I shop Costco for pantry staples but in New York, I didn’t have the habit of it. (My mom has always shopped at Costco, so I do have a sentimental attachment.) In PR, where groceries at small chains are wildly expensive, it makes life doable, and I love never having to think about toilet paper / paper towels / garbage bags. I’m one of the people who goes to Costco and the farmers’ market, though! I wrote about it last year: https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/from-the-kitchen-my-costco-shopping
I’m in the middle of brainstorming a piece on how to manipulate your food sourcing in the most ethical way for different budgets, balancing the ethics between the farmers market/other local-ish sources, a traditional grocery store, and Costco; how we might want to rank certain priorities and why. It is a lot of mental gymnastics, but ultimately I hope I can put it all into words that can help others make sense of the terrible predicaments that our food system has put us all in
Ohhh I've had this open for days and am so glad I finally got around to reading it. This Costco conundrum is such a good example of trying to find balance in such a messed up and chaotic food system.
I'm a Costco member and love it for specific things (toilet paper, paper towels, organic beans, organic mushrooms, Rao's tomato sauce — some things you just cannot beat the prices). It is nice to be able to find affordable and bulk products. It is nice that they treat their employees well. It is also horrifying about their chicken (and I'm sure many other things). It would also be a much better world if we could all shop local (and afford to shop local and have access to shopping local etc). I also make an effort to shop farmers markets whenever I can. But finding this balance is a privilege (unfortunately) and I'm not sure where we start righting the "wrongs." But I'm so glad you covered this! Thanks for sharing.
i love costco for paper products/mrs meyer’s/garbage bags etc, and also olive oil and canned goods and eggs. the diapers alone make the membership worth it for us, but we also buy bananas and avocados there. but we buy the bulk of our produce elsewhere along with some of our dairy and all of our bread.
It's so hard to write about brands that folks love. I have issues with Trader Joe's, which can be hard to find support for. People worship TJs to a similar level of Costco. I don't shop at either chain but I do read with relish the Costco Connection magazine, which my boyfriend gives me because he's a member and shops there!!! Back to my beginning -- It's so hard. :P
I enjoy Costco, and a lot of our staples come from there, but since my husband does all the grocery shopping, I rarely go. It's really how they treat their employees that makes shopping there agreeable. (And my husband is a fan of how efficient they are.)
We have an 89-year-old neighbor who hands out free samples there three times a week and he LOVES it. Seriously: He's 89. Props to Costco.
Oh hi! Your post came up in my feed and then I was like.. I know a couple with the names Danielle and Theo and then it was you 🤣 I’m a Costco lover but also still go to Pam’s for veggies!
I go to Costco nearly once a week and I have a weekly subscription to a CSA and a monthly subscription to that CSA's meat share. I would love to be able to buy all of my food from local farmers but it's a tradeoff with my budget. The CSA is very affordable - less than $30/week for the vegetables - but there aren't comparable deals for dairy, eggs, and bread where I live. I've tried buying meat from Costco but I would rather eat much less meat and have it be good quality and at least somewhat ethically sourced, so rn I try to limit myself to what comes in the CSA each month. My daughter does love Costco hotdogs and she's a picky eater so I let her get one when we're there as a treat because it's nice to see her enjoy something.
I shop Costco for pantry staples but in New York, I didn’t have the habit of it. (My mom has always shopped at Costco, so I do have a sentimental attachment.) In PR, where groceries at small chains are wildly expensive, it makes life doable, and I love never having to think about toilet paper / paper towels / garbage bags. I’m one of the people who goes to Costco and the farmers’ market, though! I wrote about it last year: https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/from-the-kitchen-my-costco-shopping
Wow this is a great resource and I will be sharing it! I agree you just can’t beat getting the basics there. Looks like you are living the dream 😊
this is so relatable! i always say we literally can’t afford to not buy certain products at Costco.
I’m in the middle of brainstorming a piece on how to manipulate your food sourcing in the most ethical way for different budgets, balancing the ethics between the farmers market/other local-ish sources, a traditional grocery store, and Costco; how we might want to rank certain priorities and why. It is a lot of mental gymnastics, but ultimately I hope I can put it all into words that can help others make sense of the terrible predicaments that our food system has put us all in
Looking forward to reading this! Nice to meet you Sarah
Ohhh I've had this open for days and am so glad I finally got around to reading it. This Costco conundrum is such a good example of trying to find balance in such a messed up and chaotic food system.
I'm a Costco member and love it for specific things (toilet paper, paper towels, organic beans, organic mushrooms, Rao's tomato sauce — some things you just cannot beat the prices). It is nice to be able to find affordable and bulk products. It is nice that they treat their employees well. It is also horrifying about their chicken (and I'm sure many other things). It would also be a much better world if we could all shop local (and afford to shop local and have access to shopping local etc). I also make an effort to shop farmers markets whenever I can. But finding this balance is a privilege (unfortunately) and I'm not sure where we start righting the "wrongs." But I'm so glad you covered this! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much for your comment Ariel. Tbh if I lived closer to one I would probably buy more staples there: nice to connect with you
i love costco for paper products/mrs meyer’s/garbage bags etc, and also olive oil and canned goods and eggs. the diapers alone make the membership worth it for us, but we also buy bananas and avocados there. but we buy the bulk of our produce elsewhere along with some of our dairy and all of our bread.
Makes perfect sense !!!
It's so hard to write about brands that folks love. I have issues with Trader Joe's, which can be hard to find support for. People worship TJs to a similar level of Costco. I don't shop at either chain but I do read with relish the Costco Connection magazine, which my boyfriend gives me because he's a member and shops there!!! Back to my beginning -- It's so hard. :P
Wait what’s so great about Costco connection magazine!?
Oh man Woud love to dig into Trader Joe’s at some point.
I enjoy Costco, and a lot of our staples come from there, but since my husband does all the grocery shopping, I rarely go. It's really how they treat their employees that makes shopping there agreeable. (And my husband is a fan of how efficient they are.)
We have an 89-year-old neighbor who hands out free samples there three times a week and he LOVES it. Seriously: He's 89. Props to Costco.
Oh hi! Your post came up in my feed and then I was like.. I know a couple with the names Danielle and Theo and then it was you 🤣 I’m a Costco lover but also still go to Pam’s for veggies!
Hey Bekka! Substack buddy!
I go to Costco nearly once a week and I have a weekly subscription to a CSA and a monthly subscription to that CSA's meat share. I would love to be able to buy all of my food from local farmers but it's a tradeoff with my budget. The CSA is very affordable - less than $30/week for the vegetables - but there aren't comparable deals for dairy, eggs, and bread where I live. I've tried buying meat from Costco but I would rather eat much less meat and have it be good quality and at least somewhat ethically sourced, so rn I try to limit myself to what comes in the CSA each month. My daughter does love Costco hotdogs and she's a picky eater so I let her get one when we're there as a treat because it's nice to see her enjoy something.