Shopping help!
 

Hi, we arrived in SE Michigan on the 4th so we're only 12 days into our new life. However I'm struggling to equate shops to what I'd know at home and supermarket shopping takes forever! Fun to look at new stuff and browse but a nightmare when you just want to run in and get something quick. Also I am finding the cost of fresh fruit and veg pretty extortionate. We don't want to eat out all the time but don't want to not eat the fresh stuff we're used to. Can anyone offer any guidlines or tips? What would a kroger or a meijers equate to for example? All information welcome.. Thankyou in advance :)

My last resort it to go all "good life" and grow stuff. Once the snow melts obviously lol.

Re: Shopping help!
 

Try and find local producers. However, no one believes us when we post on this board that the cost of living isn't dramatically lower to the UK, especially where decent food is concerned. I guess you are just finding out the hard way, produce and decent food is not cheap. You can get dirt cheap food but the quality represents the price.

Re: Shopping help!
 

Unfortunately supermarket fruit and veg here are very poor quality compared to what you are used to in the UK. Growing your own is a good option, and you should investigate the CSA option (community supported agriculture.) This is where you pay a set fee to a local farmer or consortium and they give you a share each week for a good long growing season. Also, do you have Amish folk on farms near you? We can buy a lot direct from them, although they may not be organic like the CSA folk...

Another thing you might want to make yourself is bread.

Also, raise your own pigs... (OK I'm exaggerating on that one.)

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meijers always reminds me of sainsburys - a little bit of a pricier supermarket. Locally we have a giant eagle - seems be a bit more cheap - maybe like tescos. Then walmart is like asda (very cheap and cheerful - no surprise there - they are the same firm), kroger is bteween Giant eagle and meijers to me. Then Whole foods is more akin to Waitrose- ie excellent quality but pay a lot!

But then - krogers and giant eagle do rewards card schemes with cheap petrol etc - remember you can buy gift cards in those stores that you can then spend like cash in the gift card store BUT earns rewards from the supermarket you brought them in (does that make sense? - if you know you are going to spend money in home depot - buy the gift card first where you have a reward card). Walmart does no reward but prices are generally the cheapest but not always a comprehensive choice and tends to be very cheap/cheerful.

I had the same issue as you when you arrived - had noconcept of what was what compared to home- but it does come with time and exposure - but after 3.5 years there are still plenty of shops i have still never been in lol.

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We don't have kroger or meijers around here so I can't give you a comparison.

If you're looking for good quality freash ready made meals like you get in M&S, Sainsbury's, Tesco etc I think you'll be disappointed...sorry. Of course it may be different in your area...but around here there's nothing like the stuff you can get in the UK.

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I suppose one issue that is common in the US but obviously unknown in England is distance from good shopping options. We have a nice big Wegmans (like a huge Sainsburys) 125 miles south of here, and a nice big super pricey Cooperative supermarket 130 miles (and a $20 ferry ride..) east of here. Other than that, just piss-poor rural supermarkets with a good choice of cans, frozen, bread that won't go mouldy even if you keep if for a year, and plenty of beef jerky...

Pretty much every month or six weeks we drive over to Burlington VT (that's the one with the ferry ride) and stay at the Hilton overlooking Lake Champlain, & get in a month's groceries and wine. (Wine being the other thing that is super pricey and not much choice in rural New York.)

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It's the same in many wine-producing states in the US. The locals have bought out the legislature, and it means that non-locally produced wine costs a fortune. This has the unfortunate side effect in states like NY of meaning that good wine is prohibitively expensive (unless places in the Finger Lakes like Wagners have started making drinkable wines). In CA it's not too bad, since the local competition is intense, and in WA it has definitely gotten better since I moved here in 2002 - some of the Walla Walla wines are outstanding, and even the Yakima wines are get getting to be very drinkable. Still not cheap, but generally better value than buying French.

Re: Shopping help!
 

Google, 'produce' in your local area.

Yelp is also helpful.

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It does take a while to get used to shopping over here and I agree with others that the quality and variety of fresh fruit and veg especially is much lower than in the UK.

My plan of attack was to find the closest of each grocery store (for us Wal-mart, Kroger, Randalls, H.E.B., Whole Foods) and do a weekly shop at each one. I quickly found that H.E.B. was my first choice for a 'big' shop (price wise and selection) but that Kroger was fine if I just wanted to nip in quick.

