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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: grocery stores

grocery stores stories: 19 news summaries

Americans Skip Bar, Buy Booze at Grocery Store

Sales of beer, wine surge at convenience shops, drug stores

Oct 29, 09 5:27 PM CDT
(Newser) - Recession-strapped Americans are hitting the bar less and less, but they’re not giving up drinking: sales of beer and wine at grocery and convenience stores have ballooned, prompting many shops to start offering alcohol. Between September 2008 and last month, the number of stores selling beer shot up by... More »

MORE ABOUT:
alcohol • beer • drinks • Walgreens • grocery stores

 The Express Lane's a Myth 


Sep 25, 09 2:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - Which is faster: the express lane with more customers, or the standard lane with fewer? It’s a conundrum we’ve all faced, and there are too many variables to give a definitive answer. But math teacher and blogger Dan Meyer broke down data from a 6-hour shift, added his... More »

MORE ABOUT:
grocery stores • quantitative analysis • math

 Prepared Food Aisle 
 Is the New Restaurant 

Restaurants take hit as customers opt for cheaper grub

Jul 13, 09 2:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - Cash-conscious consumers who’d rather not cook are increasingly ditching restaurant dinners in favor of grocery stores’ prepared meals, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. At some stores, prepared-food sales have jumped 7% to 10%, says an industry consultant. For their part, supermarkets are hawking a bigger and better selection of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
food • restaurant • recession • supermarket • grocery stores • economy • grocery shopping • prepared food

 Full-Price Fury Sends 
 Writer to the Dumpster 

W. Hodding Carter fed up with supermarket prices

Apr 19, 09 3:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - Since February, W. Hodding Carter's family of six has been living within their means on $550 a month, which means making hummus at home and slashing extras like candy and fancy cheese. But now, in a fury over the "unconscionably insufficient number of sale items" at his local supermarket,... More »

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budget • grocery stores • frugality • Dumpster • W. Hodding Carter

 Germans Exalt 
 Grocery Clerk 
 Sacked Over $2 

She's become a symbol of recession-time class struggles

Feb 26, 09 11:30 AM CST
(Newser) - A grocery clerk fired from her job of 31 years after allegedly stealing $1.66 has turned into a recession-time hero in Germany. While financial fat cats walk away with billions despite triggering a worldwide economic crisis, the sacking of a 50-year-old mother seems unfair, her supporters tell Der Spiegel.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Germany • theft • labor unions • labor strike • grocery stores • firing • financial crisis • clerk

 Shoppers Embrace 
 Coupon Clipping 2.0 

Digital discounts improve buyer tracking, make coupon use easier

Feb 25, 09 4:27 PM CST
(Newser) - The recession has more Americans clipping coupons, sort of. While coupon use has jumped 10% since October, more of those discounts were downloaded to smart phones and supermarket rewards cards—not cut out from the newspaper. And digital advertising, still a 1% sliver of the discount pie, seems to benefit... More »

MORE ABOUT:
advertising • recession • online • discounts • grocery stores • coupons

 Food Spending Turns Anorexic 

Restaurants, name-brand food hit hard as diners opt for cheaper fare

Feb 13, 09 9:36 AM CST
(Newser) - Americans have trimmed their food spending sharply, hitting restaurants, food retailers, and brand-name food producers squarely in the gut, the Wall Street Journal reports. In the last quarter of 2008, spending on food plunged an inflation-adjusted 3.7% from the previous quarter, the steepest decline since the government began keeping... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Starbucks • consumer spending • grocery stores • Wal-Mart • financial crisis • restaurant industry

 French Cashier Tells
 All, Cashes In 

Best seller gently critiques rude shoppers

Dec 11, 08 1:58 PM CST
(Newser) - After 8 years of being ignored, a French grocery store cashier has forced bad-mannered shoppers to take notice. Anne Sam's best-seller, Tribulations of a Cashier, has become a sensation, with comic book, movie, and musical adaptations forthcoming, the Washington Post reports. And Sam has quit her day job to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
France • memoir • grocery stores • shoppers • best seller • Tribulations of a Cashier • Anne Sam

GLOSSIES

 In Tough Times, Aldi 
 Promises Cheap Thrills 

Shoppers turn to Aldi for cheaper groceries as recession looms

Nov 7, 08 1:28 PM CST
(Newser) - It may not stock Coke or tempt shoppers with fancy end-aisle displays, but bare-bones grocery chain Aldi fits these tough economics, reports Time. With Americans downgrading to cheaper stores, Aldi's generic, spartan approach is attracting customers eager to save a buck, or more, on a gallon of milk. The chain... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Whole Foods • food prices • grocery stores • financial crisis • Aldi

In Berkeley, Foodie Heaven Comes With Side of Fisticuffs

Shoppers brave adverse conditions for their pick of 40 types of tomato

Sep 22, 08 4:07 PM CDT
(Newser) - No risk, no reward, right? That’s the mentality of those who brave critical, even violent, fellow shoppers and draconian rules to browse the famed produce section at Berkeley Bowl, the most popular grocery store in the colorful California college town. Cart fender-benders are frequent as shoppers bolt down packed... More »

