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Grocery
Grocery: The Buying and Selling of Food in America | Michael Ruhlman
13 posts | 10 read | 27 to read
In Grocery, bestselling author Michael Ruhlman offers incisive commentary on America's relationship with its food and investigates the overlooked source of so much of it--the grocery store. In a culture obsessed with food--how it looks, what it tastes like, where it comes from, what is good for us--there are often more questions than answers. Ruhlman proposes that the best practices for consuming wisely could be hiding in plain sight--in the aisles of your local supermarket. Using the human story of the family-run Midwestern chain Heinen's as an anchor to this journalistic narrative, he dives into the mysterious world of supermarkets and the ways in which we produce, consume, and distribute food. Grocery examines how rapidly supermarkets--and our food and culture--have changed since the days of your friendly neighborhood grocer. But rather than waxing nostalgic for the age of mom-and-pop shops, Ruhlman seeks to understand how our food needs have shifted since the mid-twentieth century, and how these needs mirror our cultural ones. A mix of reportage and rant, personal history and social commentary, Grocery is a landmark book from one of our most insightful food writers.
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Smarkies
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Pickpick

Interesting read of the evolution of grocery stores in America and the mechanisation of the selling of food.
Yes - it was a bit preachy, but I didn't think it was overly so - essentially, we just need to be more aware of what we are eating.

29 likes2 stack adds
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wallacereads
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Pickpick

A fascinating book about the history of the grocery store and how our food choices are shaped. Highly recommend the audiobook.

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CampbellTaraL
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Mehso-so

Well, I hated a lot of it, mostly the ranting parts which is about 40% of the book. The other parts were quite informative, enough that I gave it a 3 star on GR and so-so here. Link to my much longer, less generous, review here:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3193798826

31 likes1 stack add
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tracyrowanreads
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Pickpick

Ruhlman is one of my favorite food writers and I am convinced that every single one of us who buy our food in stores must read this book. It's eye-opening, and not just in an OMG WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE! way that so many books about the American way of eating are. It's a history of grocery stores, an examination of the part they play in American life, and a look into the future of how we'll shop for our food.

ValerieAndBooks Looks interesting! Stacking. 5y
21 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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CocoReads
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Well, there's 2 hours I'll never get back. To celebrate not snapping at the grocery store, I bought myself a new tea infused. Can't wait to use it!

Sace 😍 7y
tysephine I once passed on buying this exact thing thinking I'd be able to find it later, and ever since then I have regretted it. 7y
CocoReads @tysephine I was pretty happy to find them again myself. Was torn between this one and the sea horse but I do love manatees so that was today's winner 7y
49 likes3 comments
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BekaReid
Pickpick

GROCERY is a basic history of how modern-day grocery stores came to be. Ruhlman discusses ordinary innovations (such as the cardboard box!) and their impact in the industry, the extraordinary bounty of what‘s in grocery stores as well as the food deserts in their midst. It's also in part a memoir of his father‘s love for browsing supermarket aisles. Overall an interesting read.

BarbaraTheBibliophage Sounds good. I've liked his other books as well. 7y
10 likes1 comment
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Mc_cart_ny
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This Krogers flyer has been my toddlers favorite thing to read recently 😅

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DivineDiana
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A gift for my grad school nephew who is currently working at Wegmans. I told him that it's always good to have some tidbits to discuss! 😉#bookmail #booksasgifts

Cinfhen Wegmans 🙌🏻💗 7y
DivineDiana @Cinfhen Wegman's is fun! Have you checked out the new Whole Foods in Wynwood yet? 7y
Cinfhen No!!! But I drove by a few times already! It's ginormous 😁 7y
DivineDiana @cinfhen It is! The made to order acai bowl section is a nice touch! 😀 7y
Cinfhen I gotta go inside, hopefully this week! 7y
54 likes1 stack add5 comments
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FountainBookstore
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Pickpick

LOVED this. Particularly relevant now that Amazon has purchased WholeFoods.

