Day 4
I have decided to end my SNAP + Match + local challenge as of last night, but will do a one day SNAP challenge. I can’t eat anymore oatmeal or eggs for a while, because it creates too much mucous in my body. What is left is 1 full pound of oatmeal, 3 eggs, less than 1/4 cup of butter and a bowl of steamed napa cabbage, which at this point doesn’t appeal to me.
Today, I will go to the Market of Choice for the first time in almost 2 weeks. Already, when I think about it in relationship to our readings, I realize that for me, most supermarkets feel like a food museum, because out of thousands of items, there are so few items I am interested in buying. When I shop, I first go to the fresh food section and see what organic vegetables are on sale. I buy a brassica family vegetable, which can be kale or broccoli or cabbage, or maybe zucchini. Although I enjoy salad, I rarely buy lettuce, because I won’t eat it fast enough, and it will go to waste. I prefer to blend up some organic celery, carrots, kale, or other greens, an apple and some blueberries with a protein mix and liquefy it in the blender. I tried to buy bulk organic lettuce, but you have to pick through it so much and choose the right day when it is put out fresh. After that I pick up specific foods in other sections and in 10-15 minutes, I am out of the store with a backpack worth of groceries. I never use a shopping cart; only what I can carry in a handbasket.
Too much abundance can be damaging in some same and some different ways than grocery deserts. Even Trader Joe’s is much too big a store for me, as I only buy foods from certain sections. When it comes down to it, shopping in a supermarket is overwhelming, because there are too many choices. It is also a lonely experience; we see people everywhere doing the same activity, but they are mostly strangers we are trying to avoid. It is an illusion of a social experience. People who don’t have social connections, often use shopping as a way to get their people fix, by people-watching or simply shopping for anything. I think it is something we have grown accustomed to, but is not healthy. This is a manipulated activation of the “shopping” “acquiring” primitive part of our over marketing to modern brains. As we know, this can have negative repercussions for both health and finances. We usually buy more than we wrote down on our list at home. We impulse buy, going through a quick rationalization process or else thoughtlessly abandon ourselves to the moment.
When I go to a U-Pick blueberry farm, I notice the shift in consciousness that occurs during the experience. Usually it is a group experience, I invite friends or family and we talk amidst the rows, our fingers searching for the best, easiest to reach fruit. I believe it activates that same primitive part of our brain associated with similar ancient experiences of gathering that occurred as part of extended family and tribal life, firmly imbedded in our genetics. Our gatherer mind gets switched on. We think different thoughts and have conversations about things we had not considered before. Best of all, it creates a shared memory we refer to when we make blueberry pancakes during the winter.
The farmers market is an intermediary experience between gathering and supermarket shopping. We are still looking for the best prices and the best quality food, but the social interaction is not quite as impersonal as in a supermarket. We must talk to a person to get our food, and this person is connected to particular food and its origin. In a crowded market like the Saturday market, the physicality of the social jostling and negotiating of space can be an intense experience. We can hide in the crowd. The Tuesday market puts you on the spot with each interaction. You might feel obliged to make small talk since you and the vendor are in proximity without distractions.
There are other sensorial benefits in the market; the aroma of fresh produce is tantalizing and can’t be reproduced in a supermarket environment. It is the smell of the earth, the signature smell of each plant species boldly presents itself. Smell is an underrated sense in our modern world, but I feel attuned to it. Cats won’t eat unless they can smell their food, which is why they need room temperature food. In humans, the smell of food cooking stimulates our salivary glands and prepares our digestive systems, thus family and group meals of slower cooked food, as opposed to snacking, has additional health benefits beyond the social. We digest our food better, and tend to eat slower in the presence of others.
The sights at the market are remarkable. Vendors go to great lengths to merchandize their produce in visually enticing ways. Taking their cue from retail, they place foods in aesthetically appealing arrangements, and use a variety of pricing solutions. It reflects individual creativity rather than corporate. The brilliant colors combine to create a riotous food collage that imprints on the memory. I have taken dozens and dozens of market food photos simply because the produce is so beautiful. The entire market experience comes alive when you look at even one of these photos.
It can take more time to get through the market too, which is also what makes it a healthier social experience than a supermarket. At least at first, it is not a personal experience, but by buying from specific vendors, you establish rapport over time. Yes, this does also happen with supermarket cashiers, but it is not the same thing. The other phenomena I witness social; people see friends and neighbors, and they recognize others from different spheres of life. They stop and spontaneously chat in the middle of the bustle, like ants touching antennae. Music is a permanent fixture of the Saturday market gestalt too. Listening and watching musicians perform classical and blues at 9 in the morning is good for the soul, and supports local talent that might struggle to find the right venue.
It is time to go to Market of Choice now, where I will try to get a full day worth of food for $4.40. I have my doubts that it can be done, but I will try. It probably won’t be local. I am hungry and plan to be the first customer at the store.
After the store: I didn’t know what to buy. Much of the produce looked visibly wilted and unappealing. I found a small head of conventional broccoli, as the organic broccoli heads were huge and would have put me over budget, even though the price per pound was the same. I bought ramen noodles to keep my full, and potatoes just in case, but I never needed them, since the soup I made was so filling. I bought string cheese, but it just produced more mucous. Nothing local or organic. I had 33 cents left over.
At the end of the day, I returned to the store to buy new food, and had a similar shopping experience; I didn’t know what to buy. I noticed the prices on prepared food are so much higher than buying raw ingredients at the Eugene market. Since I did live on $2.20 per day, I know I can easily live on $4.40 per day and eat better. I am quick at preparing nutritious meals. Maybe the supermarket is no longer my main shopping venue. Perhaps my healthy experience of farmers market eating only has been the transition I needed to wean me off most supermarket shopping. I can hardly wait until Saturday to buy some more fresh market vegetables and fruits. It’s been a positive experience with good outcomes.
October 19, 2015 at 10:57 pm
Elizabeth, I enjoyed reading your insights and learning more about your journey with this assignment. I wanted to comment on this post specifically, because your statement about a supermarket as a food museum really struck me, especially as it relates to my own food justice challenge. To people with limited access — financially, spatially or otherwise — this notion of a museum likely rings even truer because the food becomes something that’s not only curated for a particular demographic but also because it is, therefore, inherently less accessible to those outside that group. Thanks for your thoughts!