The Salmonella Factor
TODAYS RATING: 
Total expenditures: $79.53
Made purchases at:
There are three main grocery stores in Helena-West Helena. Wal-Mart Supercenter, Kroger, and Hays Grocery. Kroger and Hays both qualify as three-star businesses, although if I knew more about how they treat their employees one or both of them might be demoted to two stars. Kroger is a national chain, but individual locations may be run under franchise agreements. I haven't researched this issue, but I'm fairly sure the Kroger here is a franchise. Hays is a family-owned regional chain spread throughout eastern Arkansas.
In the three weeks we've lived here, my husband and I have developed a preference for Hays, even though the Kroger is within walking distance of our house. Neither store has everything that we shop for, but Hays has more of what we buy regularly than Kroger. For some reason, though, we can't seem to go to either store without spending about $80. And that $80 does not go as far as it does, say, in Kansas City. And, particularly after today's shopping expedition, I have begun to be concerned about the quality of food I'm getting.
Today the major items on my list were fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, chicken, and corn dogs for the Monkey. I left the store with no fresh vegetables, and some doubts about the fish, chicken, and corn dogs I had purchased. I was pleased to have found apples and oranges that seemed to be in good condition and at a good price. But when I got them home and put them away, I discovered rotten places on two of the oranges. I also saw that the apples I had so carefully inspected in the store were wrinkled and mushy on the bottoms.
The reason I left the store with no vegetables was because I refuse to pay $2+ per pound for in-season vegetables that look as though they've been sitting in the root cellar since last September. I'm not talking about blemished skins or the occasional pest. I've shopped organic before and I'm comfortable with produce that is less than pretty. These vegetables weren't organic. They were old.
Most troublesome, though, was my experience with the frozen meats. For some reason, Hays Grocery does not organize their merchandise so that, for example, all of the fish is in one section, all of the chicken in another section, and all of the corn dogs in another section. Instead, they have open coolers scattered throughout the store with a little bit of everything in each of them. This is not a problem in itself, so long as the coolers are in good working order. Apparently, though, some of the Hays coolers aren't able to cope with Arkansas summer. In three different coolers, I reached my hand in to grab purportedly frozen meat and came away with animal juices dripping down my elbow. In two coolers, bags of chicken had been stocked next to boxes of corn dogs. The chicken had thawed and the corn dogs were soaked in bloody chicken juices. I'm not a fan of having my stomach pumped, so I opted not to buy anything from that soggy melange. I did finally find three coolers of fish, chicken, and corn dogs respectively where everything seemed unthawed and properly sealed. I'm hoping it wasn't foolish of me to trust those appearances, because I did end up buying tilapia fillets, catfish nuggets, chicken breasts and thighs, and a box of corn dogs for my picky son.
So, this brings me to my dilemma. Clearly quality control is an issue in at least one of the more "local" groceries in my town. It could be that to stay in the black, the smaller grocery stores have to cut corners on things like replacing produce and maintaining the coolers. It could be that, because this town isn't on a major national thoroughfare, it is too expensive to have the supply trucks come very often. I don't know what the reason is. I don't know that a reason is necessary. Maybe my standards are just too high. I understood, on an academic level, that "shopping local" means accepting what is available locally and not judging it by the homogeneous national Supercenter-esque standards I'm accustomed to. Surely that doesn't mean eating rubbery squash in August, or chicken-soaked corn dogs any time of year?
What is the answer? I reported the leaky chicken to the manager. Could it be that it's just that no one has ever complained before? If I ask for fresher apples and oranges that haven't rotted in the bag, will someone at Hays have a Eureka moment? I don't know. Still not shopping at Wal-Mart. Memphis is looking more and more appealing.
Total expenditures: $79.53
Made purchases at:
- Hays Grocery
There are three main grocery stores in Helena-West Helena. Wal-Mart Supercenter, Kroger, and Hays Grocery. Kroger and Hays both qualify as three-star businesses, although if I knew more about how they treat their employees one or both of them might be demoted to two stars. Kroger is a national chain, but individual locations may be run under franchise agreements. I haven't researched this issue, but I'm fairly sure the Kroger here is a franchise. Hays is a family-owned regional chain spread throughout eastern Arkansas.
