USVI needs a stateside grocery store chain

Many of the bugs that fly around inside are the type that come out of the old bags of dry food...very little in staples will be ordered now until delivery in late November or Dec, as the snowbirds add to the volume of buyers. Until then, you can watch the volume of products on the shelves get lower and lower, things like canned vegetables, soup, etc.

I'm about to relocate. Should I pack canned goods and things like rice and dry cereals?

I'm about to relocate. Should I pack canned goods and things like rice and dry cereals?

No

not at all, and just as an aside. things like rice, flour, cereal get bugs. so dont over buy

And place in Ziploc bags to prevent contamination of other goods in cupboards.

Ziploc bags. Pack lots of those. All different sizes.

Buy a used refrigerator to keep pasta,cereal, flour,etc in. Also good for keeping water and wine chilled.

Just keep in mind that used refrigerator might used double the electric of a new one. Refrigerator efficiency has increased dramatically over recent years due to government efficiency mandates.

Buy a used refrigerator to keep pasta,cereal, flour,etc in. Also good for keeping water and wine chilled.

You don't need to refrigerate pasta, rice, cereal, flour, etc., if you put in Ziploc baggies.

Good reply, Beeski...very true.

+1

Honestly I just came back from the states and while it's nice I guess to have al those choices it's gotten out of control. I went to a Frys and they have an actual bar in the grocery store :O honestly it's too many choices for me and rally makes me sad at then level of consumerism. 15 butters all with the exact same ingridents just different branding. Idk it seems so wasteful to me.

I will also say WT actual F happend to prices?? I went back to AZ and it's more expensive than STX!! Cost of living seems to have skyrocketed. I got all my applegate bacon, organic veggies and fruits and meats for my visit but they're all more expensive than here (except berries - I ate 4 containers of organic strawberries in three days lol @ 1.99) I was shocked at the price increase. And LAWD the restaurant food tastes like crap and it's so expensive! My tenants who are also long time friends were like.. you're not gonna raise the rent are you? Haha. And clothes??? Omg have I just been shopping at K mart too long?? Every shirt was like $40 and I got shorts for my fiancé... $60!!!! WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!

Honestly I like the stores here just how they are. I've not had a problem at all finding what I need but I will say I'm missing my applegate bacon here as Plaza W doesn't seem to get it anymore. I wouldn't shake a stick at target but intimately it's those little things that I feel makes the VI unique. I am so glad to be home!

Buy a used refrigerator to keep pasta,cereal, flour,etc in. Also good for keeping water and wine chilled.

You don't need to refrigerate pasta, rice, cereal, flour, etc., if you put in Ziploc baggies.

Girrrrrlllll! No plastic bags! Just toss them in the fridge. No need to waste the plastic and it works better anyway. We also re-use the cottage cheese and yogurt containers as Tupperware for rice but that's the rice for when eletrconcs get dropped in water since we don't eat rice. Actually I switched to Chobani plain because the kids are clear which is awesome! Open my fridge and it looks like all we eat is yogurt - even our bacon goes in those LOL! Those vis-a-vis markers write on the clear top too and wipe off for dates 😉 #ocd

Plastic bags don't work--mice or roaches will nibble them. Put then in a fridge--new or used, I don't care

Buy a used refrigerator to keep pasta,cereal, flour,etc in. Also good for keeping water and wine chilled.

You don't need to refrigerate pasta, rice, cereal, flour, etc., if you put in Ziploc baggies.

Actually I switched to Chobani plain because the kids are clear which is awesome!

Clear kids? they must get bumped into a lot. 😛

kids lids what's the difference? Not every ting fits in the fridge. Chips and crackers aren't around long enough for the rats and roaches to get to dem in the zippy bags, dem goes in the cupboard where the mice can get in.

Lighten up Frances..

Buy a used refrigerator to keep pasta,cereal, flour,etc in. Also good for keeping water and wine chilled.

You don't need to refrigerate pasta, rice, cereal, flour, etc., if you put in Ziploc baggies.

Actually I switched to Chobani plain because the kids are clear which is awesome!

Clear kids? they must get bumped into a lot. 😛

Hahaha! I'm the worst at typing! Should have gotten the 7+ phone for my aging ass 😉

I use a lot of the snapping, sealed lid, containers for all of the dry stuff that won't fit in the fridge. I like the glass, but mostly have plastic because I have kids and they sometimes can even manage breaking the plastic. Chips and cereal go in the this size:

But they come in all different sizes. If anything does have bugs, it keeps them isolated. I do put bay leaves in some of the containers to deter the little bugs. And also put little chunks of Irish Spring bar soap in the corners of the cabinets. I don't know why, but it keeps the mice away. (trick I learned from a friend in Michigan who stores their Corvette in the winter) Trying to cut back on those super handy ziplock bags and use things that have a longer life, multi use life.

