Adventures in Grocery Shopping

My stepfather is in his eighties and lives by himself in an apartment not far from my home. A few weeks ago he had a car accident that made him decide to stop driving, and he sold his car. That leaves him in the position of needing rides to the grocery store. Now, I am the world's most sporadic housekeeper, and that includes grocery shopping. I usually go by how empty the fridge is, and even then it takes me a few more days to summon the energy to get myself to the store.

(Thank heavens we have that guinea pig in the freezer -- at least we won't starve! And it's a great deterrent that keeps the teenagers from eating up the ice cream ...)

We have a wonderful grocery co-op about a mile from home, which is where I do a good share of my shopping, especially now that the big-box warehouse supermarket has hired big guns to try to bust their employees' union. The co-op also offers a shop-online, home delivery service that would be great for my stepdad when I'm not available to take him shopping.

Yesterday I took him to the co-op for the first time, so he could scope out what they have. I love my stepdad, but frankly he is a bit of a curmudgeon. And he was really irritated by all of the organic food. "I don't buy organic. I can't afford it!" he kept saying. He grumbled about the bananas and he picked up a gallon of conventional milk, although he informed me that it was a concession because the dairy that bottled it was the only non-union dairy in Milwaukee when he was growing up. He is passionate about labor issues, and I wanted to point out that buying organic is a workers' health and wellbeing issue too.

Well, in the end he joined the co-op and got information about the delivery service. Necessity made him a convert, I guess.

But is all organic food created equal? Our co-op tries to sell locally grown/produced food as much as possible. Unfortunately, the flooding last summer and this spring here in the Midwest has, quite literally, put a damper on a lot of locally grown produce, but they carry what they can.

Meanwhile, in the bowels of the evil west side of town is the archenemy Trader Joe's. When the site whereon it squats (in a self-satisfied, smug way) was being developed, a decision had to be made: a sister grocery co-op or Trader Joe's, that purveyor of ultra-cheap organic foods? Not surprisingly, the developer went with Trader Joe's, and I made one of my famously rash vows that wild horses could not drag me into that store, ever.

This week, Quaker Dave had a post that made me renew my vow. Read it, then write to Trader Joe's and ask them to do the right thing. If you are a Trader Joe's customer (and I understand that some people don't have alternatives) use your clout as a consumer. Organic products should be healthier for everyone. If they are being sold super-cheap, look for the hidden costs.
Si, se puede!