Challenge - Day 13 (Rude Awakening!)

I went to the Kootenay Country Co-Op today.  I hadn't been there for awhile.  I thought it was time to go grab some food there as I have been to the Wednesday Market, Evergreen Natural Foods, and Safeway in Nelson.

The Co-Op has recently moved locations to their long anticipated new building.  It is much, much bigger than it was before, offering much more selection of goods.  I was psyched to see what I could get there as I have been on a pretty limited grocery list for my diet.

I was in there early in the morning, which was nice as it wasn't too busy.  Long ago, I used to have a self imposed rule to never go there on a Friday afternoon as it would be so busy I would just bail on what I needed and try again after the weekend.

I was quite surprised by the limited amount of produce available to me.  They had plastic tags and stickers on so much of their stuff too.  Although this no new plastic thing is much easier than I anticipated going in, I kinda can't wait for it to be done so I can eat some damned bananas and avocados again.

Right out front of their door was a display of peaches that I wanted to get.  They were in the Pulp Fibre cartons.  I was psyched.  I grabbed a pack and had a fatty smile on my face.  Then I remembered that my time restricted eating schedule was for when I was at work.  

I immediately started picturing myself eating peaches at work and knew that sticky fruit hands were not gonna be at all conducive to my work environment, so sadly I put them down.  I might go back on Friday to get some for the weekend, but can't say for sure as I might just go somewhere else instead

I poked around the produce and got some stuff that would be good for me and that I could bring to work.  Before I left I needed to grab some more rice as I was out.  I also decided on a bit of elbow pasta too.  I got the ultra-hippy kind too:  Quinoa-Rice pasta elbows!

I brought the worng lids to the containers I had with me, and couldn't get new ones, but I did have a couple old bags that I have used for a long time.  **I only bring a few new bags into my house per year as it is...just reuse the crap outta them.

Once I had the rice and pasta, I was set enough for myself, and headed towards the checkout.  On my way there I passed by the salad bar cafe stands.  They didn't have much out for serving yet because it was so early, but they did have something that caught my eye:  Enchiladas!  

Those fuckers looked good.  Before committing to getting some in my mind I had to check on the packaging.  They had the hard papery recyclable take away packaging, so I was goin' for it.  They weren't too big, but I only grabbed a couple.

Now, armed with those, I was ready to make my break to the checkout, pay for my food, and get the hell outta town so I could crawl into bed for some sleep.

I unloaded everything to get rung through, then walked around to the other side of the till to start packaging up.  Once the girl was done with my stuff she leveled me with the bad news:

$72.54

In my head all I was thinking was, "Are you fuckin' kidding me?!  SEVENTY TWO FREAKIN' FIFTY FUCKIN' FOUR!  Who in their right gawd damned mind thinks this is OK?!"

I was looking at the food I had.  Here is the list:

-Some Sprouts
-A little bit of Carrots
-A small amount of rice and elbow pasta
-2 Zucchini's
-2 Heads of Broccoli
-1 Bunch of Celery
-2 Bulbs of Garlic
-3 Small Red Onions
-5 Beets
-10  Potatoes
-2 Small Enchiladas from their Salad Bar thing

No matter how I looked at it, I couldn't for the life of me figure out how this small amount of food could cost this much gawd damned money!  These people are outta their damned minds if they think this is acceptable.  There's no need to wonder why people can't afford to shop and eat at this place.  I was just glad I had some cash left over from a Gift Card thing I bought as a fundraiser one of my friend's kids was doing.

I'm all for supporting local business and stuff, but this makes ridiculous look awesome!

Many years ago, when I was on a small disability of about $450/month after my rent portion I was able to shop exclusively at the Co-Op.  Now I bust my ass workin' like a mutha-fucka and I can't afford to shop here exclusively.  The new Co-Op is outta freakin' control with this kinda shit goin' on, that's for damned sure!  I'll keep goin' there for the odd thing I can't get elsewhere in town, but for staples, this place can go to hell!  They sure talk a lot about being community oriented, but this says the exact opposite.  My goodness!