http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/grocery/ en-us Sun, 9 Nov 2008 14:57:51 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2128740/posts Canandaigua, NY--Local shoppers have been watching their grocery bills increase for months, but some relief is on the way. In anticipation of lower fuel and production costs, Wegmans has cut prices on hundreds of items, with reductions ranging from 10 to 30 percent. Signs will go up today and over the weekend pointing customers to the lower-cost items, said spokeswoman Jo Natale. In a message posted on the company Web site, owners Danny and Colleen Wegman said the price cuts were made in anticipation of Wegmans’ costs falling in the future. They said they don’t mind making a little less... Finger Lakes Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2128740/posts#comment Sun, 9 Nov 2008 14:57:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2101790/posts I was coming through the grocery line today when I encountered a female, middle-aged African American cashier sporting three (3) Obama political buttons on her smock. I paid for my items and promptly called Safeway's Pleasanton, CA headquarters and asked for the Public Relations office where I spoke to the Director. I asked her if Safeway, Inc. was officially endorsing Barack Obama as one of their cashiers clearly was showing political partisanship in the workplace. She said, "No, we have a strict dress code of no athletic, political or religious insignia". She asked for the store address and assured me... Vanity http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2101790/posts#comment Thu, 9 Oct 2008 23:12:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2067405/posts The plastic grocery bag is fighting for its crinkly life.From the city of San Francisco to Los Angeles County, more than a dozen local governments around the state have proposed or passed plastic-bag restrictions, ranging from recycling mandates to outright bans.Now, a proposal in the Legislature would put a 25-cent fee on all disposable bags – paper or plastic – given out at drug and grocery store check stands starting Jan. 1, 2010. It has won key support from the grocery and retail industries and faces its next legislative step today. Those in favor of the fee, led by Assemblyman... Sacramento Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2067405/posts#comment Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:36:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2058541/posts Companies throughout the food chain are changing the way they do business in response to soaring grain costs, and consumers are likely to bear the brunt in the form of rising food prices. Farmers are making the broadest cuts to their livestock herds in decades, meaning meat at the supermarket will likely cost more in coming years. Middlemen are trying to shorten the duration of supply contracts to 90 days from one year so they can pass on higher costs more quickly. And food brands are shrinking the contents of their packages, from ice-cream cartons to beverage containers. ...In another... Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2058541/posts#comment Fri, 8 Aug 2008 13:30:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2057610/posts The construction of a new Whole Foods grocery store at Hilldale Mall may be in jeopardy. On Tuesday, Whole Foods reported a 30 percent drop in the company's profit for the third quarter, and announced it will reduce the number of stores expected to open in fiscal year 2009 from 21 to 15.The company, which is traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol WFMI, reported its earnings late Tuesday. The stock was trading around $20 recently, a 13 percent plunge."The challenging economic environment appears to be negatively impacting our sales," John Mackey, CEO and co-founder of Whole Foods, said in... Madistan.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2057610/posts#comment Wed, 6 Aug 2008 21:12:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050226/posts The council plans to ban plastic carryout bags in the city's stores by 2010, unless the state imposes a 25-cent fee on those who request them. The Los Angeles Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050226/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:36:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2011229/posts (edit)   Nickels and City Council President Richard Conlin proposed a 20-cent "green fee" Wednesday on all disposable bags to encourage customers to carry their milk and eggs home in their own bags. Forget the canvas sacks at home? Shoppers at grocery, convenience and drug stores will pay the price starting Jan. 1, if the City Council approves. A family buying six bags of groceries a week would spend $62.40 a year in bag fees. The city will issue one free reusable shopping bag to each household."The answer to the question 'Paper or plastic?' should be 'Neither,' " Nickels... The Seattle Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2011229/posts#comment Mon, 5 May 2008 00:12:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2008484/posts Supermaket chain Tesco has announced that a range of its own-brand products will carry labels showing the size of the goods' carbon footprints. Tesco said it would label 20 items, including light bulbs and potatoes, during a two-year trial of the scheme, which is operated by the Carbon Trust. Shoppers will be able to see how much carbon is emitted over the life of a product - from manufacture to disposal. The store said it was introducing the labels in response to consumer demand. "Customers tell us that it is very important to them," said David North, Tesco's community and... BBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2008484/posts#comment Tue, 29 Apr 2008 05:22:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2006529/posts Families are having to spend almost £800 more on their annual grocery bills as the highest rate of food inflation for a generation drives up supermarket prices, research suggested yesterday. The cost of a basket of 24 basic items such as tea bags, milk, cornflakes and pasta sauce at the three biggest stores has risen by 15 per cent over the past year.   