Natural Foods

I decided to get some grocery shopping done today, not for a weeks worth of food but for 6 months worth of food. I walked into BJ's with cart in hand and rolled in between the isles. Food, I realized, is expensive!

I started to load up the cart. A 5lb bag of capped peanuts, 3 3lb bags of almonds, a 5lb bag of raisins, granola bars. Then I got to the Ramen...$6.55 for a package of 18. Rip off! I thought, I can get 18 for $2.70 at WallyoOrld. Then I started to think that I was being ripped off by everything. I started to get hot, my hands got sweaty and my chests started to close up (actually none of this happened but it sounds better) so I abandoned my car and walked out the door. "I'll be back," I said to the check-out lady whose suspicious eyes shifted to my fleece pockets, as if I stole something. I wanted to say, "Eye's up here, I'm walking out of here with nothing because your Ramen is a rip-off!"

I got into my roller-skate (alias for my set of wheels, for anybody who was wondering) and motored to Shaws to compare prices. This trip made me appreciate BJ's, but I still didn't trust them.

Then I remembered a local natural foods store. I walked in, told the woman I was planning a thru-hike and was interested in buying food in bulk and she was extremely receptive and helpful. For example, Quinoa, is one of the only plant derived complete proteins, meaning that it has all of the 9 essential amino acids found in meat. She said that I could buy a 25lb bag for about 60$. It was originally priced at 4.49/lb which would be $112.25. They buy it in bulk for about 66$ but they would give me a 10% discount. She told me to make a list of all the nuts, grains and lentils I wanted to buy in bulk and she would be able to find the best deals for me.

I then went to Hannaford's to compare prices. I walked in and asked who I could speak with about buying food in bulk. She looked at her fellow employee and said, "I'll take care of this," which gave me a not so  welcoming feeling. "What is this for?" she asked suspiciously. No I'm not planning on buying your food and selling it I wanted to say. What is the deal with grocery stores? I told her about my through hike. "I'll be back," she said uninterested and monotoned. She came back with a pen and piece of paper. I pointed to the quinoa and asked how much it would be to buy 25lbs worth. "Well we buy it by the 50lb bag but we could split it up for you," was her response. "So how much would that be?" I repeated. "Well whatever $4.99 times 25 is," she said. "It wouldn't be discounted since I'm buying it in bulk," I pried. "Well you'd have to come back and talk to my manager."

I have decided that grocery stores suck. I don't care if I spend a little extra, I am going to support my local natural food store.