Organic produce? Free-range eggs? Cheap is the new chic
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Original Article)
06/07/2008
Aisha Sultan
[More columns]
[Parents Talk Back blog]
There are hordes of Aldi virgins in the grocery aisles these days.
On Saturdays, the Ballwin store’s parking lot is packed. A checker recently told me she was unable to leave her register for four hours because of the long lines.
Discount stores in various parts of the country are reporting significant increases in customer traffic. And it’s partly because the economic downturn has us reclaiming that old-fashioned notion that saving money is a virtue.
Cheap is the new chic.
Aldi, a German grocery chain, is known for its rock-bottom prices and limited selection. In these bleak economic times, more shoppers can appreciate generic eggs for $1.29 a dozen and may pass on the $3.99 cage-free eggs.
But the store has its own secret codes, and the newbies are easily spotted. They look slightly dazed by their surroundings, unsure of how to navigate a store that seems completely out of touch with our penchant for an overabundance of choices and tempting displays of imported cheese and store-made salsa.
The grocery shopping experience has become more of an expression of a "lifestyle" than simply a way to buy milk and detergent. So there’s a fair amount of culture shock for those who have never ventured into the world of one-brand, one-size-fits-all groceries.
I made my first trip to Aldi nearly a decade ago. At first, it seemed a little seedy. A friend had to show me the ropes: Slip a quarter into the locked shopping cart rack; scrounge for empty boxes to carry the food; pay a dime to use a large, heavyweight plastic grocery bag; discover that credit cards are not accepted.
Much of the food is processed. There are no organic veggies, fruits, milk or free-range poultry. Boxed foods, like cereal and mac and cheese, are stacked in the cartons in which they were shipped.
Baby names beginning with G, Page 2
It was like visiting a small …continue reading