Far More Than Produce....

When does shopping become more than just purchasing food??? WHEN YOU SPEAK TO OTHER CUSTOMERS!!! I encourage everyone to try this next time they shop!!! You never know what you might learn.

I entered the small grocery store in Oregon, Illinois yesterday with a smile and a warm heart and got far more than groceries. When you first enter this store you find yourself in the produce section. I LOVE fresh produce!! This is not just because I love the colors. This is not just because I love fresh produce. This is because I love to watch as people pick their produce. So much goes on when a person can sift through large sections of fruit and vegetables and fondle every last piece until they find just the right one. Yesterday was no different. I found a sale on cherry tomatoes and a woman in her late 70's. We began to discuss apples. She said she had a problem with the pink ladies. "They tasted like I was eating an unripe green apple from the tree" I had to giggle. I wonder if this is something most of my generation can even remember doing? I can remember. I also remember when a red delicious was delicious. I commented on how grainy they have become. This was the spark of a whole discussion of holistic nutrition, new foods, and the quality of the produce in local markets. By the time we had discussed the quality of local produce, using star fruit as a substitution for pineapple in an upside down cake, and the absence of a grocery store in my town, another woman chimed in. She told us of the larger farmer's market in Rockford. (Illinois' second largest city just 45 minutes north of us) We continued on through the produce section discussing family size and the troubles a mom can have with serving healthful foods to please the whole family. Eventually we all went our separate ways and continued our shopping.
With a full cart I found found my self on the other side of the store in the dairy section completing my shopping. I heard a small voice. " I finally caught up with you." I looked to see the first woman extending a bag of apricots in my direction. "I don't know if your family will eat these, but they have a super deal on them." I was shifted back to childhood again. Apricots were another fruit I ate straight from the tree as a child. "Look" she said "They are good looking apricots." "Yes, they are." I replied, filled with the joy that I had somehow bonded with this woman. "Thank you so much."