In East Lansing, there are a variety of places to purchase groceries, a sampling of three different types of grocers was taken in the project to see what sorts of people visit each establishment. A big supermarket, a local farmer’s market in East Lansing, and a smaller grocer. Many different types of people were made note of in these stores while walking around the stores. It made me think about the films we watched in class such as A Place at the Table where families lived in areas where they could not afford to get healthy food for their kids but I could watch others spend $350 on organic groceries. This project also reminded me of the refrigerator project because I paid more attention to what people were buying and I got to know a bit of how that person lives. Through watching other people shop for their groceries I could tell what tastes they enjoyed (or did not), their budgets on food, and how they liked to project themselves personally.
In the big supermarket, the Meijer in Okemos there were hundreds of people around doing what I presumed their shopping for the week. I thought about the families in the area and what their trips to the store were like if any of them had to travel by bus to get there. Okemos never seemed like it belonged in a food desert like those described by Julie Guthman in Bringing Good Food to Others: Investigating the Subjects of Alternative Food Practice. People were going around with mostly full carts including one group of college aged men who had a cart full of thirty boxes of Maruchan ramen and three cases of Natural Ice. Other shoppers seemed like being at the store was a chore, they were dressed mostly relaxed in sweatpants or jeans and t-shirts. Among the shoppers there was not much communication unless they had shown up together. People also didn’t talk to the workers and the workers stayed busy stocking shelves, even the cashiers kept the chatting to a minimum. The prices at Meijer were the lowest of the three that I saw which explains why it can do so well as a chain, selling things just enough to bring in customers and make a profit. The store was set up in a way to get all the sale items to attention by putting them on shelves in the front of aisles or individual stands down the length of the store. I also noticed more of the store brand items were at or near eye level right next to the top branded food. The Meijer seemed like the place to go for everyone and included people from all walks of life including two men in suits buying lunch to a mother of five buying several boxes of sugary cereal and juice boxes. The best way to get a feel for people who live in the area would be to go to a big supermarket.
The next store on the list, a small grocer was my target. I went to the Whole Foods in East Lansing and watched people in the same way that I did the Meijer’s. People in the Whole Foods seemed much more excited about being there, most people were smiling and laughing with the people they came with. I watched a man have a twenty-minute conversation with an employee about different types of granola. The people in the store seemed a lot more interested in their health and it took a certain type of person to go into the Whole Foods. Most of the people seemed to be between 18 - 45 and in relatively good shape and were more put together than those at Meijer. The store also had signs everywhere, some to indicate sales and others to show products that were GMO or gluten free. It was kept very clean and had a very modern feel to it with the design of the sections. Prices for foods were higher at Whole Foods than at Meijer which understandably kept some people away. If they can barely afford the prices at a big chain, they will not want to shell out more money for organic foods. Shopping in the store could be perceived as more complex if someone was not used to all the health foods available buy as opposed to the household staples people are used to. Whole Foods was not for everyone, especially for people without deep pockets.
The East Lansing Farmer’s Market was the most different of the three grocers. The farmer’s market had a very family friendly feel to it with a live artist playing songs and people bringing their pets to the park near the tents set up in a row. Each tent was selling its own wares with some selling produce and others selling homemade decorations for the fall season. The shoppers were all dressed casually in jeans and sweaters since the market started in the morning and it was still cold outside. The sellers were all very friendly which they must be since they are the only line between making a sale or not. All the “farmers” were quite proud of their work and were happy to answer any question about what they were selling such as the type of pest control they used or how much land they were growing on. The farmer’s market offered Double Up Food Bucks where people could spend money from their Bridge Card and they would be given the same amount back to spend on more fruits and vegetables. This incentive was great for people who do not have much money otherwise to spend on healthy foods. The food stamps incentive made me think about the discussions we had in class about what food stamps should and should not buy and the extra money for healthy food in the farmer’s market is a good change for many who cannot afford organic food.
In the big supermarket, the Meijer in Okemos there were hundreds of people around doing what I presumed their shopping for the week. I thought about the families in the area and what their trips to the store were like if any of them had to travel by bus to get there. Okemos never seemed like it belonged in a food desert like those described by Julie Guthman in Bringing Good Food to Others: Investigating the Subjects of Alternative Food Practice. People were going around with mostly full carts including one group of college aged men who had a cart full of thirty boxes of Maruchan ramen and three cases of Natural Ice. Other shoppers seemed like being at the store was a chore, they were dressed mostly relaxed in sweatpants or jeans and t-shirts. Among the shoppers there was not much communication unless they had shown up together. People also didn’t talk to the workers and the workers stayed busy stocking shelves, even the cashiers kept the chatting to a minimum. The prices at Meijer were the lowest of the three that I saw which explains why it can do so well as a chain, selling things just enough to bring in customers and make a profit. The store was set up in a way to get all the sale items to attention by putting them on shelves in the front of aisles or individual stands down the length of the store. I also noticed more of the store brand items were at or near eye level right next to the top branded food. The Meijer seemed like the place to go for everyone and included people from all walks of life including two men in suits buying lunch to a mother of five buying several boxes of sugary cereal and juice boxes. The best way to get a feel for people who live in the area would be to go to a big supermarket.
The next store on the list, a small grocer was my target. I went to the Whole Foods in East Lansing and watched people in the same way that I did the Meijer’s. People in the Whole Foods seemed much more excited about being there, most people were smiling and laughing with the people they came with. I watched a man have a twenty-minute conversation with an employee about different types of granola. The people in the store seemed a lot more interested in their health and it took a certain type of person to go into the Whole Foods. Most of the people seemed to be between 18 - 45 and in relatively good shape and were more put together than those at Meijer. The store also had signs everywhere, some to indicate sales and others to show products that were GMO or gluten free. It was kept very clean and had a very modern feel to it with the design of the sections. Prices for foods were higher at Whole Foods than at Meijer which understandably kept some people away. If they can barely afford the prices at a big chain, they will not want to shell out more money for organic foods. Shopping in the store could be perceived as more complex if someone was not used to all the health foods available buy as opposed to the household staples people are used to. Whole Foods was not for everyone, especially for people without deep pockets.
The East Lansing Farmer’s Market was the most different of the three grocers. The farmer’s market had a very family friendly feel to it with a live artist playing songs and people bringing their pets to the park near the tents set up in a row. Each tent was selling its own wares with some selling produce and others selling homemade decorations for the fall season. The shoppers were all dressed casually in jeans and sweaters since the market started in the morning and it was still cold outside. The sellers were all very friendly which they must be since they are the only line between making a sale or not. All the “farmers” were quite proud of their work and were happy to answer any question about what they were selling such as the type of pest control they used or how much land they were growing on. The farmer’s market offered Double Up Food Bucks where people could spend money from their Bridge Card and they would be given the same amount back to spend on more fruits and vegetables. This incentive was great for people who do not have much money otherwise to spend on healthy foods. The food stamps incentive made me think about the discussions we had in class about what food stamps should and should not buy and the extra money for healthy food in the farmer’s market is a good change for many who cannot afford organic food.