Compare prices of 24 grocery items A kilo of Tesco garden peas has increased from £1.10 to £1.79; a dozen medium free-range eggs from Sainsbury's has climbed from £1.75 to £2.58; and a bag of fusilli... Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2006529/posts#comment Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:21:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976628/posts I'm not as worried about gas prices as I am wheat prices. I can ride the bus if gas gets too expensive but I can't eat my neighbors bread. If we keep taking all the corn in the country and using it for our little ethanol transportation experiment we have less corn to feed cows and less land to plant in wheat. Fewer cows get slaughtered but their are also fewer amber waves of grain to behold. The cow problem solves itself over time because we just sell the ones we have sooner at a lower price and don't breed... The Uncommonsenceblog.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976628/posts#comment Tue, 26 Feb 2008 20:02:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1975690/posts When William Lapp, of US-based consultancy Advanced Economic Solutions, took the podium at the annual US Department of Agriculture conference, the sentiment was already bullish for agricultural commodities boosted by demand from the biofuels industry and emerging countries. He added a twist – that rising agricultural raw material prices would translate this year into sharply higher food inflation. “I hope you enjoy your meal,” Mr Lapp told delegates during a luncheon. “It is the cheapest one you are going to have at this forum for a while.” His warning that a strong wave of food inflation is heading towards the... Financial Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1975690/posts#comment Mon, 25 Feb 2008 01:30:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1969427/posts WASHINGTON (AFP) - US grocery chain Trader Joe's said Monday it would stop selling food imported from China due to customers' concerns about the products' safety. "Our customers have voiced concerns about products from this region and we have listened," Trader Joe's spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki said in a statement. "All single ingredient food items sourced from mainland China are scheduled to be out of our stores by April 1," she said. "We will continue to source products from other regions until our customers feel as confident as we do about the quality and safety of Chinese products." Yahoo News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1969427/posts#comment Wed, 13 Feb 2008 02:29:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1958535/posts Looking out his office window Tuesday, Mike Dailey spotted something hanging in a tree. It was a plastic shopping bag. "Maybe that's part of the problem," said Dailey, an engineer with the city of Madison and adviser to the city's Commission on the Environment. "They're out there blowing all over the place." Difficult for some cities to recycle and a trash collection nightmare, plastic bags have made it on the environmental hit list of some cities, and now retailers. Whole Foods on Tuesday announced that it would end use of plastic in all of its stores. Stores will deplete inventory... Madistan.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1958535/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jan 2008 01:34:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1953452/posts Some grocery coupons go digital By DAN SEWELL, AP Business Writer Sun Jan 13, 2:20 PM ET Some coupon users are clicking instead of clipping these days to get their grocery discounts. Supermarket chains are trying out paperless, or digital, coupons, to help the thrifty-minded save time while saving money. Shoppers load the online discounts onto their store loyalty cards, receiving the credit at the checkout. Grocers see the innovation as a way to build customer loyalty, drawing consumers who are increasingly spending time online to their Web sites and ultimately, their stores. The move could increase coupon use by... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1953452/posts#comment Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:21:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1919481/posts (2007 Grocery Manufacturers Association/Food Products Association Fall Conference) Renaissance Hotel Washington, D.C THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for coming. Thank you all. Please be seated. Billy, thank you. I asked Billy where he works. He said, well, I run Sunny Delight beverage company. I said, well, Billy, I quit drinking. (Laughter.) He said, that's not that kind of alcohol. I thank you all for having me. Billy, thank you for your kind words. He's from Cincinnati. I was in Cincinnati the other day, stopped off and got some ribs, and he tried to ask me to compare Texas ribs with Cincinnati ribs.... whitehouse.gov http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1919481/posts#comment Thu, 1 Nov 2007 14:17:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1914089/posts Trader Joe's, the hip, wholesome food store with 15 locations in the Chicago area, said Friday it will phase out foods imported from China amid concerns that standards on "organic" products from the country aren't as stringent as they should be. Alison Mochizuki, spokeswoman for the Monrovia, Calif.