MORE ABOUT:
California • anger • Berkeley • grocery stores

 Supermarkets Downsize
to Speed Up Shopping

'Express' outlets cut back on miles of aisles for rushed shoppers

Sep 10, 08 4:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - American supermarkets are starting to shrink after decades of getting bigger and bigger, the New York Times reports. The average supermarket is still larger than a football field, but retailers have begun opening smaller outlets to appeal to rushed consumers who want to pick up groceries without having to wander... More »

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shopping • Whole Foods • supermarket • chain stores • groceries • grocery stores • Tesco • Wal-Mart

Struggling Whole Foods Pushes Cheaper Image

Chain's 'Whole Paycheck' nickname becomes albatross in downturn

Aug 5, 08 6:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Whole Foods is attempting to lose its reputation for high prices as shoppers increasingly look for thrift, the New York Times reports. The economic slump has changed shopping patterns: A July survey estimated that 20% of US shoppers have switched to cheaper grocery stores. Whole Foods has cut prices and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
organic food • Whole Foods • luxury • food prices • grocery stores • economy • Thrifty

Americans Have Less in Their Shopping Carts

Downsizing on the rise, whether consumers notice it or not

Jun 30, 08 1:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - Food prices are rising, but thanks to some chicanery on product labels, many Americans may not realize it. Instead of raising prices, manufacturers are slimming cereal boxes, juice cartons, and bars of soap, and they’re doing it very quietly. If asked, they’ll say it offsets rising fuel and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
US economy • label • food prices • portions • grocery stores • weakening economy • economy

Shoppers Give Up Organics
as Food Prices Soar

Groceries high, organic even higher

May 9, 08 3:25 AM CDT
(Newser) - With a gallon of organic milk costing a whopping $7 and a conventional gallon going for $2.99, cash-strapped shoppers are skipping organic groceries. That means the $19 billion industry, which has ballooned 150% since 2001, may now be shrinking, Newsweek reports. “I miss it terribly,” said one... More »

MORE ABOUT:
organic food • ethanol • Whole Foods • organic • groceries • grocery stores • Wal-Mart • pesticide

commentary

Dollar-Store Dining Possible in Big Apple

Creative cooks can find big value, bigger flavor at bargain grocers

Mar 27, 08 5:42 PM CDT
(Newser) - Grocery-shopping in New York City takes a hefty toll on one’s pocketbook, Henry Alford writes in the New York Times, but at 99-cent stores, more diamonds in the rough exist than one might expect. Alford embarked on a challenge: to craft a week's worth of meals made mainly from... More »

MORE ABOUT:
food • budget lifestyle • New York City • eating • money management • save money • dining • groceries • grocery stores

Whole Foods Sacks Plastic Bags

It's back to paper in all 270 stores in the chain

Jan 23, 08 10:51 AM CST
(Newser) - After Earth Day on April 22, customers at any of Whole Foods' 270 stores will be taking home their groceries in a paper bag—unless they bring their own bag, reports the Austin American Statesman's Business Blog. The chain, concerned about the environment, is phasing out plastic bags. Experts say... More »

MORE ABOUT:
environment • plastic bags • plastic • Whole Foods • grocery stores • paper bags

Food Police Extend Reach
to Canada

Calgary becomes nation's first city to regulate trans fats

Dec 31, 07 12:33 PM CST
(Newser) - America’s war on trans fats has spread to Canada, where tomorrow Calgary will become the first city to regulate their use. Restaurants will be banned from cooking with ingredients or serving foods containing more than 2% trans fat in total fat content. Some restaurants currently offer food with trans... More »

MORE ABOUT:
New York City • Canada • heart disease • restaurant • Calgary • grocery stores • trans fat • shortening • cooking oil

NYC Fines for Rat-Hunting Cats

Inspectors charge $300 and up for feline guardians

Dec 22, 07 2:32 PM CST
(Newser) - New York food shops and delis have a way to deal with rats, but health inspectors aren’t purring: Many NYC stores have a cat around to keep out rodents, the New York Times reports. Unfortunately, health inspectors frown on cats and rats with equal fervor. “Any animal... More »

MORE ABOUT:
New York City • rats • restaurant • rodents • grocery stores • cat

3 Stars Means It's Healthy, Right?

Experts fear that new health ratings systems may befuddle shoppers

Dec 1, 07 10:01 PM CST
(Newser) - Stars, numbers, and letter grades are coming to grocery stores near you, the New York Times reports—but experts fear that these health ratings may befuddle shoppers with conflicting information. Consumer advocates are studying three new food ranking systems, while the FDA, approached by a nutrition group, is soliciting ideas... More »

MORE ABOUT:
FDA • Pepsi • Kraft Foods • supermarket • American Heart Association • healthy eating • grocery stores • Guiding Stars • Overall Nutritional Quality Index • Unilever

19 Stories


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