Are you able to buy a full cart of groceries anymore?

[Anonymous]

I don't buy a huge cart of groceries often because I buy a lot of staples elsewhere -- all of my sparkling water, frozen fruit, nuts, Tide, etc is purchased at Costco.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I stopped when they decided I need to provide manual labor and scan my own groceries. My stores typically don't even have a real cashier unless you beg them to open a register and I'm over it.

Of all the things to get worked up about ...

But you aren't alone, Karen.

[Anonymous]

The only time I ever have a full cart is around the Holiday when we have family over. Nothing has changed for me in terms of my grocery shopping.

[Anonymous]

Almost never, but like others have said it’s not because I’m not able to.

First, we get a lot of non-perishables at Costco, so not buying those at the store.

Second, we’re a family of two.

Third like other people said I shop at multiple different places.

And finally, I find I waste more if I buy groceries for a week at a time, because inevitably something comes up, we wind up going out or we get invited somewhere. So I try to buy specifically fruit and veg only a couple days worth at a time.

[Anonymous]

I shop once a week and get a full cart, I guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went food shopping and noticed very few people had “full” carts. Like they were checking out with just a handful of items. I asked the grocery clerk if she noticed that too and she said she had and that their per person cart value had gone down. Are you still buying a weeks worth of groceries or just buying a few days at a time?

We still order and have delivered, plus our Personal Chef picks up our groceries too. Maybe you are in a different county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went food shopping and noticed very few people had “full” carts. Like they were checking out with just a handful of items. I asked the grocery clerk if she noticed that too and she said she had and that their per person cart value had gone down. Are you still buying a weeks worth of groceries or just buying a few days at a time?

I have never bought a full regular size grocery cart of groceries at once. That would be a month's worth of food for a family of 3-4. I know relatives who do that though, who live miles and miles from the nearest town, much less city, so they buy once every couple months and take back to their rancho.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hm, my cart is never full. Never has been. In part because I hit multiple stores, but also because I don't impulse buy (always shop with a list tied to a meal plan) and because I don't buy the kinds of things that take up a ton of space. No super size bags of chips, no 8-packs of 20-oz sodas, no cases of bottled water. Healthy food is generally pretty compact.

Do you have kids?

A full cart for a week with spouse kids is normal, even without buying watery liquids or chips.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Full cart at the commissary and at Costco because I only shop there every 4-6 weeks and tend to stock the freezer and pantry with non or less perishable food.

The trips to Giant, Trader Joe's, and Whole Foods are much smaller and more frequent. But we have also gotten away from the "grocery shop once a week" idea that my mom used to do in the 90s. This is partially because we eat more fresh vegetables and cook from scratch more, and partially because it feels like less work to run in to a store on my way home from dropping a kid at a sports practice for a few things multiple times a week than it does to go shop for a whole week's menu for an hour or so all at once. In reality it probably adds up to the same amount of time, but I dread it less.

It's definitely less time to do fewer bigger shops than more shorter shops.

[Anonymous]

I generally shop at Lidl or Costco and recently ran into the Safeway near me to get an item quickly. First- it smells. Bad. Second, the prices are INSANE. Third, I have to go through self checkout and there’s a freaking gate I have to scan a reciept at to even leave. Are you f%*cking kidding me? Never going back.

[Anonymous]

What produce are you getting that spoils in a week?

At the end of week make a pizza or soup or stir fry with produce that is running out of time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went food shopping and noticed very few people had “full” carts. Like they were checking out with just a handful of items. I asked the grocery clerk if she noticed that too and she said she had and that their per person cart value had gone down. Are you still buying a weeks worth of groceries or just buying a few days at a time?

I don't get paid twice a week so why would I need to buy groceries twice a week for cash flow?

[Anonymous]

I buy a full cart shop once a week for a family of 4. I drive past several other grocery stores for my favorite locally owned store with the best prices. It has a huge selection so I get everything including paper and hygiene items since it’s cheaper than Target.

[Anonymous]

Still order a week's worth of groceries online and pick up at Aldi every weekend. Supplement at other stores or farmer's market sometimes but not every week. I really don't have time to shop that much.

[Anonymous]

I bought full carts during the pandemic to stock up and when I lived in the suburbs.

Now that I live in a big city, I go when I need to and pick up a few items fresh for that day or a particular meal. I don't have as much space and tend to waste less food than I used to. I do eat out more as well.