By Staff
Fans of my column know I like to use press releases as a jumping off point for a column. If you had to write a column every week, you probably would also appreciate anything which gets your mind going on a topic.
I usually pitch the AgriNotes &News newsletter into the round file, after I receive it in the mail.
The word Piggly Wiggly caught my eye just as I was ready to toss the latest issues, produced by Farm Bureau.
Immediately I had a flash back to my childhood and traveling to Kewanee, Ill., my mother's hometown.
We would go to the Piggly Wiggly to shop for groceries. There weren't any in my own Chicago suburb.
According to this newsletter, Piggly Wiggly was the first self-serve store, opening in 1916.
The first supermarket, the King Kullen Grocery Company, opened in 1930 in New York.
There was a lot of statistics about supermarkets. I found myself interested because I was a checker and worked in the office for Jewel Foods from the time I was 16 until I was ready to deliver my first child at 22.
We actually had to wear pink dresses, which zipped up the front, to work. Those I don't miss in the least.
Times have really changed. We didn't have the huge deli counters and varieties of vegetables of today's mega stores.
We didn't have the ethnic foods or an organic aisle.
People then used to come with an overflowing cart, sometimes two. Few customers today can afford to stock up on that much food at one time.
I got to know my regulars and enjoyed our short visit as they came through my line.
According to the quick facts, "a typical supermarket carries an average of 45,000 items."
Electronic scanners came out in supermarkets in 1974, just a few years after I left to be a mom.
A pack of Wrigley gum was the first item scanned, probably in a ceremony.
They say customers make an average of 1.9 trips to a supermarket each week.
I know they put the milk at the back of the store not only for ease of filling the coolers, but to encourage impulse buying for those who are just running in for the staples of bread and milk.
After spending so much of my life in a grocery store, I really like to do major shopping and then try to get by the rest of the month with these quick trips.
Another change I have seen is the amount of prepared food and meals which are now offered for those too busy to cook.
From sandwiches to full hot meals, which may only need to be nuked, you can choose just about anything.
I love the olive bar in some supermarkets. They are a treat I sometimes give myself. I know they are probably high in calories, but they are so good.
There are soup stations and salad bars and some markets have even added sushi stations and coffee counters.
If you want to run in for lunch, Martin's has a separate checkout and entrance so you don't even have to go through the store.
With a coupon in the Niles Daily Star each Wednesday offering something free each week at the Niles' Martin's Supermarket with a $10 purchase, I have found myself doing much of my major shopping there.
They had a great idea and they got my business and my money.