The Food Thread

[Vrede too]

... As to Aldi, I'm not shopping anywhere that they make you rent a cart....

You're not renting it, you get your quarter back when you return it to the cart line.

[O Really]

... As to Aldi, I'm not shopping anywhere that they make you rent a cart....

You're not renting it, you get your quarter back when you return it to the cart line.

I did not know that. So what's the point of the quarter, other than just low-level annoyance?

[Leo Lyons]

... As to Aldi, I'm not shopping anywhere that they make you rent a cart....

You're not renting it, you get your quarter back when you return it to the cart line.

I did not know that. So what's the point of the quarter, other than just low-level annoyance?

I would be prone to decide which is worse; making a 25 cent refundable deposit to use the cart, or having some low-IQ numbnut being responsible for damage to my car because they were too effing lazy to stick the cart in a cart corral or return it to the store. 25 cents isn't much, but it appears people think highly of that quarter, because Aldi's cart are always neatly lined up and ready to use...for a quarter.
I wonder why all retailers don't do that? Walmarters, for one, aren't about to leave a cart somewhere out in the parking lot knowing someone else would return it and get their quarter!

[Leo Lyons]

What a coincidence! I checked into Facebook and this is the first meme I saw!

[O Really]

Exactly how does one get his quarter returned?

[GoCubsGo]

Exactly how does one get his quarter returned?

Love ALDI, almost 50% cheaper than chain grocery stores. Been to a couple, clean and organized, good produce. I stick with vacuum packaged meats, mostly name brands. You don't shop there for a dinner party, or even bring a grocery list. Wander through, yep, tuna, yep, peanut butter etc.

They've been around a long time.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldi



The ALDI Way
We have our own unique style when it comes to grocery shopping. And being unique has helped make us one of the fastest growing retailers in the US.

The Carts: We keep our carts in one convenient place. You put a quarter in the cart, shop and then return the cart to get your quarter back. This helps to keep prices low because we don’t spend time retrieving carts.

https://www.aldi.us/en/new-to-aldi/shopping-at-aldi/

[Leo Lyons]

Exactly how does one get his quarter returned?

The Carts: We keep our carts in one convenient place. You put a quarter in the cart, shop and then return the cart to get your quarter back. This helps to keep prices low because we don’t spend time retrieving carts.

Put the quarter in the slot (left hand) and pull the locking chain with the right hand; the carts separate. The quarter is stuck in the slot and you can't pull it out. When returning the cart, insert the locking chain in the slot, the quarter pops out, and the carts are locked back together.

People are finicky about getting that quarter back; so they always return the carts instead of leaving them...wherever!

[Vrede too]

People regularly "buy" and "sell" carts in the parking lot, or even give them away. Saves even the very minimal hassle of going to the cart line.

It's funny. Obviously, no one needs their quarter back. Ask them to do the same thing in any other situation and they would say that being paid a quarter ain't worth effort. It's more like it provides a cue and excuse for doing the right thing. Aldi saves money by doing very simple behavior mod on us.

I haven't seen it, but if someone left a cart in the parking lot, I'm sure someone else would rapidly grab it for shopping. I do that at all groceries, but few others do. I'm walking in anyhow, why not take a cart from the collection area? Or, they'd grab the abandoned cart while returning their own cart, getting an extra quarter. I would, it would be like winning the lottery.

[Leo Lyons]

People regularly "buy" and "sell" carts in the parking lot, or even give them away. Saves even the very minimal hassle of going to the cart line...
Aldi saves money by doing very simple behavior mod on us.
That's the beauty of the whole idea. At least the carts aren't scattered all over the store's property and Aldi doesn't have to pay someone to trudge out in all kinds of weather to gather them up. Not only that, but in rainy weather, you can get a dry cart, if you want to put in an extra bit of effort.

It's funny. Obviously, no one needs their quarter back. Ask them to do the same thing in any other situation and they would say that being paid a quarter ain't worth effort. It's more like it provides a cue and excuse for doing the right thing.
Can you imagine the response they'd get if an Aldi employee told a customer "I'll give you a quarter if you'll walk down the lot there and push that cart back up here."

I haven't seen it, but if someone left a cart in the parking lot, I'm sure someone else would rapidly grab it for shopping. I do that at all groceries, but few others do. I'm walking in anyhow, why not take a cart from the collection area? Or, they'd grab the abandoned cart while returning their own cart, getting an extra quarter. I would, it would be like winning the lottery.