In the three weeks we've lived here, my husband and I have developed a preference for Hays, even though the Kroger is within walking distance of our house. Neither store has everything that we shop for, but Hays has more of what we buy regularly than Kroger. For some reason, though, we can't seem to go to either store without spending about $80. And that $80 does not go as far as it does, say, in Kansas City. And, particularly after today's shopping expedition, I have begun to be concerned about the quality of food I'm getting.
Today the major items on my list were fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, chicken, and corn dogs for the Monkey. I left the store with no fresh vegetables, and some doubts about the fish, chicken, and corn dogs I had purchased. I was pleased to have found apples and oranges that seemed to be in good condition and at a good price. But when I got them home and put them away, I discovered rotten places on two of the oranges. I also saw that the apples I had so carefully inspected in the store were wrinkled and mushy on the bottoms.
The reason I left the store with no vegetables was because I refuse to pay $2+ per pound for in-season vegetables that look as though they've been sitting in the root cellar since last September. I'm not talking about blemished skins or the occasional pest. I've shopped organic before and I'm comfortable with produce that is less than pretty. These vegetables weren't organic. They were old.
Most troublesome, though, was my experience with the frozen meats. For some reason, Hays Grocery does not organize their merchandise so that, for example, all of the fish is in one section, all of the chicken in another section, and all of the corn dogs in another section. Instead, they have open coolers scattered throughout the store with a little bit of everything in each of them. This is not a problem in itself, so long as the coolers are in good working order. Apparently, though, some of the Hays coolers aren't able to cope with Arkansas summer. In three different coolers, I reached my hand in to grab purportedly frozen meat and came away with animal juices dripping down my elbow. In two coolers, bags of chicken had been stocked next to boxes of corn dogs. The chicken had thawed and the corn dogs were soaked in bloody chicken juices. I'm not a fan of having my stomach pumped, so I opted not to buy anything from that soggy melange. I did finally find three coolers of fish, chicken, and corn dogs respectively where everything seemed unthawed and properly sealed. I'm hoping it wasn't foolish of me to trust those appearances, because I did end up buying tilapia fillets, catfish nuggets, chicken breasts and thighs, and a box of corn dogs for my picky son.
So, this brings me to my dilemma. Clearly quality control is an issue in at least one of the more "local" groceries in my town. It could be that to stay in the black, the smaller grocery stores have to cut corners on things like replacing produce and maintaining the coolers. It could be that, because this town isn't on a major national thoroughfare, it is too expensive to have the supply trucks come very often. I don't know what the reason is. I don't know that a reason is necessary. Maybe my standards are just too high. I understood, on an academic level, that "shopping local" means accepting what is available locally and not judging it by the homogeneous national Supercenter-esque standards I'm accustomed to. Surely that doesn't mean eating rubbery squash in August, or chicken-soaked corn dogs any time of year?
What is the answer? I reported the leaky chicken to the manager. Could it be that it's just that no one has ever complained before? If I ask for fresher apples and oranges that haven't rotted in the bag, will someone at Hays have a Eureka moment? I don't know. Still not shopping at Wal-Mart. Memphis is looking more and more appealing.
posted by Carmen at 7:04 PM
1 Comments:
Have you ever shopped at Hy-vee? I don't know if they have them in Kansas City, but I don't know why they wouldn't as there's at least one in Lawrence, KS.
Anyhow, I had a bit more sympathy for them because they claim to be employee-owned, until I bought some lovely red flawless roma tomatoes... brought them home, and discovered the insides were greenish brown. Now I can't bring myself to trust their produce.
Maybe you can see if any locals have gardens, befriend them and work out a deal. I know that during certain times of the year, my parents have too many tomatoes and squash to handle!
Post a Comment
<< Home