A New Kind Of Grocery

If you're tired of the usual supermarket, there may be an alternative  - the old fashioned family owned grocery store. These new versions are cropping up, giving larger chains a run for their money. Is this a new food trend?No, it's much more than that. It will be a return to  more traditional food shopping.

Regular contributor, Kim Severson, covered this fascinating story for today's New York Times Food section.It's hard to believe but the American supermarket is fasting becoming an endangered species. Chains are being cannibalized by the much cheaper Dollar General and Aldi stores where prices are much lower. There is also the threat of Amazon and online deliveries gaining dominance. even though stores are doing everything they can to keep customers, from adding clothing as Kroger's did to even having craft ales on tap. Yet they  can't capture the niche market as many  of the new smaller groceries have.One, the Vancouver based Nada,created by Brianne Miller who is also the company's CEO. Nada is very unusual. There are no wrappers or cartons.Customers bring their own cartons or buy ones at the store. What is great about it is that you can just buy one egg if you need just one instead of six or a dozen. They can buy a handful of crackers or a scoop of frozen berries. Even chocolate and toothpaste don't come in containers. Unfortunately they can't sell fresh meat but they do have cured along with sustainable sourced seafood. Similar stores will pop up in Brooklyn and there are stores like these in Europe. Denver also has one - Zero.

Even the Salvation Army is getting into the business.Major Gene Hogg, the organization's commander for central Maryland found this new calling in prayer. He had fed and nourished those affected by 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. He wondered what to do next. The answer came from God - open up a grocery. It's called DMG named after the army's motto, Do The Most Good,  and it caters to people in the area.Area food banks contribute while the Salvation Army helps with human resources and other areas. The meat counters are second hand while his supplier, C&S Wholesale Grocers  give him discounts. This enables him to give customers ten  pounds of chicken or a small box of snacks.  The Rasmussens of Farmhouse Market, a Minnesota based grocery have taken it one step further. Their small grocery has a sort of honor system and it's open twenty-four hours. Members pay $99 for a year's membership and receive a key card to get into the store.There's no staff so customers check themselves out.An IPad checks them on and the store is lighted only when people are in it.  If  someone steals , they have a lifetime ban. It's gaining in popularity with 275 members. Now more than eighty people from around the world are interested in Kendra and Pul Rasmussen's store.

These old time groceries may be the wave of future food shopping. They offer , good organic foods at great prices. Like the first ones, they'll nourish  and supply tasty foods and ingredients for a whole new generation.