If I am feeling flash I go to Central Market which is H.E.B.'s fancy supermarket hence lots of goodies but crazy prices!

Re: Shopping help!
 

Thanks so much for all the replies, Duncan you're right no one does believe me when I tell them the cost! Robin I will let you know if the pig farming takes my fancy, for now the meat is fine it's the stuff to go with it I'm struggling with lol. And wine here is actually ok price wise - thank GOD!
We are picking up the idea of bulk buying when we see it for a good deal, actually having the space to store it is a novelty so that's quite a nice change. But the fresh stuff obviously that won't work for.
So it's a case of shopping around (in the literal sense!) and being prepared to pay for what you want. Hopefully it comes soon cos I sound like a broken record going round every supermarket exclaiming "look at the price of that" or "what happened to 3 peppers for a pound"?!
I'm obsessed I admit it....
Thanks everyone, appreciate the feedback!

Re: Shopping help!
 

IMO Meijers is your best bet for grocery shopping in MI. don't forget that in the middle of winter there isn't going to be much, if any locally grown produce available right now. When we lived up there we'd use frozen veg until the spring/ summer and then most cities/ towns will have a farmers market once a week. :)

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If there is a Trader Joe's in the area - they are great for vegetables, cheese and healthy cereals. Dont know what I'd eat if it wasn't for TJ and Wholefoods! I've been told Meijers is the best in this area too.

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They just rearranged the wording, $3 a pound!

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It said on the TV news a day or so ago that fresh produce has rocketed in price in the US; it has suddently spiked because of ruined crops in major fruit and veg producing States eg. Florida and California and linked to all the recent bad weather throughout the US.

Other reasons for the increase in food (not just the US but worldwide) include:

Higher oil prices - it's more expensive to transport food.

Drought in Russia/former USSR States affecting wheat production, floods in Pakistan and Australia (on top of a prolonged drought) causing crops to fail.

The reporter also said that staple foods such as rice are (and will remain for the forseeable future) higher in price; as Asian countries (in particular China and India are becoming more prosperous) more people have more money to spend on different varieties of food.

Worldwide the population is increasing - more food needs to be produced for all those extra mouths. (I despise Monsanto with a passion - but of course they will argue that their genetically modified crops are needed for this reason...:thumbdown:)

It's all down to supply and demand.....more demand means higher prices :blink:

PS: Where are you from in Essex? We still have our little house in a village in the Epping Forest area.

Re: Shopping help!
 

Costco are really good pricewise and because they have such a high turnover their fruit/veg/meat/fish is usually fresh.

For what I pay for a container of mixed salad leaves at my local supermarket...I can get 5 times more for the same price at Costco.

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Agreed. Great if you have a large family....not really worth it for us as most of (the fresh produce) would go to waste. :)

Re: Shopping help!
 

Hi Jerseygirl

I am moving to Morristown area in NJ at end of March and shop at Costco here in UK. Do you know of any near to that area. I think we can use the same card in US.

Sam

Re: Shopping help!
 

I'm not far from Motown. There is one about 15 mins away from you...on Route 10 East Hanover...you can find me there most Saturday afternoons. :D

Give me a shout if there's anything you want to know about the area.

Re: Shopping help!
 

There's only me and him now and I still buy most of my things from Costco. I freeze the meat and fish. Even if I have to throw something away because it hasn't been eaten...it still works out a cheaper.

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Ha Jerseygirl

You may rue the day.....

That's fantastic about Costco, hopefully will bump into you over a coffee and the reasonably priced hotdogs (please tell me they do them there?!?!)

I buy lots of meat and fish too at the moment and freeze it, it's good quality stuff, it'll be great if I can do the same.

Do you like the areas around Morristown?

Sam

Re: Shopping help!
 

I'm not sure that any of the grocery stores here really equate to the UK stores you are familiar with. When I first moved over I was also stunned by the selections but after a while you get used to which brands work for you.
Fresh fruit and veg prices here are ridiculous, lol and you should see them in AK :eek: Luckily once summer comes around you can either grow your own or look out for farmers markets and fruit and veg stands by the road. I would buy in bulk in the summer months and freeze what I could.

