Grocery Shopping Part I

Hello, dear blog readers! The first half of this post (divided because I'm sure the baby will wake soon and need to eat. Again!) is dedicated to the two grocery stores that Hubby and I "discovered" this week.

Store #1: Market of Choice.

http://www.marketofchoice.com/new-corvallis-store/new-corvallis-store

This opening day (I think about six-eight weeks ago?) video pretty much says it all. It's a beautiful place, clean, lots of organic and local produce...It totally appeals to my inner foodie. It looks like something right out of Food Network. They even have maps of the store when you first walk in so you know the layout if you're looking for something particular.

The downside: the prices are about the same as Safeway (Vons/Dominick's for those of you in other parts of the country) and higher, presumably because of the quality of the locally-grown, high-quality stuff.

Then there was store #2: Winco.

http://www.wincofoods.com/

Now, let me just say that for years, we've been merely swiping the plastic at whatever grocery store was closest to us for the sake of ease and convenience with working full-time (or rather, overtime) night shift and school. How sad! To think we could have been saving hundreds of dollars via coupons and cheaper stores. Oh well. It's massive. It's hopping and busy and there is lots of jostling going on. It's like a warehouse. Not bad things, just VERY, VERY different from Market of Choice.

So how does one go about choosing between organic, locally-grown and European specialties with wines, cheese, exotic tastes, etc. and the everyday low price? I'm only asking because on a shoe-string budget, savings and indulgences are in a constant state of tug-of-war, as most of you know and to which you can probably relate.

While I would love to buy local things and exotic things once in a while, I think what we will try to do is take whatever savings we have from Winco (or Safeway if my couponing skills get better) and occasionally invest in Market of Choice. While they are expensive, I truly would like to see them succeed. There is indeed something to be said for paying more for quality.