Grocery Shopping

[Mr. DS]

I went grocery shopping today with the family and began to wonder if people share similar practices when it comes to food shopping.  We usually go every two weeks to Stop And Shop.  Most of the time with three kids my wife goes with one of them.  I personally don't mind grocery shopping but I can't stand it when the store is loaded with people.  Much like any area, I don't like dealing with a lot of people around.  Especially when these people are behind bulky shopping carts. 

So how often do you grocery shop?  Who goes in your house if not yourself? 

[Leah]

my dad goes 98% of the time every Saturday, the other 2% is that he's at work or on a married date with my mum, usually celebrating their anniversary or just being on a date with me mum. anyways, my dad will only get vegan stuff, except for milk, ice cream, and cheese, because I will die without milk and/or cheese.   

[The Burgomaster]

We used to go every week.  Now we probably go only one or two times a month for a "big shopping," and then a few other times when we need to pick up a few things like bread, milk, cereal, dog food or whatever.  Stop & Shop is really expensive around here, so I rarely shop there.  I can probably save 20 - 25% off my entire food order by shopping at Market Basket rather than Stop & Shop.  And there are at least 5 Market Basket supermarkets within a 10 minute drive of my house, so those stores are really convenient for me.

[retrorussell]

Once a week I'll stop off at Albertson's on the way back from work to get more soda, bread, apples or noodles.  More often if I feel like whipping up a certain dish.  I'm probably going to go later tonight to get some stuff.  Instant potato flakes sounds good all of a sudden.

[HappyGilmore]

Once a month for the 'big' shopping, as far as spending a boatload of cash.  Usually grab a bunch of bread on sale and freeze a few loaves.

After that one big day, we'll usually stop by the local convenience store for small items that we occasionally need: milk, soda, incidental stuff we forgot at the supermarket.

Small stuff, like lettuce, tomatoes, etc., occasionally I'll grab from work (I work in a restaurant), so sometimes they'll let me take home some tomatoes and heads of lettuce if we need some at home.

[Trevor]

I personally don't mind grocery shopping but I can't stand it when the store is loaded with people.  Much like any area, I don't like dealing with a lot of people around.  Especially when these people are behind bulky shopping carts. 

I agree, DS: I usually leave my shopping to later in the day ~ the shop I go to stays open until 20h00 ~ so that makes it a little easier for me with less people and less times that you want to say *&^%$#@##!!!!!! when some idiot either bumps you in the check-out queue or runs over your foot with a shopping cart wheel. 

[asimpson2006]

I usually go shopping myself since I am buying my own food for my lunches at work or for stuff for the weekend or stuff I get that my parents can share.  I usually go on the weekends and fairly early (around 7:00 to 8:00 am) usually so I can avoid the crowds.  I sometime do go during the week, and if I do I usually go after my shift ends on the way home from work.  Though I will often go later at night.

[Hammock Rider]

  I eat alot of produce so I grocery shop every couple days to keep my food fresh. I try to go either early or later in the day to avoid crowds. I absolutley avoid going on Saturday or Sunday morning or afternoon because that's when all the "Sunday shoppers" are out with huge unweildy cartloads of food and screaming kiddies.

[ulthar]

We go every day or two.  We eat a TON of fresh fruit and veggies and it doesn't keep long.  Also, we don't have a fridge (we use a passive icebox cooler that is not very large) - and we have no way to keep frozen food frozen.  Finally, we don't have a TON of storage space to keep a bunch of extra stuff.

Well, we COULD store enough food for about 60 days (family of four), but it's not convenient and it would use storage space we are currently using for other 'luxuries.'

We drive by the grocery store(s) constantly, so stopping to pick something up is not a big deal.

[claws]

Twice a month always on a Saturday morning because that is the most convenient day/time for us to shop.
We grab fresh fruit, veggies, eggs, bread & bakery products during the week.

[Ed, Ego and Superego]

We do a big shop at a cheaper gorcery once a week, then fill in fun or qualuty foods on a need basis.  I love finding cool or intersting food, and WinCo is not really great for that.
-Ed

[Andrew]

I usually stop at the Aberdeen Commissary on my way home Friday nights.  Something nice about a commissary (besides the reduced prices) is that they also tend to stock some foods from other countries.  Aberdeen is good for a fair selection of German stuff, and Dover AFB tends to have a better selection of Japanese items.

Staples like cereal, oatmeal, chicken, beef, milk, OJ, and eggs all tend to be much cheaper at the commissary.  Right now, though the kids are still young, we go through about 3 gallons of milk every week.  That's in addition to 2-3 dozen eggs (mostly hard boiled for me).  Once the kids are teenagers I'm going to need a line of credit for the milk alone.

We also eat a lot of fruits and vegetables.  Some of that I get from a local orchard (peaches - I must have ate a bushel myself, maybe more), and there is a farmer's market too.  The farmer's market is great for stuff like local honey and pumpkin butter.

[Trevor]

Once the kids are teenagers I'm going to need a line of credit for the milk alone.

[Paquita]

I try to go once every two weeks too.  The fewer people that come with me with me the faster I can get out of there and the less money I spend.  I usually have to stop back for milk once a week.  I'm getting fed up with groceries lately because all my favorite things keep getting discontinued or dropped from my store!  The latest is banana bread oatmeal.  At least they had Count Chocula this year.

[Ed, Ego and Superego]

I usually stop at the Aberdeen Commissary on my way home Friday nights.  Something nice about a commissary (besides the reduced prices) is that they also tend to stock some foods from other countries.  Aberdeen is good for a fair selection of German stuff, and Dover AFB tends to have a better selection of Japanese items.

Staples like cereal, oatmeal, chicken, beef, milk, OJ, and eggs all tend to be much cheaper at the commissary.  Right now, though the kids are still young, we go through about 3 gallons of milk every week.  That's in addition to 2-3 dozen eggs (mostly hard boiled for me).  Once the kids are teenagers I'm going to need a line of credit for the milk alone.

We also eat a lot of fruits and vegetables.  Some of that I get from a local orchard (peaches - I must have ate a bushel myself, maybe more), and there is a farmer's market too.  The farmer's market is great for stuff like local honey and pumpkin butter.

Hey Andrew, like most military kids I worked as a bagger at the comissary on base.  We had specialzed multilayer carts to hold lots of grocery bags.  I have never seen them anywhere else.  Do they still exist?
-Ed