Jan :)

oh P.S. .. Walmart sells Tetley British blend tea which isnt the real deal but is better than bigelow or twinings teas :)

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Yes it's pretty nice...especially west and south/west of Motown where it's a little more rural. Some areas of Motown are the pits. I see you have a son...so you need to research schools in the area. There used to be quite a problem with drugs/gangs at Motown High School...according to the local paper.

King's supermarkets are in this area...they used to be owned by M&S. They sell British goods around Christmas and Easter. Gary's Wine Stores...Bernardsville and Madison...sell loads of Brit goodies. There is also an Irish store in Bridgewater Mall that sells Brit stuff.

Re: Shopping help!
 

Thanks for this.

Have sent you a pm but you've covered most of the questions.

My son is 8, so I gather he will be in grade 2, which is a shame as it seems the schools are K-2, 3-5 etc so may start in one school then have to go to a different one for grade 3 in Sept!

Sam

Re: Shopping help!
 

This is very true. I think the big ones in the UK make a real attempt to be comprehensive, in that they sell everything AND try to attract shoppers who need to watch their pennies, and folks who can afford to buy the very best. Thus "basics" and "taste the difference" and other gradations and choices. Here, it is either Grand Union, Walmart or whatever for hoi polloi and the various Wholefoods, local co-op supermarkets etc. for hoi oligoi -- folks who can afford $80 per pound cheese and the like. For instance, they do sell boxed mac & cheese at the upper-crust co-op in burlington, VT, but it is this brand;
http://static.flickr.com/62/220331675_bfdb8c650e.jpg

Re: Shopping help!
 

I would go out of my mind (even more) if it weren't for Trader Joe's.

http://www.allstays.com/c/trader-joes-locations-map.htm

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The place to go for cheap fruit and veg in Colorado is Sunflower Market. Or try any farmers' market.

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Funny isn't it... we don't have a Trader Joe's anywhere near here; so we say "if only there was somewhere like TRADER JOE'S around here ..." then, a couple of weeks ago, we spent a week in New York City. We were staying in a nice part of the Upper West Side, a few blocks from Zabars and there was a very nice gourmet supermarket even closer (can't remember what it was called.) There was a Trader Joe's there too.. it didn't excite us because there were two or three local options much better!

Re: Shopping help!
 

Oh sure, it's just that it's more like what I am used to. The first few weeks stumbling around the huge asceptic supermarkets not finding a single thing I wanted to cook or eat were scary.

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I hadn't heard of that one til yesterday when the founder got locked up for being a pedo.

Do they even have stores in SE Michigan?

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I don't know, but I do know they do good lettuce and arugula/rocket.

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... also founded Wild Oats.. before they had to sell to become more Whole Foods.

Sunflower is about the only place I know that carries crumpets.

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Yes, on the Wild/Whole story, I knew about that. Haven't been keeping up, obviously.

Trader Joe's has a nice pack of crumpets. That's where we always get them. I don't shop the W/W stores.. prefer our homegrown version. We're lucky to have lots of alternatives here. :)

Re: Shopping help!
 

We get all our fruit and veg from Kroger, Aldi, and sometimes Detroit Eastern Market if we are in that area and it is open (think it is closed for winter at the moment). If you go to Aldi remember to take a quarter for the trolley, and some plastic bags - it's just like being back in England! :)

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Another thing about Aldi is that you can get decent chocolate there.. various European brands, mostly German.

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Yep, I hear they do their own version of Jaffa cakes which are identical to the real thing - so i will be stocking up next time I'm there.

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That's a good tip - thanks!

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The only crumpets TJ's has round here are the terrible fat-free ones :(

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We can get crumpets there, but they are a little doughy, still better than nothing :thumbup:

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oops, so they are. I didn't know they are terrible... he seems happy enough with them. :huh:
You will have to make us some fresh so we know how they're supposed to be. :)

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Trader Joes is generally great, but can be hit or miss on the fresh veg front, just like most grocery stores, location makes a difference.

Whole Foods is good but expensive, worth wondering around for the samples though and checking out any deals they have going, or for sausages and cheese.

Best bet really is a local farmers market, you might get lucky and have a covered farmers market, our old town set one up in a school gym which was great timing as we moved out of town, the Target also just got turned into a Super Target, arseholes :lol: