Food: How to Get Past the Regional Foods Problem!

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How to Get Past the Regional Foods Problem!
Wednesday, November 16, 2005

I received an online order yesterday via UPS. It was more than the usual Christmas shopping I have been doing lately, it was groceries. Granted I haven't tried any of the online grocery stores yet because I visit the local store whenever I need something, but this was different. This time I found some things that have become regional over the years meaning that I have not been able to find some of the items for a very long time!

We all have foods from our past and our childhood that bring back good memories. Suddenly or maybe even years later, we realize that the stores are no longer carrying those items and we assume the food is not being manufactured any longer. I have recently found out that it is not necessarily true because a few of my old memory foods are actually still being made and are regional now to some parts of the country but not my own area.

Okay, so I found an online store specializing in those hard to find things from the past and spent an entire morning looking at their "A to Z" list one day while putting an order together. I have decided not to name the store or promote any particular place in this blog entry, but if you put your favorite food into a search engine, you may find an online business that will be selling it.

One of my memories involves going shopping with my parents and sibs every Friday night. There was one store that carried Sweet Tarts and Pixy Stix and I always raced my little sister to that aisle. I'm not sure if I thought she would buy it all or what, but it became my mission to get there before she did. I found Pixy Stix at the online store. I really had no idea they were still being made . . . they're just not sold in my area now!

Another big surprise (and the thing that actually caused me to find this place!) was that they carry the brand of Brunswick Stew that holds good memories for me. I first found the cans of stew at a grocery store in Brunswick, Georgia during a stop at the beautiful Golden Isles. I enjoyed it and wished I could find it online ever since that trip. One day I just put it into a search engine and there it was.

I found many "fun" groceries that I never tried before and added them to my order as well. I enjoy shopping at ethnic grocery stores and trying out new foods, so finding a place with all these "comfort foods because of the sweet memories" was as good as shopping for ethnic items at new stores.

In addition to that order, I also found a German store online from where I ordered a Christmas stollen and a "barrel" jar of sauerkraut imported directly from Germany. It should be a lot of fun to serve these things and I am looking forward to it.

I opened a Pixy Stix before writing this and it has kept a smile on my face the entire time I'm writing. I have a plan to search for more unusual grocery stores online in the future. It is like a whole new world has been opened up!

7:52 AM

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