What an interesting title for a Sunday blog post — Grocery Stores! This isn’t an interesting blog post at all but a rant!
Finding fresh produce isn’t always easy around here.
We do have Wal-Mart and while I am not totally against shopping at Wal-Mart, my preference is to shop other grocery stores when I can.
There are two small non-chain type grocery stores here. One is kinda stinky and I don’t go in there if I can help it. The other one, Wood’s, is clean and the people are friendly . . for the most part. Their prices are a bit higher . . quite a bit higher on some things, but I liked shopping there until I got my prescription for the Epi-pen filled there a week or so ago. I got home and saw that it expires November 1, 2007. They come with up to a 16 month expiration date so paying $68 for something with 2 months left, something that’s been sitting on their shelves or their supplier’s shelves for 14 months just didn’t seem right. I called to talk to the pharmacist and she was very abrupt. She informed me that it was my problem! It wasn’t expired when they sold it to me and that’s all they’re required to do is sell something that hasn’t expired yet. Right then I decided I had paid extra for merchandise from Wood’s for the last time. Their selection is so small, I’d almost decided to stop shopping there before the Epi-Pen incident.
Today was the first time I’ve needed groceries since I got the Epi-Pen so Vince and I went to Wal-Mart this morning. I’m not exaggerating but I’ve seen better looking produce in dumpsters! There were totally rotten tomatoes with stuff growing on them. There were avocados so old they had erupted and you could see all the way to the seeds. Peaches were brown and were oozing, kiwi were more wrinkled than was my 90 year grandma. Broccoli slaw all expired yesterday. I wanted a package of cherry tomatoes and there was not one package that didn’t have shriveled up tomatoes – every one in the package was shriveled up. I honestly almost got nauseous looking at the produce. I wish I had my camera with me because I know that no one is believing how absolutely disgusting the entire produce section was at Wal-Mart.
I did go find someone working there and complained and he hauled out three or four big trays of disgusting, dripping produce.
It’s sad! I love living in this little town but I’m just not sure how long I can love it when there’s no place to get decent groceries. With the internet, I can order fabric and sewing supplies, I can order clothes, I can order spices and cooking utensils and decorations for the house but produce . . not so easy to mail order. What’s a cook to do?
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh, I know! Wal-Mart’s produce is disgusting. I never buy it there. Our local grocery store, Fareway, is pretty good with produce. I live in a diverse community and they are very accomadating to everyone.
Have you tried a local farmer’s market? Around here we have two. Also, a lot of local farmers sell fresh produce right at their own home. (This doesn’t do you any good in the winter though.)
What about doing more once-a-month-cooking? I personally “go to town” every other month or so and stock up at Costco and Trader Joe’s. No, it doesn’t work so well for fresh products, but I can know that I’m buy quality meats and other longer lasting items.
Hey, I seem to remember that in Kentucky you were a gardener, in addition to being a cook and a quilter. Any chance of resurrecting that pastime and supplying yourself with your own produce(at least in the summer months)?
I think the quality of produce has gone way down no matter where you live. They rush to get it to the stores and many times it’s artificially ripened with chemicals. I think a home garden is a great idea.
The Pharmacist is correct that he/she is within the law to dispense the epi-pen…Customer service is another dying breed. Hubby is a pharmacist (not retail) but says that Epi-pens are in short supply right now and that might be why the close to out-dated medication was dispensed.
We also have one stinky grocery store (Kroger) and then Wal-mart, although I haven’t had a problem with the produce there. We also have a year round produce market that is great and I will stop at any Farmers Market….
I think I would write a complaint letter to the Wal-Mart corporate office – and include pictures, if you can. If you live in a small town where Wal-mart has pretty much put everyone else out of business, it should be their responsibility to keep the quality up for their customers. It sounds to me like they have some very lazy (or incompetent) managers at that store.
I shop at Wal-mart all the time and my store is very nice and clean, so I know they can be. Of course I am in a big city (Austin) and there is a big chain grocery (HEB) that is very competitive here.
Susan – Hi again – unlurking for a moment
you and i are following the same schedule: get home from nashville, make a meal plan, go grocery shopping. I’m fortunate that I have my choice of reasonable grocery stores tomorrow morning, but I won’t be buying any produce. I buy it at farm stands. Are there any near you?
My favorite one is just down the road, but I lived in this area for 12 years before I ever knew it existed. Can you start searching for the obscure farmstands in your area?
Customer service obviously isn’t an interest of that pharmacist’s. And your description of the produce at WalMart almost had ME nauseous. Yuck! Hope you find a happy solution.
I think you’ll have to grow your own?!
Also, forget the pharmacist – I’d go in and talk to the store manager and complain both about the expiration date AND the attitude of the pharmacist!
Shame on stores for keeping out rotten food. I have taught my son how I look way in the back for some foods because I check the expiration date. We have 1 store in our area – the produce is delivered 2X a week, milk 1X a week. Next store is 2 hours away, but the same chain – you have to go 3 hours for a bigger selection.
Next time you see such filth in a store – don’t complain to the store – call the Board of Health and ask for an agent to come inspect it right away – they will pay 110% more attention to a Board of Health order than you (sorry, but it is true).