-based grocer, e-mailed a statement saying the grocer will phase out single-ingredient products from mainland China by Jan. 1. Trader Joe's will be phasing out all foods made in China from stores in Chicago and around the country. "We feel confident that all of our products from China meet the same high quality... Chicago Sun-Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1914089/posts#comment Sun, 21 Oct 2007 02:08:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1877506/posts CAPE CORAL - Publix supermarket chain said today it will make seven common prescription antibiotics available for free, joining other major retailers in trying to lure customers to their stores with cheap medications. The oral antibiotics, representing the most commonly filled at the chain's pharmacies, will be available at no cost to anyone with a prescription as often as they need them, Publix CEO Charlie Jenkins Jr. said. Fourteen-day supplies of the seven drugs will be available at all 684 of the chain's pharmacies in five Southern states. The prescription antibiotics available under the program are amoxicillin, cephalexin, penicillin VK,... South Florida Sun-Sentinel http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1877506/posts#comment Tue, 7 Aug 2007 11:44:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1863149/posts JACKSON, Mich. (AP) — Two grocery store employees have been fired after they didn't punch out while viewing a 300-vehicle procession funeral procession for a soldier who was killed in Iraq. Polly's Country Market store produce manager Ron Klimmer and produce retail clerk Michael Wahr received notice of their firings in letters from the company mailed to their homes, said United Food and Commercial Workers Local 951 business representative Scott Gould. They were punished for watching the June 19 funeral procession of Army Sgt. Matthew Soper. The Jackson resident died June 6 in Bayji, Iraq, of wounds from an improvised... MLive.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1863149/posts#comment Mon, 9 Jul 2007 19:06:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1858489/posts A Butte County jury has found a Gridley supermarket not liable to pay civil damages to an illegal alien who slipped and fell on a grape inside the store. The plaintiff, who suffered a fractured kneecap in the incident, had sought over $400,000 through her lawyer for past and future medical expenses, and pain and suffering. The jury was not specifically told the shopper was an illegal alien, only that she "couldn't legally work in this country." Superior Court Judge Barbara Roberts read a stipulation to that effect to the jury after the woman's San Francisco attorney, Rafael Crespo Jr.,... MediaNews Group http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1858489/posts#comment Fri, 29 Jun 2007 20:54:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1851461/posts SCAGGSVILLE, Md — Stephanie Cerneck doesn't go through the checkout line at her supermarket anymore. Or even the self-checkout line. She uses a personal scanner offered by the Bloom grocery store near her home, scanning each item as she takes it off the shelf and bagging as she shops. When she's done, she pays at a terminal at the front of the store. "When I come up to the checkout, everything's already bagged, I go to my car, I'm done. No waiting in line," she said at the suburban store between Washington and Baltimore. The handheld scanner lets customers keep... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1851461/posts#comment Sun, 17 Jun 2007 00:06:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1819391/posts Daniel posted awhile back on a bill, proposed by a Democrat (hey, I found some common ground!), that would allow grocery stores to provide 6 ounce samples of beer to their customers...it was just passed by the Wisconsin State Senate unanimously... Gop3.com : The Triumvirate http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1819391/posts#comment Wed, 18 Apr 2007 16:54:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1815289/posts MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani hasn't done a lot of grocery shopping lately — at least based on his answers about the cost of milk and bread. Campaigning in Alabama on Tuesday, the former New York City mayor portrayed himself as a fiscal conservative and an aggressive fighter of terrorism who has a lot in common with the Deep South state. But when asked about more mundane matters — like the price of some basic staples — Giuliani had trouble with a reporter's question. "A gallon of milk is probably about a $1.50, a loaf of bread... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1815289/posts#comment Wed, 11 Apr 2007 02:36:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1787922/posts Tuesday, February 20, 2007Grocery industry prepares for pandemic bird flu with little government oversight By TIMBERLY ROSS The Associated Press OMAHA, Neb. – Stocking up on food is as simple as a trip to the grocery store, a veritable land of plenty for Americans. ''It's so easy when you have three grocery stores in your vicinity,'' said Becky Jones of Omaha, who stocks up once a week for her family of three. ''You think: how could you possibly not get what you needed?'' But will fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, bread, milk and other household staples still be available if... OC Register http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1787922/posts#comment Tue, 20 Feb 2007 15:35:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1715612/posts Apparently, the pimp-my-ride craze is now hitting grocery carts. A New Zealand firm is test-marketing brightly colored plastic shopping carts designed for children. Each cart seats two, has a top-load overhead storage bin and comes with small a DVD player in the dashboard. The TV Kart, which resembles a cage (one would hope that is purely coincidental), offers Barney, The Wiggles and Bob the Builder. Children are now able to watch television from the comfort of home, in the car on the way to the grocery store, while at the grocery store, in the car on the way home from... Jewish World Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1715612/posts#comment Sun, 8 Oct 2006 00:14:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1707027/posts The Wal-Mart You Don't Know The giant retailer's low prices often come with a high cost. Wal-Mart's relentless pressure can crush the companies it does business with and force them to send jobs overseas. Are we shopping our way straight to the unemployment line? Fast Company http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1707027/posts#comment Sat, 23 Sep 2006 18:42:39 GMT