being too fanatical a...Nice. But,actually, without being too fanatical about it, I am leaning more towards the locavore myself. Mostly I grow our own vegetables and some of our fruit during six months of the year, and I try the rest of the time to buy local stuff, and eat seasonally. <br /><br /> I detest the giant supermarkets because they take too long to get through them. And the exotic and out of season stuff is usually so old from having been trucked in that it is less nutritious, despite being appealingly diverse. More importantly, I don't see any of my friends there. <br /><br />We have one small outrageously overpriced supermarket in our town, locally owned, with five aisles, about 40 feet long, but every time I go there I get free cup of coffee, a few yummy free samples, see at least 4 or 5 friends of 20 years for a chat that sets my teen children to twitching and toetapping in exasperation, and long and friendly conversations with the checkers who have worked there all 21 years that I have lived here (a few younger ones recently, including kid's best friend after school). I can shop quickly, have some friendly conversation, and get reasonably good food. <br /><br />Trader Joe's is probably the perfect store for me as far as the kind of food I like, small so speedy to shop in, and cheap, but I don't usually see many friends there. <br /><br />I compromise and go to a giganto place like Costco or Shop Rite (Hannaford up north) to get cheap staples and the exotic, but for mundane everyday stuff and local produce I prefer to support a local business. <br /><br />But this may simply reflect my experience of living in a village over 21 years and valuing the chance in my hectic life of catching up with my friends and neighbors on the fly? Like village women going to the well?Retrieverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09036341287285545932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-66992689371219084252009-05-26T15:31:44.817-04:002009-05-26T15:31:44.817-04:00Your post reminded me of an article I read in some...Your post reminded me of an article I read in some health nut magazine this weekend. It said there's a growing "locavore" movement which advocates eating only fresh, locally grown vegetables for environmental reasons. I guess these locavores have forgotten what grocery stores used to look like back in the days when their nannas were doing the shopping.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-51416593805682239802009-05-26T00:18:34.596-04:002009-05-26T00:18:34.596-04:00My father lives in a small town where the A&P ...My father lives in a small town where the A&P grocery store still has only 6 aisles.<br /><br />The proprietor is his neighbor and I'm privy to his supplier problems. It won't be long before the residents of this small town are going to have to drive 20 miles to get groceries.Donna B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16771075314473811594noreply@blogger.com