Europe or Australia in particular, if I’m chasing pristine quality.
I usually shop at aldi, but if I can’t be awake during Aldi’s store hours sometimes I go to foodlion or Walmart(🥲)
I’m broke as shit and don’t wanna support companies that treat their employees like garbage, but sometimes my sleep disorder makes aldi a non-option, and foodlion is more expensive than aldi or Walmart
Sometimes I go to Hmart, my local asian grocer, or other regular grocery stores if I’m looking for something specific. The instacart app is super helpful for browsing what items different places carry
ALDI. There are certain things I grab at Dollar Tree and a few things we have to throw on a Walmart or Kroger list since ALDI doesn’t have as big of a selection.
Mix of Von’s, Trader Joe’s, Sprouts, and Aldi
Also my garden supplies an ever increasing supply of vegetables fruits and herbs to the point where besides winter I don’t really buy much of those
I also go to a little bakery close by every weekend
In the butt
Wait, what were we talking about?
Bad jokes out of the way, it’s a mix.
80% is from pretty much the last locally owned store in the tri county area. That’s all the staples, plus in season produce.
In reasonable driving range we have an aldis, though it’s the furthest out, so it’s kind of those things where we only go there when we’re already going to be in the area.
The closest chain is kinda unique in the area, and would peg my location too close for comfort, but that’s where we go for more specialized products.
However, I source a good bit of our meats (damn near all of it tbh), dairy, and some produce from friends, family, or locals that sell to individuals rather than only to big buyers. Some of that is available at the farmer’s market, but the meats and dairy aren’t. My cousin runs a dairy. So there’s some beef here and there that’s raised well and treated as kindly as it gets before slaughter. Milk from his cows is amazing.
We have a pet chicken that keeps us in eggs unless we’re doing something big, but the son of one of my old patients raises chickens for both meat and eggs. Actual free range, though they do have an electric fence and such to minimize predators. The chickens aren’t as big as what you find in stores, but holy crap is it worth it. The price is a little higher, but not out of reach, and he’ll cut a deal for bulk purchases. He’ll cut a better deal if you turn a hand when it comes time to process, but I’m too busted up for that nowadays. The eggs are bomb. Until we got a pet chicken, I’d never had better.
Pork is more hit or miss. There’s a couple folks that raise them, but they don’t always sell to individuals. So we don’t eat much pork. I can usually get bacon, country ham, livermush, and sausages, but not the usual cuts like loins and hams. When they do sell to individuals, the line is long for those because it’s a good bit cheaper than stores. The processed stuff costs about the same, but it’s yummier. Luckily, people sleep on it, so I can usually call up and have something along those lines from someone.
I can also get goat products. Mostly milk and cheese, though they do slaughter a beef goat now and then. I freaking love goat cheese.
I don’t think I’ve bought any beef or chicken from a store in maybe three years? Last time was when we were doing a backyard get together and my cousin couldn’t hook me up. I think it was longer than that for chicken. Eggs are even longer ago than that. I’ve been getting eggs from that guy since before his dad died, and the last time I couldn’t get enough from him was maybe a decade ago. Not that any of that is really on topic, but I thought it might be an extra look at the benefits of being in bumfug nowhere.
