Grocery Shopping on the Road

[holstein13]

I was shopping at Safeway today and had to give them my loyalty card at the checkout. When I pulled up my virtual card on my phone, I noticed lots of other loyalty cards and thought what a strange lifestyle we live.

I've shopped at dozens, if not hundreds, of grocery stores large and small throughout the country and usually enjoy the experience.

I was wondering if you have your favorite stores throughout the country? Have you found any gems? My favorite has been Wegmans in Pennsylvania but I love Publix in Florida and Safeway in California.

[RoadXYZ]

Noticed very few from the NorthWest responded ... depending on whether in Salem OR area of here in SE Washington ... here we have a locally owned delightful store Yoke's and in Oregon prefer Safeway ..
Sometimes we can find a Walmart or Costco and sometimes we cannot ... for we spend 5-6 months volunteering for Oregon Parks Dept .. which has given us the opportunity to see much of Oregon without rv parks fees ...
Thank you for all who responded to this thread ... gives us a few ideas for sure.

[RoadXYZ]

old guy wrote:
you had to give it, they might have ask for if you had one never heard of them demanding you showit. heck I just put in my phone number.

the same for me ...

[Hobo2]

hdrichards
I was a guest at the key west navy base offshore fishing. Great base store , great camp ground. There was a recently retired navy seal running a fishing charter while camping out of there , nice big guy. we were exchanging fish stories while cleaning fish.
For those who don't know ex navy GREAT camp ground if your served in the navy.
PS. thank you for your service

[W4RLR]

dcpac wrote:

hdrichards wrote:
Being retired military we prefer the commissaries when they are within our range of travel.

Are they really worth it. I have been in for 18 years and I seldom shop at commissaries because the suck in every way, selection, quality and service and the price is not that much lower if at all.

I suppose that it is all in the eye of the beholder. We have a very small commissary at Arnold AFB, TN that meets most of our grocery needs. If we want some more selection we drive to Huntsville, AL and use the Redstone Arsenal commissary. If we're in Chattanooga, it's Publix as our go-to store. Without the commissary benefit it would be very difficult for my wife and I to stay within our budget. For use there is a marked difference in the prices in civilian grocery stores and the commissary. Tennessee has a sales tax on groceries that we don't pay at the commissary.

[NYCgrrl]

Reading Terminal in Philly.
FreshFarm near Union Station in DC.

[ro_sie]

To make a friend, be a friend. Yesterday I spend at least 1/2 an hour in a store talking to a very nice lady, because she told me she liked my ring. She and I got a good laugh when I told her I bought it on line, it was just a fake and I had paid less than $20 for it. I took it off and let her check it out, and then started talking about online purchases and before we parted, we exchanged phone numbers and have plans to meet for coffee this coming week. I think it is just honesty and being nice to others. Be more interested in the new people you meet than in yourself. Jim & Betty, if you like that pop, try some of Milo's iced tea. It is SO good!

[Community Alumni]

My favorite store is the one that is usually on a corner or the intersection of a small town or community out in the sticks some where. You know the kind like the one at Bath Corner SD just east of Aberdeen. I stopped there a couple weeks ago to get diesel fuel when I pulled up I could see through the front windows of the store and some folks were looking pointing and talking. When I went in to get the pump turned on the conversation started and did not end for about 30 minutes. Topics from dang that is a big rig and where you headed to and where you from? Nice folks there farmers and blue collar workers the foundation of the USA.

Huh ... the pops seem to taste better there too.

JimR

[4X4Dodger]

Grocery shopping is tied to Fuel Prices. I tend to shop at stores that give a per/gallon discount on fuel at their Gas stations. Some are Fred Meyer, (part of Kroger), Kroger, Safeway, Frys. Wal Mart we save for the big dry goods mostly. the prices at these stores are NOT any higher and in some cases Lower than the competition without the gas price reduction.

This strategy has reduced our fuel cost dramatically. In one case recently we saved 0.40 cents PER GALLON on a fill-up. Our normal savings is from 10-20 cents per gallon.

And by the way in MOST cases their gas stations were ALREADY the cheapest or the same as others in the area.

[trailertraveler]

As you get into the more rural areas, you may only have a choice of one maybe two larger chain supermarkets in addition to the small local markets. In Moab, I believe City Market is the only major chain with a store. In Vernal, UT; it is Smith's or Walmart. In Great Bend, KS; it is Dillion's or Walmart. In Angel Fire, NM; Lowe's is the game in town as far as larger chains. Even if you drive the 30 miles over the mountain to Taos the choices are Walmart, Smith's or Albertson's. In many smaller Southern towns, Piggly Wiggly is it. The rural areas of the Mid-Atlantic coastal region is Food Lion country. There are many rural areas where a not so nearby Walmart is about the only large supermarket.

We have had mixed results with smaller local grocery stores/markets. Some are excellent. Some leave a lot to be desired in quality and cleanliness. We do like the local farmer's markets, but even there we are picky about what we buy as the quality can be highly variable as well as the price.

With there only being two of us and limited space in the RV freezer, we don't go to Costco or Sam's club for much.

[Teacher_s_Pet]

We like Aldi also, their store brands have been just as good as the "name" brands found elsewhere to us. Baked goods and dairy exceptionally priced on a regular basis. But if in areas with Harris Teeter (now a Kroger owned company), HEB, Wegman's or Publix, I'm there also.

[R__Walter]

I've just started shopping at Aldi's. Discovered Aldi's here in the East over the last month or so since I've been here work-kamping. We don't have Aldi's in New Mexico which is where I hail from. Understand Aldi's to be an affiliate of Trader Joe's.

[EsoxLucius]

I'll stop at a Trader Joe's wherever I find one.

[2gypsies1]

NCWriter wrote:
Speaking of City Market, there's a good one in Moab, Utah right on the main road - 191 - great for provisioning when you're in that area.

One of favorites, too - along with the whole area.

[trailertraveler]

NCWriter wrote:
Speaking of City Market, there's a good one in Moab, Utah right on the main road - 191 - great for provisioning when you're in that area.

And it has a fuel station which usually has one of the lower prices in town even before you use your "Kroger" accumulated fuel points.