I find myself taking more time checking out when using the automatic checkouts. The scales are always out of calibration and someone has to come override the error messages that act like you are taking something. I don’t care where this is. It can be another store but they all seem to use the same basic setup. One of these systems got the Windows “Blue Screen of Death” or BSOD while I was using it. I had no idea these were running some form of Microsoft Windows until this happened! This only happened once but the scales being out of calibration happens more often than not.
I have concluded that stores are installing self check outs catering to a significant population who suffer some degree of social anxiety disorder. There is always an employee nearby but they seem to avoid eye contact and when called avoid any social interaction as they make whatever corrections or over rides are necessary. The capacity of the SCO is very minimal and the open floor behind the customer is immense. If there were long lines at all the checkouts while the SCO was empty I would try it out but I make it a point to shop when the stores are not busy.
So do I, CSA, and that is one of the reasons why I am a member of a local CSA!
(That stands for Community Sponsored Agriculture project, in case you aren’t familiar with this concept, CSA.)
The quality of this produce is superb, and it is so fresh that I frequently get it with the wet dirt still clinging to the bottoms of the items. When I don’t use some of this bounty right away, I find it interesting to see what the produce looks like after…3 days…5 days…7 days…and even as long as 10 days in the refrigerator. Based on my observations, it appears that the “fresh” produce sold in supermarkets is…at a minimum…7 days old when it reaches the market.
If there is a CSA in your neck of the woods, I urge you to join.
I Live In The Middle Of Nowhere. We Don’t Have Fancy Food Projects Or Associations, But We Have Long Had Lots Of Local Roadside Produce Stands And A Farmers’ Market In Town At An Outdoor Community Pavilion. Local, Reputable Farmers Set Up There.
You are correct, sir. There is no comparison when fresh produce is taste-tested against what stores sell. Sweet corn is naturally sweet and potatoes (“new potatoes”) are delicious, not like the old starchy ones.
“You are correct, sir. There is no comparison when fresh produce is taste-tested against what stores sell”. @common_sense_answer That is why I grow a small garden in my back yard. When the weather cooperates, I have a couple of weeks of fresh corn and beans. We just had our first picking of beans yesterday. They were great.
The downside is that when I amortize the cost of the rototiller, the rain barrel and pump I use to keep the garden watered and the cost of the fertilizer and fuel for the tiller, I probably spend twice as much for the produce as I would spend at the grocery store.
This relatively new concept is not a “fancy food project”.
It involves a small farmer selling directly to local residents via a pre-paid membership program, so that he gets money up-front for seeds and fertilizer.
It benefits him by having a steady demand for his products and by not having to transport them to market, as the members drive to the farm once a week to pick up that week’s bounty. It benefits the members by giving them incredibly fresh produce on a reliable basis, within a few miles of their homes.
And, it benefits local college students (mostly from Rutgers College of Agriculture), who provide the low-cost labor for the farm.
Any farmer can do this if he/she does a bit of research regarding how to run this type of operation. As long as you have small farms, people who want fresh produce, and local college students who are interested in agriculture, it is a very basic concept, and is not “fancy” at all. Surely you have all three components in your neck of the woods.