Tucson Grocery Stores and Farmers Market News
by Karyn Zoldan on Dec. 10, 2009, under A Tisket, A Tasket, Farmers Markets, Grocery Stores, Life
Citrus is in season
This is a bit late but better tardy than never.
Fry’s
It has all the fixings for tamales including a 4-lb pail of lard. Then it has conventional & organic Haas avocados for $1. I usually have a price point in my head and won’t spend more than a buck on an avocado, preferably less. Tis the season for citrus and California cuties clementines are $3.99 for a 3-lb bag, Texas star red grapefruit are 2 for $1, and oranges are 39 cents/pound. Another good deal for carnivores–buy 1, get 1 free USDA choice boneless beef cross rib roast. Don’t even think of shopping without your VIP card.
Rincon Valley Farmers & Artisans Market
Santa will be there this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. but the market is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The market is located in and around the big green and white barn at 12500 E. Old Spanish Trail (about 4 miles East of Saguaro National Park East on Old Spanish Trail). Please bring an unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots. Yum! They’re going to have two kinds of freshly baked biscotti from Grandma Santi’s. Pair it with a steaming cup of Adventure Coffee and it’s almost worth driving across town for.
Safeway
On Facebook last week Safeway was giving 5-lb bags of clementines to the first 25,000 people who used their Safeway card to download the coupon. There were some technical glitches. Safeway does an outstanding job with their FB page and has thousands of fans and people who comment positively all the time. Now that’s a good use of social networking and viral marketing. Safeway is selling a 5-lb box of Calif. clementines for $6.99. Grapefruits are the same price as Fry’s. Some of Safeway’s produce is locally grown from Rousseau Farming Co. in Scottsdale including broccoli, onions, leeks, watermelons, greens, and cabbage.
Sunflower Markets
You can do some tasting on December 12 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for party food and sweet treats at three Tucson stores. Wow! Here you can get Texas Rio red grapefruits for 5 for $1. I love red grapefruit; I’ll be there. Don’t forget that citrus is a great source of vitamin C, folic acid, fiber, and antioxidants. Pints of Blue Bell ice cream are only $1.25, usually much higher. I often wonder how a supermarket decides to put certain items on sale. Does anyone know?
Trader Joe’s
If you haven’t been to TJ’s lately, they have wine tasting now and it’s free and I can tell they are selling more wine because many of my friends say they are buying more there. Over Thanksgiving I had a nightmare experience with a bottle of wine with a plastic cork; the bottle won. Right now the latest flyer touts all their holiday foods and just reading it I gained 5 pounds, it all sounded so good. Has anyone ever tried their gingerbread coffee? Usually, I don’t like flavored coffee but all those spices sounded inviting.
Do you have any family traditions for Christmas or Chanukkah or Kwanza?
Where do you usually shop and why?
