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The winner has been announced.
it’s no secret: i love to shop. however, shopping for groceries? um, not so much. when it comes to groceries, i’m not one to stick with a budget nor do i use coupons or price match. seriously, i don’t have time for that. i’ll scour an ad and go. i don’t meal plan by what is on sale. i also choose NOT to shop at multiple stores just to get the best deal. of course, there ARE items that i will only get at certain stores…but that’s different.
when i was approached by mom central to do a little grocery shopping at one of the newly updated food lion stores in my area, i jumped at the chance. why? this was my chance to give a second chance to a grocery store that i rarely ever shop at. i have two food lion stores within minutes of my home; however, i chose to shop at the store that was recently converted back to food lion {it used to be a bloom grocery store which, coincidentally enough, was a “higher end” store in the food lion family}.
before i headed to my local food lion, i took some time to check out their sales ad online. the food lion website offers a lot of great features like coupons, creating a shopping list, meal ideas, etc. i appreciated that i could make a shopping list based off of what was on sale and, fortunately, quite a few products that my family enjoys were on sale. at the store, there is a kiosk that allows you to upload coupons to your m.v.p. card for additional savings {i opted not to do this}.
upon entering food lion, i was very relieved to see that the interior layout of the store was pretty much the same as it was when it was bloom. i don’t know about you, but i’ve had a couple of grocery stores in my area remodel and completely change the layout of the store. i’m a creature of habit. change throws me off. if i have to walk down ten aisles to find out where the cereal went, well, i’m not going to be happy. i like knowing that the products i’m looking for are in the same location i found them in last time. like i said previously, i do not like to grocery shop so getting in & out of the store without any headaches equates to a successful shopping trip to me. compared to other food lions that i’ve been in, i do have to say that MY food lion store is warm, inviting and a pleasure to shop in…it’s not cold, filled with florescent lighting or sketchy in any way {i’m sorry, food lion, but some of your stores make me fear for my life}.
i’m not going to lie: i will judge a grocery store based on my produce shopping experience alone. this is the FIRST section of the grocery store anyone will step foot in {unless you’re headed straight to the beer cooler…ha!}. everything looked fresh, was bright & colorful and there were some GREAT deals on fruits & veggies.
and, call me crazy, but the idea of shopping on wood floors? awesome. it just made the store feel a bit more like being at home and not like you were fighting the masses at one of those “super” stores. i spent a lot of time browsing the fruits & veggies. we eat as fresh as we can. imagine my delight when i was able to buy a HUGE bundle of kale for just over $1 and gorgeous asparagus spears for $1.99 per pound.
perhaps one of THE BEST features of this food lion was the gluten-free section. the picture only shows one small portion, but the gluten-free section was made up of many aisles and freezers and it was well stocked with all kinds of g-free and organic goodies. this was one feature of bloom that i really enjoyed and i’m glad it did not change when the store converted back into a food lion. while we are not a g-free family, there are many g-free items that we enjoy. while browsing this section of the store, i was surprised to learn that food lion carries it’s own brand of natural & organic foods…a considerable savings compared to some of the other more well-known brands.
so as you leave the produce & g-free section of the store, the floors do change. oh, well. but, once again, i was very glad to know that the layout of the rest of the store was the same. everything i needed was in a familiar place and i did not have trouble finding products that i needed. the sale items i made note of when i looked at the food lion website? they were all well marked and there were no price discrepancies when it was time to check out. and, it comes as no surprise, but food lion does have it’s own generic line called my essentials. when it comes to buying stick butter, sour cream, and canned veggies, i was not deterred by the generic label…the low prices reeled me right in! one item i DID splurge on was shrimp. we LOVE seafood! food lion had fresh shrimp on special so i stocked up. my kids will be very happy to know that on friday night we will be eating shrimp scampi…what a way to wrap up the week!
shrimp scampi {recipe courtesy of food lion}
¼ cup butter
1 lb shrimp
1 green onion
2 tsp minced garlic
½ tsp parsley flakes
¼ tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp white winemelt butter in large skillet on medium heat. add shrimp, green onion, garlic, parsley, and pepper; cook and stire 3 to 4 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink. stir in wine or lemon juice.
serve over cooked orzo, pasta or rice, if desired.
to say that my first shopping trip to food lion {in a very long time} was a success is an understatement. aside from a minor glitch during checkout {seriously, the glitch was due to a cashier error}, i would say that i managed to make the most of the $150 gift card that was given to me. i came home with enough groceries to last us at least two weeks {and i usually shop every week} and i KNOW that i will be back to this food lion store. not only is it convenient for us when we go to the beach on the weekends, but it’s also never crowded nor is the parking lot a headache like the “super” store that’s only minutes away.
food lion, if your other updated stores are anything like this one, you are going to have many new customers!
NOW, FOR THE GIVEAWAY…
mom central and food lion are graciously offering one of my readers a $50 food lion gift card! food lion grocery stores are in a limited geographic area, so – if you’re not sure – head to food lion’s website to see if there is a store in your area. also, this giveaway is for residents of the continental united states only.
how do you enter?
leave me a comment about YOUR grocery shopping habits. that’s all!
the winner will be announced on sunday, may 20th.
disclosure: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central for Food Lion. I received a gift card and product kit to facilitate my review.
I shop once every two weeks, after I have planned out a menu for that time. I generally try to use the commissary but use Food Lion in a pinch. I’ll be glad if our Food Lion got a recent upgrade.
The hubby and I just started to budget shop at our food lion. They’re always the cheapest and I think they have great quality produce and meats. I’m lucky! I go with a list, one our two coupons, and cross my fingers I stay under $100. Actually, I know their prices so well I can guess within a dollar of my bill! It’s like a game. Haha. I’d love this gift card!
We shop once a week but are always picking up fresh fruits & veggies…I hadn’t shopped at food lion in a long time but I live so close to the hilltop one that I decided to stop in. I LOVE the produce section! It always looks amazing now, just like u said.
the whole store is.completely different.
I tend to shop only once a month because man can I stretch food! Since I only cook for me one meal usually goes 2-4 meals. Not bad huh? And I try to stick to healthier foods. Shop the outside of the store. Fresher food, less crap. Doesn’t mean I don’t buy chips and sweets now and again. But I’ve got to remember healthy. Lots of chicken, fruit and yogurt!
I am always looking for the natural products for the best price. I need to go back to making menu.
melodyj(at)gmail(dot)com
I try to do a big shopping trip on the weekend with my husband and then I stop into Food Lion once or twice a week for little things like milk and bread. Thanks for the chance! We love Food Lion!
i shop once a week, and try to strictly follow my list.
I go every week and always use coupons
Just got capri suns 5 for $5 at my Food Lion yesterday! We dont drink juice at our house, but I buy those for lunches and bribes!! Our Food Lion is kind of sterile, but I don’t mind shopping there. They have good deals!
I typically shop once a week for groceries, if we run out, we run out and it’ll have to wait until the next time I go pick up groceries (with the exception of milk and bread) I find I save more money if we’re not always popping into the grocery store every other day. Thank you for the giveaway I love Food Lion!
ashleygatewood1(AT)gmail.com
I try to shop once a week and of course with coupons but I’ve been slacking lately.
I wish my Food lion looked like yours! Mine is ghetto and they actually closed the one right by my house and kept the 2 open that are right next to each other. Confused me but oh well. If mine looked like yours I’d shop there more often!