How America food shops tells a lot about our country. It shows how people save and splurge. It also shows what people eat like, love and hate. Are there patterns emerging? Possibly.
Regular contributor Priya Krishna and new contributors Tanya Sichynsky and aliza Auffrichtig wrote this interesting survey in today's New York Times Food section, They talked to a cross sampling of shoppers throughout the US. A few things that are certain.Food prices have soared to unbelievable heights while packaging and food content has shrunk.Other interesting points are that Covid normalized such in store shopping like Instacart and Amazon Grocery and that consumers are staggered and spoiled by the array of choice. what really influences a grocery cart however is geography ,identity and income influence one's shopping list. Some relied on frozen food , some preferred fresh ingredients. Some shopped every day .Some staggered their visits to the local grocery store. Twenty -seven people were asked and their shopping analyzed.Different regions were represented, not just the coasts. Take Sawyer Bonsei of Malvern Arkansas who's a former alcoholic prefers quick meals..He lives alone and works from home he has a wide variety of sparkling water like Waterloo along with deli meats and rotisserie chicken. Ayse Gilbert of Anchorage Alaska who moved from California fifty years ago. She buys a lot of cheeses and the exotic fruit Buddha's Hand which is a expensive citrus fruit.
What about the other shoppers? In Austin Texas' mom's Gabby Cavazos cart there are bargains. She often buys fruit that 's on its' last days or berries on sale. Deals like seven dollar sushi attract her. her cart does have a lot of fruit, to give her two year old son instead of letting him eat processed snacks.Alan Young of Hilo Hawaii, probably hs the most expensive cart because food has to be shipped in from the mainland. Nr. Young is eighty and he qualifies for SNAP - the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. He also relies on senior discounts so he can buy his favorite - mangoes.His is a simple list - mostly fruit and buckwheat ramen. Jackie Kesterson of Omaha Nebraska more or less centers her shopping around her two kids, one a toddler the other ten months old. She buys baby food pouches of veggies to give them the nutrition they need a long with easy food like cold cuts to make into sandwiches.Kimberly Uhuru of Detroit relies on her low income childhood to select good food at low prices. She buys most of the food at Target , basically the only grocery store in her area. A well stocked grocery store is a twenty-five minute drive away. Hers is a mix of vegan for her teenagers and fresh produce.
This is how America shops. We as a people tend to go for the easy and flavorful.Yet we're also go for nutritional and fresh too. Their choices reflect on us.
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