Good reply, Beeski...very true.

+1

Honestly I just came back from the states and while it's nice I guess to have al those choices it's gotten out of control. I went to a Frys and they have an actual bar in the grocery store :O honestly it's too many choices for me and rally makes me sad at then level of consumerism. 15 butters all with the exact same ingridents just different branding. Idk it seems so wasteful to me.

I will also say WT actual F happend to prices?? I went back to AZ and it's more expensive than STX!! Cost of living seems to have skyrocketed. I got all my applegate bacon, organic veggies and fruits and meats for my visit but they're all more expensive than here (except berries - I ate 4 containers of organic strawberries in three days lol @ 1.99) I was shocked at the price increase. And LAWD the restaurant food tastes like crap and it's so expensive! My tenants who are also long time friends were like.. you're not gonna raise the rent are you? Haha. And clothes??? Omg have I just been shopping at K mart too long?? Every shirt was like $40 and I got shorts for my fiancé... $60!!!! WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!

Honestly I like the stores here just how they are. I've not had a problem at all finding what I need but I will say I'm missing my applegate bacon here as Plaza W doesn't seem to get it anymore. I wouldn't shake a stick at target but intimately it's those little things that I feel makes the VI unique. I am so glad to be home!

This is a great post A&A and makes me realize I slipped into stateside mentality when I posted. I went into Pueblo Golden Rock the other day and felt bad. Like, "yeah I'm that guy who was talking %$% about your store on the forum". I do like it in there, just wish they would spruce the place up a bit. Now Pueblo La Reine forget it. That store just plain sucks.

But I am really glad to hear the prices down here aren't as out of whack as I thought they were. It's been a couple years since I've been in a stateside grocery store but can vividly remember the overwhelming feeling of too much selection and just too much everything.

Anyways, a little remodeling of the stores, maybe a little more creativity on the managers who do the ordering to offer more unique health food items and such and I think I would be a little happier. Essentially, step the Pueblos and Plazas up to something halfway between what they are now and what Seaside/Foodtown/Fruit Bowl is doing.

But I take back what I said about needing a stateside grocery store, perhaps that isn't the answer.

even with ziplock bags and in plastic container, i still got bugs.

Trying to cut back on those super handy ziplock bags and use things that have a longer life, multi use life.

I am cheap. My zip lock bags last until they no longer hold air. But also impatient so I try to stick with the better ones that have actual zippers. Nothing wrong with putting items that already have their own bag/box into a used clean zip lock bag. Empty bag of chips comes out, full one goes in. etc.

we had ants that made little holes in plastic bags...we usually put the plastic bags in refrigerators.

We put 'everything' in a refrigerator, or sometimes the freezer. The bugs are an issue, but so is the heat.
Along with the usual refrigerated or frozen foods, we store things like Cereal, veggies and fruit, any pastas, bread, rice, cake, etc, Spices. Coffee, either beans or ground. Batteries. Ink for computer printer. Vitamins. Bags of dog food. Playdoh.
We use our kitchen refrig, our 'extra' refrig, or our wine cooler if we don't want it too cold.

Trying to cut back on those super handy ziplock bags and use things that have a longer life, multi use life.

I am cheap. My zip lock bags last until they no longer hold air. But also impatient so I try to stick with the better ones that have actual zippers. Nothing wrong with putting items that already have their own bag/box into a used clean zip lock bag. Empty bag of chips comes out, full one goes in. etc.

I do the same.
I even wash them when and if necessary and save for a different use.

any that have been used for meat go in the trash

I grew up in Central Florida, and yeah we had trash pickup and package delivery to our homes, but guess what, everything had to be stored in plastic there too (and ziplock really pale in comparison to actual Tupperware).
That's just part of living in ANY tropical climate. It's by no means unique to the VI.

Also, I live now in Westchester County NY for 12 years and before that, Manhattan for almost 10...these are among the highest caliber food communities in the world. I have yet to find a grocery store that comes close to Publix 🙂

For my birthday this year, my husband was down in Islamorada doing some fishing the week before; he brought me back a Publix cake because HE KNOWS WHAT'S UP!

i found it interesting this morning when on Da Vybe one of the co hosts said that STT finally has a local owned grocery store. Pueblo is not local owned but i thought all of the others were?

Were they talking about Seaside?