One of the biggest changes for me, moving to the country, was the change in how I shop for groceries.
In the “city” there was a beautiful grocery store within a few minutes of me. Any ingredient I could think of possibly wanting was a few minutes away from me. This means supper can be fairly last minute, and I can still put together what I want. And can we just discuss the produce section of Meijer’s!? <<sigh>> Oh to grocery shop regularly at that store!
Living out in the country gives me a few choices for groceries. First, the gas stations. Milk, OJ, and eggs can be found here. Then there are the locally owned grocery stores. Which in all honesty I love to support. But they are small. Some are working at improving their selection, and it really is impressive what they have brought to the small town. But obviously they are going to be limited in what they can offer. If I want to go to a large grocery store then the closest option would be a Wal-Mart. And to get to the Wal-Mart is a 30 minute drive each way. Wal-Mart has options, but it is no Meijer {am I right?}.
So city girl if you are going to move out to the country here are a few tips to make your grocery shopping a little easier {most learned the hard way…}
>> Meal plan. Seriously. You can’t really afford for it to be 4:50 and you are trying to come up with a meal. Last minute items really are hard to get.
>> If the recipe calls for an ingredient you haven’t heard of before, forget it. It’s just not going to happen.
>> Be prepared for the prices. When you shop locally you are doing a great thing. You are supporting those small family owned business that have been around for a long time. And its wonderful because you do have a great place to go for the staples. But just know upfront that they have to pay more to have items shipped to them. And they don’t have the same amount of revenue as larger stores. So they will have higher prices. $6+ for a small box of cereal {and I’m not talking specialty cereal} isn’t too far off.
>> Check the dates. Remember, small stores, small towns. Turnover rate for some items isn’t quick. And you don’t want to drive 20 minutes for just sour cream and get home and realize it expired a while ago… not that it has every happened to me. And if it did you know I would respond so gracefully… yes….
>> Buy a big deep freezer. Or in our case two, and an extra fridge. Moms know, families make food disappear awfully fast! Sometimes I wonder how much will be left by the time I drive the 30 minutes home? I have learned that I can freeze just about anything that I can think of. And when I go grocery shopping I need to stock up for at least a week. So extra freezer and fridge space is a must!
Nine and a half years later and this grocery shopping is my new normal. And I’m okay with that. Just an adjustment that comes with country living. But be prepared, the grocery shopping is a different experience when you live in the country!
Someone out there enjoy a fruit I can’t find at Wal-Mart for me,