I live in Champions Gate, Florida. I have a car. I do the grocery shopping for my household of four. I alone follow a plant-based diet and I must accommodate for someone who has high blood pressure and is pre-diabetic. We eat a variety of foods, but we are from Trinidad, so we do eat West Indian food sometimes. I try to stick to a grocery budget of about $150 per week, but it is relatively flexible. We eat out about twice a week. It is usually takeout like pizza or Chinese food.
During a typical week, I got to Aldi on a weekday morning. I have noticed the produce is fresher and it is less crowded. I generally only buy fresh produce and dairy here. This is the best place to buy these items because they are much more affordable than Publix. Aldi offers a variety of misleading healthy food options in my opinion because their foods are high in sugar and salt, so I am very selective when shopping for other items. A typical grocery receipt from Aldi would look like the following from November 19th and December 2nd.
I usually go to Publix twice a month depending on what items they have on sale. Typically, Publix tends to supply my family's more guilty pleasures. A typical trip to Publix looks like the following from November 14th and December 4th.
My family is from Trinidad, and we struggle to find staples in our cultural diet like lentils, curry powder, and other dry goods. Typically, these dry goods are unprocessed and therefore contain far less sodium and fats. When we settle for the grocery offerings, they tend to be unhealthier items that are more expensive. Occasionally, Publix may have these items, but if not, I have to get them from Trader Joe's for a much higher price.
My positionality is rather privileged to have access to multiple grocery stores because I can afford the options near me. Additionally, I have the time to go to both stores and occasionally drive farther for Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. We are slowly transitioning away from heavily processed foods like frozen meals and boxed meals that we used to heavily rely on. My mom and I do all of the cooking, and we are focusing our meals around fresh vegetables and creating a balanced diet that is beneficial for us all.
Overall, this project has allowed me to get a better sense of people's different lifestyles and positionalities. Using my community as the focus has allowed me to identify the strengths and weaknesses in the food system, especially regarding food justice. I know many of the presented scenarios were hypothetical, but they still allowed for critical thinking, empathy, and awareness. I am glad I had this opportunity to apply the knowledge from this course to my community! Looking forward, this has broadened my understanding of the issues at hand and will allow me to effectively combat them.