When I was little – stores used to put that food out on tables out back for the pig farmers to take for free…
Cheers!
Evelyn
1-800-WAL-MART will bring prompt attention to the produce problem in your local store. You will need to give them the store # located on your receipt. OR you can fax them the problem in writing, that may bring prompt attention to the store also.
Judy, we have had good luck with Costco here in Missouri as far as getting a good expiration date. They have even just given us ones that are within a month of expiration and told us to come back in a couple of weeks for a fresh one. Since they are a very sensitive medication as far as heat and sunlight etc, I wouldn’t want one that close to expiration personally. As far as the produce, I feel for you… I drive 45 minutes for a good grocery store and have just become better organized about my trips. Have coolers will travel… bake more etc. HTH!! – Jan
I just moved to the Nashville area and although I agree that we should support small grocery stores, the fact is my tight budget dictates that I show at stores that provide a saving. The Walmarts here have pretty good produce and at more affordable prices, I would agree that you should write corporate office–it is my understanding that since the death of the founder, the stores are “owned” by different members of the family and now don’t all have the same quality of goods. I’d also try local farmers markets, even in the winter you can sometimes find good winter veggies. BTW—I got your book and love it!!! I looked for you at the Nashville show but wasn’t fortunate to find you! Thanks for sharing your creative gifts with us!!!!!
Patricia in TN
How frustrating! Here in California, we’re blessed with abundant, fresh produce and plenty of stores to shop at. I think some of the other suggestions are good ones though–particularly if you can find a farmer’s market somewhere. Even if it’s not real close, it would be worth the drive, especially if you could combine it with running other errands.
Sometimes our Wal-Mart is the same way. I try to buy my produce at Alberstson’s, which is higher priced, but I feel that it is worth it. They certainly did rip you off on your Epi-pen though.
I’ve always heard that it’s best to shop on weekday mornings for produce. The stores have received and stocked their freshest items when a shipment comes in. It would be a rare store that would receive and stock on weekends – even a concern as large as WalMart. Maybe a shift in your shopping schedule would yield a more pleasant result.
But even here in SoCal, where produce is abundant, you will find wilted or “soft” produce in the markets. I always complain and make them get some fresh stuff from the back. It’s especially irritating to me to have withered Florida oranges out when we have SunKist right here in our state. (My boss used to own an orange grove so I’m real picky about my oranges! LOL)
You know my story of the fight with a pharmacist. It just boils down to whether the pharmacist really cares about their customers or whether it’s just a job. I guess that’s true with everything these days.
You should contact the pharmaceutical company who manufactured the epipen. I’ll bet they’ll replace it for you.
I guess I am lucky…we have so many. Trader Joes has the expensive organic..but our Walmart has fabulous produce too. Our Farm Fresh is the best price and best quality.
Maybe you should start asking where to find the roadside stands and local farmer’s markets!
no way a rant from Judy who would have thought. LoL
I so understand the problem with getting good produce, we live in a small town as well…I am a vegetarian so I buy a lot of produce eveyr week. Our local
grocery store has good produce
,though yes its higher than WalMart would be if they had it and it was fit to eat… sadly our Walmart has pretty poor quality in produce.
For what it is worth, I did recently read that Frozen Vegetables have as much if not more in some cases nutrition as fresh because our fresh is picked so far in advance and is so old when we buy it! I have found you can even grill frozen Vegetables and they are excellent :O)..but I do realize some vegetables you just need fresh!
As far as the Epi Pen thing goes, I have to carry a Epi Pen with me always and yes they are expensive.
Given they are for a lot of us a life saving device it is not a option to not have them…
I think I would atleast write the Corporate office if there is one, I do not know if that is a individual owned store… that is ridiculous, as you said they are very expensive and well lets face it they can be life saving literally, so not like its a option to not go buy another one when this one expires! Shortage or not that is unacceptable to get 2 months on one!
Miss Judy you are a southern gal and you know how to do this thing. Call the manager of the store, tell him how much you spend in his store each week and just tell him straight ‘after the way I was treated by your pharmacist ~ a medication which it would be life threatening to be without ~ I simply cannot bring myself to set food in your lovely store evah again’
A local health food store will know of farmers markets, so might a feed or farm and ranch supply. Costco has a limited selection of wonderful frozen organic veggies and generally a good selection of fresh.
You can grow baby salad greens in planter boxes in your basement with a grow light in the seasons when it is too hot or too cold to grow them outside.
Judy — I feel your pain. Our WalMart in town is gross and I buy as little there as possible. My dh doesn’t understand why I don’t like it — but, hey, the stuff I buy usually doesn’t rot in the fridge within 1-2 days (like the last 2x he went to WalMart. He’s slowly starting to come around to my way of thinking…). As for a solution, farmers markets and farm stands might be a solution. I know we’re lucky enough to have several in our area — one of the advantages of living in the country!
As for the epi pen — complain to the owner/manager! While they are technically within their rights to sell it — it’s lousy customer service and if you don’t let them know, it never gets fixed!