I sometimes will grab a stray cart if some yo-yo has left it between parking spaces, or I'm close to the cart corral. As for that quarter thingy, I'd grab it in a minute. A quarter is a quarter!

[Leo Lyons]

There's this:

Walmart Honors West Virginia Woman Who Returned Shopping Cart in Storm
News 2:01 PM PDT, August 15, 2018 - Inside Edition

The West Virginia woman who returned a shopping cart during a storm has been honored at Walmart.
Last month, Sue Johnson, 70, returned a Walmart shopping cart after picking up goods at the store during a massive storm in Hurricane, West Virginia.

Walmart has now honored Johnson with a trophy for "the Most Epic Cart Return."
The superstore also awarded her with a year's supply of free grocery pickup so she never has to push a cart through a storm again.

[O Really]

OK, so now I know about the carts, maybe we'll try it again if it's convenient. Gotta say, though, Lady O wasn't impressed with our other encounters. Might make a difference where the store is, too. We went to an Aldi outside of Syracuse looking for a few specific items and came out empty-handed and feeling like we needed a shower. We've had varying experiences with Price Chopper, too. The one here in Vermont is like an Ingles. The last one we were in was like an old Food Lion. Wegman's, Publix, Harris-Teeter never let you down.

[Vrede too]

OK, so now I know about the carts, maybe we'll try it again if it's convenient. Gotta say, though, Lady O wasn't impressed with our other encounters. Might make a difference where the store is, too. We went to an Aldi outside of Syracuse looking for a few specific items and came out empty-handed and feeling like we needed a shower. We've had varying experiences with Price Chopper, too. The one here in Vermont is like an Ingles. The last one we were in was like an old Food Lion. Wegman's, Publix, Harris-Teeter never let you down.

Aldi is definitely not ritzy and pretentious like Harris-Teeter. Its purpose is to save money by eliminating unnecessary cosmetic frills. So, its selection on some things is lacking, it will look a bit shabbier - though not dirty here - because it doesn't take each one of tens of thousands of items out of their crates for us, and its customers will be lower income, though here in Hooterville its hard to tell because so many of them are elderly like everywhere else.

That said, I still do almost all of my shopping at the Co-op, Aldi is for the few items I can't get there or that are ridiculously expensive at the Co-op. Very rarely, I'll go to a traditional big box grocery - usually Sav-Mor (Ingles) or Harris-Teeter - for an item that isn't in either store, like:

[O Really]

Aldi is definitely not ritzy and pretentious like Harris-Teeter. Its purpose is to save money by eliminating unnecessary cosmetic frills. So, its selection on some things is lacking,

[Vrede too]

I get my beer at the Co-op. I'll try to remember to look and see if it's that bad at Aldi the next time I go. I was just there so it will be awhile.

#3 ALDI

Overall Score 71.9

Policy: 75.6
Initiatives: 68.4
Transparency: 71.5
Inventory: 72

Score Breakdown

ALDI earned a spot in the green category for the first time ever. ALDI recently launched its own sustainable line canned tuna and has advocated for better management of tuna fisheries. Especially as ALDI expands nationwide, it must immediately reduce its single-use plastic footprint.

Policy: ALDI has a sustainable seafood policy, was among the first U.S. supermarkets to release a canned tuna policy, and has social standards as well.

Initiatives: ALDI advocates for sustainable fisheries management and has standards to reduce risks of illegal fishing and human rights abuses associated with transshipment at sea, although to help address other serious labor issues, it should support legally binding agreements to protect seafood workers’ rights. ALDI appears to be identifying ways to address single-use plastics.

Transparency: ALDI provides significantly more information on seafood packaging than most supermarkets, such as the species’ scientific name and catch method. ALDI also shares its detailed policies online.

Inventory: ALDI scores higher than most retailers, in part because it carries a limited variety of seafood. While ALDI sells more sustainable skipjack and yellowfin tuna, it must improve its albacore, which is caught by destructive longlines.

Seafood

We’re committed to the principles of responsibility and sustainability in the sourcing of our ALDI exclusive-brand seafood. Our approach is based on continuous improvement of fisheries and farms, and we aim to buy all our fish and shellfish products from responsibly-managed fisheries and farms that have minimal impacts on the wider marine environment.

