[Vision2020] Wal-Mart meeting

Tue Dec 20 17:24:59 PST 2005

I don't think Saundra was suggesting stupidity on the part of low-income 
shoppers, Donovan.  Her point seemed clear enough to me -- there are ways to 
spend a lot more than you need to on groceries, and there are ways to spend 
much less than others do.  No finger-pointing or haughty attitudes 
expressed, and no need to respond so nastily to what she did say.

keely

From: Donovan Arnold <donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com>
To: Saundra Lund <sslund at adelphia.net>,        "'keely emerinemix'" 
<kjajmix1 at msn.com>, vision2020 at moscow.com,        "'Julie Crumley'" 
<joodge at hotmail.com>
Subject: RE: [Vision2020] Wal-Mart meeting
Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2005 14:28:11 -0800 (PST)

Saundra,

   "Nonetheless, with all the talk about how "expensive" Safeway is, I'm
     wondering if smart shopping is a skill others never learned?"

   You are right. The reason that so many poor families cannot make it on  
$200 a month for grocery shopping at Safeway is because they are too  stupid 
to know how to read advertisements or clip coupons.

   Perhaps you can donate your time and talented bargain shopping skills  by 
teaching them how to make it comfortably on a $800 a month paycheck  and 
$200 in food stamps, especially since rent is now at least $450 a  month.

  Better yet, why don't you show us by making a list  of what items a family 
of four shopping at Safeway can eat on a $200  food budget. And let us not 
forget, that in a family of four, chances  are that at least one will be on 
either a diabetic, low sodium, or low  fat diet. Do not forget that you can 
only eat potatoes and smack romen  for so many years.

  If you can do this, I suggest you drop it  off at Inclusion North, the 
Catholic Church, Stepping Stones, the  Nazarene Church, and Community Action 
Center; a lot of people would  benefit from it.

   Take Care,

   _DJA

Saundra Lund <sslund at adelphia.net> wrote:  I have to agree with Julie & 
Keely in that I'm very pleased with shopping at
Safeway, and at Rosauers, too, and I still miss Tidymans .  While
there have been a few occasions at both Safeway & Rosauers when checkout
took longer than I'd have liked, it was the exception rather than the rule.
Back when I shopped at Wal-Mart, however, checkout always took ***way*** too
long.

With respect to prices, I also have to agree with Keely  :-)  And, I have to
add that my daughter & I managed to survive back in the days when I was poor
and there was no Wal-Mart.

But, perhaps that's because the shopping habits I learned growing up and
followed as a smart but very poor consumer.  I shopped the ads, tried to
plan meals around what's on sale, compared prices, and stocked up on staples
when prices were good.  This works particularly well in Moscow since the
stores (with the exception of the Palouse Mall) are relatively close since
Moscow is relatively small.  Even when I was *really* financially strapped,
I was able to eat pretty well, and now that I don't *have* to count every
penny (literally), old habits die hard & still work well  :-)

Certainly transportation factors in & I realize I was fortunate that I had
good friends I could catch rides with when I had no transportation.

Nonetheless, with all the talk about how "expensive" Safeway is, I'm
wondering if smart shopping is a skill others never learned?

Saundra Lund
Moscow, ID

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do
nothing.
Edmund Burke

***** Original material contained herein is Copyright 2005, Saundra Lund.
Do not copy, forward, excerpt, or reproduce outside the Vision 2020 forum
without the express written permission of the author.*****

-----Original Message-----
From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]
On Behalf Of keely emerinemix
Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2005 12:16 PM
To: donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com; thansen at moscow.com; vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: RE: [Vision2020] Wal-Mart meeting

I think this is unfair.  Safeway's prices are usually pretty good, just as
Rosauer's are, and sometimes they're both even better than Winco.  Sometimes
not.  Contrary to what Courtney says, those of us who are opposed to a
WalMart Supercenter aren't trying to reduce your shopping choices -- there
is a WalMart here already, and you can buy your pop and buns wherever you
want.  The WalMart battle is about something else entirely, and unfairly
maligning grocery stores is a poor way to make the pro-WalMart  point you
want to.

I live right by Safeway, and so I shop there most often.  For all it's
worth, I think the service there is great, especially in pharmacy, deli and
produce.  If you want to shop at WalMart -- the one we have right here -- go
ahead.  But please don't plan your monthly budget around the beneficient
presence in your life that is WalMart, because there's very little evidence
that WalMart is interested in yours or anyone else's wellbeing.

keely

From: Donovan Arnold
To: Tom Hansen , vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: RE: [Vision2020] Wal-Mart meeting
Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2005 22:20:04 -0800 (PST)

"And just what is Safeway?"

    Safeway  is a giant convenience store that poor people cannot afford.
Many of  their customers only go there to save time from running across
town.  Compare, Safeway- $4.50 for a lb of meat, and  $5.50 for a 12 pack of
soda. $2 for a bag of hamburger buns. Compare to Wal-Mart or Win-Co,  $5 for
a 20 pack of soda, 68 cents for a bag of hamburger buns, and  $2.25 for lb a
meat. Feeding a family on $200 a month, what would you  do? Wal-Mart,
Win-Co, and Safeway get almost all of their food goods  from US and Canadian
farmers. I go to Safeway because it is close to my  apartment. There prices
are through the roof, and their lines are long  and slow. Not to mention I
frequently catch them ringing my food up for  a higher price then they
advertised it to be, I caught them three times  in one month overcharging
me, then you have to argue with over it,  and  half the time the price
difference is not worth the arguing.  I will say though that Eric, the
general manager, is nice guy.
   Wal-Mart  coming in on the east side will save me no less than $75 a
month, and  for a college student, that is a great deal of money.

    -DJA

Tom Hansen  wrote:
st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }                    Arnold stated:

      “So my guess is that it [addition of  a Wal-Mart superstore] would 
have
the same impact as it is having now with one  exception;

      The only thing new is a grocery store on  the east side of town.”

      And just what is Safeway?

      Tom Hansen
      Moscow, Idaho

          “I  think one of the best ways to support education is to make
successful  private schools like Logos prosper through tax exemption.”

    - Donovan Arnold (July 11, 2005)

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