Supermarket #2

            The first observation was how difficult it was to find healthier, cheaper options.  I tried very hard to find alternatives that were as similar as possible to certain meals that I planned out, but it was unrealistic to think that the average family would be able to choose the healthy options I came up with because they were very bland and probably too boring and unpalatable for the average American.  Most of the options that were cheaper ended up being just to switch to the store brand option.  A ton of thought learning goes into being able to make cheap, tasty meals, as we saw in the fast, good, and cheap cooking session.  It is easy to do once you have a recipe in front of you or once you learn how, but most people do not think creatively or spend time thinking how to make something healthy cheap and tasty.  It takes effort and education of food and is usually not a realistic scenario for a typical family.  There were some cases where the store brand was not cheaper but those were rare.  This adds a sense of mystery to shopping because it is easy to buy the store brand because it is cheaper but it is also harder to know where it came from, etc. because it does not have much information on the labels.  This trip took about the same amount of time as the last one because I already knew the items I was looking for, but I can imagine that the time it takes to scan the aisles looking at what option is cheaper would take a long time.  The deliberation between trying to find the cheapest and then deciding whether it is compromising health/quality too much by then looking at the ingredients is exhausting. 

            Again, as I noted in my last trip, I know my shopping list is a conservative one as I try to imagine the average family.  It lacks things for a complete balanced diet but I tried to be in the mindset of a busy family with children.  The other thing of note is some of the deals/lower prices are only offered to those with a Giant Eagle card, so it has to be assumed that the family does have a card and uses it frequently.  This is also an attempt to get people to buy more store brand items.  The total cost added up to be much more than I thought from a glance at the list ($129.37).  I was able to save $43.70 with the substitutions.