Shopping with the Amish

We all grocery shop.

It’s a mundane and often unstimulating experience. But there is one grocery trip that I make about 4 times a year, with my mother in tow, that is always a bit of an adventure.

We travel north in her pick up truck, about an hour’s drive to a not-so-fancy establishment called BB’s. Home of the “bents, bumps and bunches of bargains!” You never quite know what you will find there, but so far, the treasure trove of bargains has always outweighed the cost of gas and time to travel there.

It is run by the Amish. There isn’t much competition in the parking lot.

The shopping experience leans more towards treasure hunt. Looking for pig brains in milk gravy this week? No problem! On sale for only 50 cents!

And every time, I find something, at least one thing, that makes the whole trip worth it.

Today, Starbucks coffee, a good supply, at only $3. We’ll be sipping pretty here at home.

It is the place to find a lot of organic and unusual food items at really cheap prices. I even heard one lady refer to it as a “boutique grocery”. I’m not really sure of that. There is nothing fancy about it. There is no artistry to produce display.

But today the shelves were stacked high, as well as my cart. Both of them.

And as my mother and I slung our grocery bags into the back of her truck, I marveled at the other modes of getting your groceries home.

Again, a successful trip. Every cupboard in my house is bulging at the seams. And I will probably do it all again in a couple months.

Comments

[Jennie]

how neat is that? Starbucks at 3 bucks a bag? That IS great!
Thanks for sharing such a neat experience. :)

[Pamela]

Sounds like a wonderful store. I purchase most of my family's food from our good friends Ada and Henry, who are Amish.

I think that out of respect to the Amish, you should consider removing the photo of that baby. They are very offended by photography, and your post would be just as lovely without it.

[SouleMama]

pork brain with milk gravy? Well, you encounter something new everyday, yes? So wild. (hoping you and yours are well, molly! xo)

[sUsAn]

We have a BB's about 25 minutes from us in PA too! I love going there every few weeks! My last trip I scored Peanut Butter Puffins for $1.50 a box and yes, I did buy multiple boxes! :) We had the Star$s coffee up here too!

[Carrie]

That's AWESOME! I want to make a trip north to PA so my kids can see a different lifestyle. Maybe another year or two. I'd love to experience some of it myself.

[Amy]

pork brains in milk... who knew?!

[Christina]

As an Australian this seems so strange and wonderful for a few reasons. As far as I know, we have no Amish communities in Australia and so no grocery stores like this, or grocery transport like that either. Same goes for the pork brains and milk. Fascinating. Thanks for sharing. :)