The Neighborhood Grocery Store

     We all buy groceries, it's a task we can't escape.  Have your grocery buying habits changed over the years?  Neighborhood grocery stores and the convenience  that come with them is not enough to keep us from shopping at places like Walmart and Sam's Club.  The low prices of Big-Box stores like Walmart and Sam's Club  have forced us to change our grocery buying habits   Our hunger for bargains has made the trip to the grocery store a little longer.
     How we go about getting the food we eat varies depending on our age and location.  We are all busier  and more crunched for time than ever before so a one stop shopping experience is almost essential.  Maybe if I were in my 20's or 30's I would buy veges at the Farmer's Market, bread at the local Bakery and meat at the Butcher Shop but I am a long way from the 20's or 30's.  I want to buy every thing from toilet paper to tires  at one location and demand a bargain on both.
     Perhaps all the complicated shopping habits of today's society are a reflection of the times we live in.  America has changed a lot in the last 50 years but the neighborhood grocery stores haven't.  I still organize   menus and plan meals around  special sales and bargains I fined at Walmart and Sam's Club just as my mother did with the specials she found at the neighborhood grocery store.  Her way was probably a better experience but I demand  the convenience  of one stop shopping, the bargains that come with it and sometimes am willing to sacrifice fresh and healthy just to save a buck and a few minutes.
     Will the local neighborhood grocery store ever fade away?  I sure hope not but commitment to such treasures  may not be sustainable in a world where budget and convenience are becoming overwhelming considerations.