Has anyone else noticed how awesome Midwestern grocery stores are now? Perhaps grocery store isles in the rest of the country have always been great or maybe they're still drab. In any case, I've noticed something.
Whether it's because of the internet or documentaries like Food, Inc. and Forks Over Knives, general human development or the coming apocalypse, there is much more variety in grocery stores than a few years ago. When I was in high school (scary that that was 10 years ago) you would not have been able to find quinoa or farro in our neighborhood grocery store. They're not even recognized as words by my spellchecker. Produce sections have exploded with wide selections of greens and multiple varieties of mushrooms. Malcolm Gladwell might convince you it started with mustard. Whatever the reason, there is more choice in grocery stores than ever before.
I wasn't surprised when I saw these changes in the Indiana college town where I live or in the upper-middle class suburb of Kansas City where my parents live. Recently though, Boyfriend and I took a trip to the Ozarks to spend a few days with his family. We planned to make breakfast for the crew one morning and so needed to stop by a grocery store on our way. He assured me that there was a store about a half hour from his parents' house in the heart of the Ozarks. We only needed a few things: eggs, cheese, breakfast sausage, so I figured a roadside grocery store in rural Missouri would do the trick. Little did I know we were going to the new Woods. If you travel in the Ozarks frequently you might know that Woods was your basic grocery store in Sunrise Beach (staple food items, generic beer) but has recently moved down the road and made some major changes. There, in the middle of the Ozarks, (This place is the home of rustic lake homes, party boats and raunchily named bars) one can buy fresh asparagus, craft beer or a Naked smoothie.
It's up to you to decide if this is progress or sad homogenization. I, for one, probably won't complain too much about being able to pick up turkey sausage or Havarti for summer weekends at the lake.
Whether it's because of the internet or documentaries like Food, Inc. and Forks Over Knives, general human development or the coming apocalypse, there is much more variety in grocery stores than a few years ago. When I was in high school (scary that that was 10 years ago) you would not have been able to find quinoa or farro in our neighborhood grocery store. They're not even recognized as words by my spellchecker. Produce sections have exploded with wide selections of greens and multiple varieties of mushrooms. Malcolm Gladwell might convince you it started with mustard. Whatever the reason, there is more choice in grocery stores than ever before.
I wasn't surprised when I saw these changes in the Indiana college town where I live or in the upper-middle class suburb of Kansas City where my parents live. Recently though, Boyfriend and I took a trip to the Ozarks to spend a few days with his family. We planned to make breakfast for the crew one morning and so needed to stop by a grocery store on our way. He assured me that there was a store about a half hour from his parents' house in the heart of the Ozarks. We only needed a few things: eggs, cheese, breakfast sausage, so I figured a roadside grocery store in rural Missouri would do the trick. Little did I know we were going to the new Woods. If you travel in the Ozarks frequently you might know that Woods was your basic grocery store in Sunrise Beach (staple food items, generic beer) but has recently moved down the road and made some major changes. There, in the middle of the Ozarks, (This place is the home of rustic lake homes, party boats and raunchily named bars) one can buy fresh asparagus, craft beer or a Naked smoothie.
It's up to you to decide if this is progress or sad homogenization. I, for one, probably won't complain too much about being able to pick up turkey sausage or Havarti for summer weekends at the lake.
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