Local Shopping in May
My May shopping experience in Lake City produced a mixed bag of results. I did my best to do 100% of my shopping for the month in Lake City but I did end up having to purchase a few necessities in Gunnison. Although I didn’t get to have nearly as much fresh produce as I’m used to and I couldn’t find some of my favorite brands, it was a relatively easy thing to find everything else I wanted or needed in terms of groceries. The Country Store was very interested and engaged in the local campaign and offered a prize for those shoppers spending more than $200.00 in the store during the month. The fresh asparagus was fabulous. I found true bargains at the Mocha Moose for coffee and Acme Feed & Supply for petfood. Although I haven’t conducted a complete analysis, I believe I spent about 15% more than normal for groceries during May taking into account that there were some things that I went without. I do find it incredibly convenient to stop and pick up a few things at the grocery store on the way home as opposed to taking half a day or better to plan a trip to Gunnison or Montrose. It was also nice not to have to unload the car and put away all those things it took me hours to pick out. When I factor in the cost of gas and the value of my time, local shopping looks more and more attractive. Overall, the experience was better than I thought it would be and I do plan to continue spending at least 50% of my grocery budget in Lake City.
My biggest disappointment was the complete lack of interest and cooperation on the part of some business owners (i.e. General Store) to accommodate local buyers. Oh well, maybe next time.
