Twitter

Twitter (main account)

Facebook

Facebook

  • We know you LIKE us! Get stories directly in your News Feed, discuss them with your friends, and share your ideas with us!
LinkedIn

LinkedIn

  • Do you volunteer at the Gazette? Do you want to volunteer at the Gazette? Follow us on LinkedIn to connect with the current and former editors. Learn more about what it's like to work here and find out what some of us are doing post-UWO.
Twitter

Contact & Subscribe

  • Visit the UCC, Room 263 (map)
  • Visit the contact page
  • Call us at 1 (519) 661-3580

  • Unsubscribe at any time.

 

Grocery Checkout not so fresh

October 27, 2011
By

 

Believe it or not, I like fresh food.

It shouldn’t be too much to ask that grocery stores ensure their food is not mouldy, expired or stale. In the past months I have been shopping at Grocery Checkout twice and both times I have returned home with inedible food—stale pita and mouldy English muffins.

This isn’t just my bad luck. Over the past few weeks I have heard from friends that they have purchased brown lettuce and expired pitas.

Getting a grocery store on campus was a huge accomplishment for the University Students’ Council and I am happy that I can grab healthy, fairly priced food—but I’d like it to at least be fresh too. Or I could refrain from purchasing fresh food and just buy packaged foods like pasta and soup, but that’s not really what I want to eat in the middle of the day.

With the amount of people that are employed in Grocery Checkout it should not be hard to check the quality or expiry dates of the food they are selling.  The point for opening a grocery store on campus was convenience for students, but having to make a trip back to return mouldy food isn’t convenient at all.

Both times I have purchased mouldy food from Grocery Checkout I have gone back and returned the items with the hope that they will realize it is an issue and do something to remedy it, yet it continues to happen.

The reason for this sub-par food could be slow a turnover rate at Grocery Checkout, so maybe management should order food supplies accordingly. It is a disadvantage for the grocery store to purchase large quantities of food if it is not going to sell.

There is no point stocking the shelves full of food if students aren’t purchasing it. The best way to muster up customers is to give them the best service possible and the best service includes selling fresh food.

I am all for the convenience, especially when I am on campus for such long hours, but I want good quality, fresh food. For now I think it would be best to reserve the weekends for a trip to Loblaws to purchase my groceries rather than chancing it with Grocery Checkout.

 

Follow the Gazette on Facebook and Twitter.

Amber Garratt

Amber is the Managing Editor of the Gazette. She has been with the paper since she was a volunteer in Volume 102. She became an Arts & Entertainment Editor for first semester of Volume 103 and an Arts & Life Editor for Volume 104. She graduated Western with a B.A. in Geography.

4 Comments

  • Vote -1 Vote +1Nate     says:

    I have seen bad products at other stores…I just try not to buy them :) . I actually think they are doing a pretty good job!

  • Vote -1 Vote +1C     says:

    I learned they had difficulty obtaining enough stock; I suppose some items turn over quickly while others simply sit.

    If your bread products are dated into the future, then perhaps something is amiss in the transportation & storage of the bread?

    (I can not imagine purchasing even day-old breads, let alone anything older, except out of necessity. Consider bread machines, for example $30 Black&Decker, $80(sale) Breadman, and brand names over $100)

    Here’s a wouldn’t it be cool idea: Next to the price and country of origin for produce, you’d have the date of harvest posted.

  • Vote -1 Vote +1Vash     says:

    They have a LOT of stale stuff in their store and I am not too crazy about their prices. Also, not a very professional organisation. I was not hired by them simply because I said I am vegetarian and did not want to handle the deli, although I said I could handle any other department. I have worked at No Frills and Food Basics in the past, and it has never been a problem there. They have a lot to learn.

  • Vote -1 Vote +1Sean     says:

    Vash, I respect where you’re coming from, but I’m not sure saying that you didn’t get hired because you’re a vegetarian is the best thing to say. It’s a liable accusation because unless they specifically stated that’s why you didn’t get hired, they can’t be held accountable under this claim. As for the store itself containing proper food, I agree with the aspects everyone has said, aside from Nate (no offence), as I feel keeping fresh stock is not necessarily the most difficult thing to achieve. While I realize they want to look constantly stocked with a plentitude of food, keeping the food on the shelves fresh looks a lot better than say a half full shelf with fresh food. Personally I’d rather walk into a store and know that the food is fresh, than get home and have to turn right around to take something back. It’s time-wasting and defeats the purpose of an on-campus grocery store. If they can’t solve the problem, I’m off to Loblaw.

    • You must confirm your comment via email before it will be posted.

About

  • The daily student newspaper at the University of Western Ontario in London.

Contact Us

  • Visit the UCC, Room 263 (map)
  • Visit the contact page
  • Call us at 1 (519) 661-3580

Sections

Archives

Editorial

Contribute