complaint about grocery stores

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  • angelwife27
    angelwife27 Posts: 18
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    Welcome to Michigan. I moved here from Santa Barbara County in 1992. I live in southern MI, Lenawee County. The midwest is very meat and potatoes. I've gained over 100 punds since moving here. Anyway, for more organic and whole foods, it may be worth a trip to Ann Arbor once or twice a month. They have Trader Joe's and Whole Foods and an organic food coop. Ann Arbor is probably the most progressive city in Michigan. It's only about an hour south of Lansing. Good Luck!

    PS - A thought for next year, try a CSA. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is great. Check out www.localharvest.org to see if there are farmers in your area. I did this last year and loved it. Here's how it works. In the Spring, local farmers sell "shares" of their farm products for that season. You get a weekly box of farm fresh produce from May or July thru October. I froze what we didn't/couldn't use during 1 week.
  • jlefton1212
    jlefton1212 Posts: 171 Member
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    I am from the midwest originally, but lived in California for 5 years. I recently moved back to the midwest. I find the opposite of your problem to be true in my case.

    I love that the stores are clean, large and brightly lit. In fact, when I would go home to Iowa I actually TOOK PICTURES of the grocery store because it was so big, clean, and glorious. :blushing: I love that you can actually fit 2 carts down the isle at one time! In Los Angeles, I would get so frustrated with having to move my cart out of someone's way that I would race through the store and not take the time to look through the options.

    Also, I found that in LA my regular grocery store offered full fat or fat free....not a lot of low-fat items. When it came to salad dressings or other items they either had tiny bottles or giant bottles, and no size in between.

    The produce in my local market is great. We actually found a section devoted to local farmers just this past tuesday, so I picked up a homegrown tomato, cucumber, and zucchini and had them with dinner last night. I also have no problems finding low fat yogurt, greek yogurt, all natural yogurt, etc. Maybe you can check out another store in your area.....
  • katrana
    katrana Posts: 66 Member
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    please don't group all of the midwest into being terrible places for food. **Depending on where you are at**, they have some of the MOST progressive policies towards food in the country, BECAUSE people are so much closer to their food sources. Madison, WI has one of the top farmer's markets in the country. Many of the restaurants also cater towards vegetarians/healthy eaters/local produce. Also near chicago and there are TONS of small farmers that would set up stands along the side of the road or at a number of different farmer's markets (this was in the suburbs, I don't know much about the city). When I was in Iowa there was also a large selection of local farmers that would set up food stands too. Also, many people had gardens and would share with each other.

    Now I am in NC (ZOMG it is the SOUTH!) and I have joined a CSA (community sponsered agriculture). I pay a fee up front and I get to pick out local organic veggies/fruits/meats/eggs etc each week. There are also many farmer's markets in the area, and I have noticed a lot of farmers setting up shop along the roadside (selling watermelons, blueberries, fresh shrimp, etc).

    If eating SPECIFIC BRANDS is important to you, then yes, of course, if you move you might not be able to find them. Don't use that as an excuse to not eat healthy though.
  • Katy009
    Katy009 Posts: 579 Member
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    I guess what I am trying to say to Katy009 is .... You think you got it bad...*lol* Good luck in your search for healthy foods. I keep hunting daily and my search has turned up few choices but I make the best of summer and autumn.

    Here's a suggestion Katy, are there any roadside vendors around your area or farmers who sell directly? Sometimes you may have to spend a bit more to get the best, but if I were in your shoes, that is exactly what I would do. I know it takes time to find these places but hey, you lost all that weight, got your diet under control, isn't it worth saving that time you worked so hard to achieve your goals to seek out those stands? Just a thought. :)


    I think you have me mixed up with the poster or someone else who responded. I do not have it bad.....on the contrary, I have it quite good. Nothing but fresh fruit and veges at my fingertips and barely any pre-packaged or fast foods here. Unless you misunderstood my response. :smile:
  • lessertess
    lessertess Posts: 855 Member
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    I don't think it matters where you live, grocery shopping is a bit of a scavenger hunt. I shop at 3 different stores as well as a couple of farmers markets to get groceries and household products. I'm luck in that we have a market in the downtown area where there are also some cute little individually owned shops and restaurants, so it's a little adventure. But, it is work. There is no such thing as one-stop-shopping when it come to healthy grocery shopping.

    Restaurants are a bigger challenge, in my opinion. My home has tons of great little restaurants but I wouldn't call any of them great healthy choices. Or, to be more accurate, they are not low calorie choices.
  • Berna
    Berna Posts: 23
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    You are right Katy009 I meant the original poster...sorry for the confusion. :)

    I guess what I am trying to say to Katy009 is .... You think you got it bad...*lol* Good luck in your search for healthy foods. I keep hunting daily and my search has turned up few choices but I make the best of summer and autumn.

    Here's a suggestion Katy, are there any roadside vendors around your area or farmers who sell directly? Sometimes you may have to spend a bit more to get the best, but if I were in your shoes, that is exactly what I would do. I know it takes time to find these places but hey, you lost all that weight, got your diet under control, isn't it worth saving that time you worked so hard to achieve your goals to seek out those stands? Just a thought. :)


    I think you have me mixed up with the poster or someone else who responded. I do not have it bad.....on the contrary, I have it quite good. Nothing but fresh fruit and veges at my fingertips and barely any pre-packaged or fast foods here. Unless you misunderstood my response. :smile:

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