Life Without Groceries

I am totally the lady in that picture. In fact, today while at the grocery store something occurred to me that has never clicked before: I feel the same way at the grocery store as I do when I'm at Walmart-- exhausted, overwhelmed, dazed, unsure of what I want and need, stressed, and afraid to pass things buy without putting them in my cart. I suddenly realized that the grocery store is just like Walmart: It is filled with a lot of unnecessary junk all crying out for me to BUY. I know that what I want is to spend less money, buy only what I need, be intentional about the quality of the food and products I purchase, eat local and organic, and reduce packaging waste; I go into the store with these purposes clearly in my mind, but once I begin shopping, I lose all sense of clarity. I start compromising, buying the cheapest things, making excuses for why I need this or that, justifying why I can or can't afford this or that, buying pesticide-produced produce and luxuries wrapped in plastic, and my bill always ends up way more than I have budgeted. It is the same for me when I go to Walmart-- I forget why I went in the first place and end up with a bunch of things I may or may not really need, or that I might instead have been able to find at the thrift store or borrow from others.

Until today I've been believing that the grocery store is necessary, that I can't possibly take care of my family's needs without utilizing this giant one-stop source of food, but now I get that by going to the store I may be hurting myself more than supporting myself to stay on purpose. I think the grocery store might serve me in certain ways, like when we need something quick or can't find it elsewhere. But I am now going for creating different ways of finding food, such as growing my own, visiting the local health food store (which offers a smaller selection of organic and local foods), buying in bulk, buying through my coop, and finding farmers in my area.

Please leave a comment if you can relate to my experience at the store, and share your successes with purchasing food in other creative ways.


Related posts/links:
Plenty: An Experiment in Eating Locally
My Struggle with Living Purposefully
Some Good News on Food Prices
Eating Locally?