The grocery industry fascinates me and #Ruhlman does an amazing job of giving the history of the subject while also writing beautiful personal memoir mostly surrounding the relationship with his dad. #FathersDay #belated

34 likes3 stack adds
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MrBook
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#TBRtemptation post 5! #BEA17 edition! Just released a few weeks ago. Ruhlman provides insightful journalistic commentary on America and its food & grocery stores. Instead of waxing nostalgic, he looks at how our food needs have changed & how grocers have adapted to meet new demands. His anchor is the Midwestern chain, Heinan's. It's a mix of reportage and rant, memoir and social commentary. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎

Gleefulreader This looks really interesting! 8y
britt_brooke I'm intrigued. #stacked 8y
Peddler410 My dad bought this for my mom -- who only reads cozy mystery stories! 😂 I think he just needed an excuse to get it so he can read it! 8y
LitsyGoesPostal 😊👍🏻 8y
84 likes11 stack adds4 comments
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NotoriousMBG
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Pickpick

Equal parts fascinating & troubling, with just a hint of memoir. I have always been a fan of grocery stores, and my love for them deepened with age. Ruhlman brings his unique voice to bear on the intricacies of the grocery business, using the long-running Cleveland grocery chain Heinan's as the entry point. If you're into cooking or generally interested in the food/grocery industry of the U.S., this book is for you. 👍

4 likes1 stack add
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Megabooks
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So I'm probably the last person in America to realize you can pay someone to shop for your groceries, but one of my coworkers mentioned Harris Teeter did delivery. Well, my Harris Teeter doesn't deliver, but they do curbside pick up. (For just $4.95!!)

This is a game-changer for me because there are two chores I hate: cleaning floors and grocery shopping! Now one is being done by someone else! 👍🏻👍🏻🎉🎉🎉🎉

DeborahSmall We've had online shopping in the UK for years. It's free! I save so much as I'm just buying what I need without other temptations. Sometimes they charge for delivery or you can do 'click and collect' for free 8y
CocoReads We've got a local store that does the curbside pickup. I think it's $5 as well. I haven't done it yet but I'm probably going to start. Maybe not all the time, but on the super hectic weeks I can see this being the way to go! 8y
Megabooks @DeborahSmall It's been in larger cities for years here, but it's just filtering down to the smaller ones. And I love calling it Click and Collect! 8y
See All 18 Comments
Megabooks @CocoReads I think this is going to be a weekly thing for me. I'm saving money too because I looked through staples I keep around and saw which were on sale and which to wait on. I think this is going to make it easier for me to plan food around sales. 👍🏻👍🏻 But I'm only going to do it for my big weekly run. 8y
Laalaleighh We use plated. But otherwise I would so do this. 8y
shelf-improvement I have a friend who used to deliver for Giant in Philadelphia. Most of his regulars were little old ladies 😋 8y
moranadatter I'm with you on the grocery shopping. The other chore for me is dishes. 8y
Megabooks @Laalaleighh What's played? 8y
SharonGoforth I love Harris Teeter - wish they were in Ohio 8y
Laalaleighh Plated? It's a meal delivery service. We love it. https://www.plated.com 8y
Megabooks @shelf-improvement 😃 I'm not a little old lady, but I hope to be one someday! 8y
Megabooks @kmdartist Yes 👎🏻👎🏻 8y
Megabooks @SharonGoforth They're great, but they were actually bought by Kroger awhile back. Nothing has really changed though, which is good. 8y
Megabooks @Laalaleighh oh! I hate cooking on week nights though! My friend used to do blue apron, and she said, as a single person, 2 meals lasted most of the week. If I didn't have celiac plus so many allergies, I might have tried something, though. 8y
SharonGoforth @Ebooksandcooks I had heard that. There are a bajillion Krogers here, but even the nicer ones aren't as good as Harris Teeter. My daughter lives in NC and I love going to the one near her. 8y
Bookwormjillk I love that service. Such a treat. 8y
Megabooks @Bookwormjillk 😃👍🏻👍🏻 8y
65 likes18 comments
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Rhondareads
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A foodies dream a book about food ,grocery stores a memoir. A look at how Supermarkets food our shopping &eating habits have changed.