Industry organizations have developed systems for rating seafood species and fisheries based on sustainability criteria, including: Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), Certification for wild-caught and Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA), Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification for farmed fish and seafood. MSC and BAP seals can be found on over half of our frozen and canned seafood products and we’re always looking to source more sustainable seafood options. Learn more about how we source seafood in our Seafood Buying Policy.

In 2012, we partnered with the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) to help us evaluate our seafood sourcing. SFP is a leading non-governmental organization in the field of sustainable seafood and acts as our independent adviser to inform our Seafood Buying Policy and improve the sustainability of our exclusive-brand seafood products.

Information about the sources of our seafood products can be found on the product labeling. Labels include information about the production method (e.g., wild-caught or farmed) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Catchment Area (for wild-caught seafood) or Country of Origin (for farmed fish).

If I ever bought seafood, it would be at the also supposedly responsible and sustainable Co-op.

Social and workplace policy

Cool. All somewhat unexpected for a bargain retailer. If true, they apparently don't skimp on social and environmental responsibility.

[O Really]

... such as the species’ scientific name and catch method.

So I can order up a couple of pounds of Coryphaena hippurus and they'lll bring it right out. Cool.

My favorite fish source is right off the boat or at least a real fish monger. But that's available only part of the year. Most of the time it's grocery stores, so I like to go to one that has a pretty good seafood section (not just a little pile of brownish looking stuff), and that sells enough volume that the fish is good.

Speaking of seafood - next month we move to Maine. The place where we're staying has a "lobstah" service. Order up by 10 in the morning, and around 5:30 pm they'll deliver a ready-to-eat lobster to your door.

[Leo Lyons]

Aldi is definitely not ritzy and pretentious like Harris-Teeter. Its purpose is to save money by eliminating unnecessary cosmetic frills.
They don't bag your groceries; I suppose that's an unnecessary frill, although they will sell you bags. It is irksome that you can have all the empty boxes you want; providing you can find any.

So, its selection on some things is lacking, it will look a bit shabbier - though not dirty here - because it doesn't take each one of tens of thousands of items out of their crates for us, and its customers will be lower income, though here in Hooterville its hard to tell because so many of them are elderly like everywhere else.
Aldi's went on a spending binge now long ago by remodeling many of their older stores, eliminating wasted space and turning it into display space. There's three within a 15 minute drive from me and all are clean and organized and laid out pretty much the same. Go in one, you've been in all of them. Most of the Aldi's here are frequented by upper-income Blacks and the elderly, whereas the 20 and 30 somethings hit the big names ... or Walmart.

[Vrede too]

So I can order up a couple of pounds of Coryphaena hippurus and they'll bring it right out. Cool....

ALDI provides significantly more information on seafood packaging ...

In Hooterville there is no deli or meat counter and nothing gets brought out to you.

ALDI scores higher than most retailers, in part because it carries a limited variety of seafood.

You can ask for anything you want, but you'll probably get Katsuwonus pelamis.

[O Really]

You can ask for anything you want, but you'll probably get Katsuwonus pelamis.

Alrighty then! Lady O was pretty sure we'd get something from that store in Syracuse.

[billy.pilgrim]

So I can order up a couple of pounds of Coryphaena hippurus and they'll bring it right out. Cool....

ALDI provides significantly more information on seafood packaging ...

In Hooterville there is no deli or meat counter and nothing gets brought out to you.

ALDI scores higher than most retailers, in part because it carries a limited variety of seafood.

You can ask for anything you want, but you'll probably get Katsuwonus pelamis.

Don't y'all have any small stores that stock fresh Carolina seafood?
It not, Joe Patti's will ship. I sent myself fresh tuna, packed in dry ice, when visiting in Montana. It was a hit and the shipping wasn't that bad. Way better than eating out of a bomb crater filled with heavy metals.

http://www.joepattis.com/Joe-Pattis-Sea ... istory.cfm


First rule - don't eat grocery store seafood. It comes from china and Vietnam

Second rule - don't eat a catfish restaurants, not even in Mississippi. The fish come from china and Vietnam.

Third rule Frank Patti will lie to you, so, either speak with someone else, or know which fish are local. (I shop at Maria's Seafood, but I don't know if they ship)

[O Really]

They don't bag your groceries; I suppose that's an unnecessary frill, although they will sell you bags. It is irksome that you can have all the empty boxes you want; providing you can find any.[/color]

All in the attitude, I guess. We always bring our bags, and will go through a self-service line if available, but I think selling bags is as crappy as the quarter carts.