There is nothing worse than
facing the end of the “pay period” (whether that be the end of the month, the
end of the week, or the middle of the month), and running out of funds before
you have what you need. Maybe you are on a fixed income (retirement or
disability) or maybe you receive funds from the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program but it doesn’t cover your needs. Food banks, community suppers, etc., only go
so far and are not always convenient to attend. Perhaps you have a large family
to feed and you are the only “breadwinner.”
Although Homer Village Market
does not offer store credit or barter, we do accept SNAP (food stamps) and
credit cards. Perhaps more importantly,
we often have surplus food at very reduced prices or for free for our customers
in need. Our frequent customers are
often the beneficiaries of this surplus food, regardless of their true
need. We enjoy rewarding our “regular customers”
with free items that they usually buy. Plus,
they are doing us a favor to help move inventory before it is too late. If it is not selling fast enough, we would
rather give it away than throw it away or feed it to farm animals! If you are not a “regular customer” because
you just cannot afford to shop often, maybe we can help.
Many customers come into the
store daily, and some come once or twice a week. These we consider our “regular
customers.” Some only visit once a month
or so to pick up some fancy food, beverage, or favorite snack. Regardless, this is not a huge population
that we serve in our rural community! That’s why we really appreciate our
frequent shoppers!
What do we mean by “surplus
food?” This is any food item that is not
selling as fast as usual and so it is at risk of getting stale or just taking
up too much room in our small space.
Often we have surplus milk, eggs, bread, cheese, lunch meat, deli
salads, and other “perishable” items.
As you may know, Homer
Village Market is a very small store with a lot of variety of products on the
shelves and in the coolers. When you see
one or two of something on the shelf, please know that there are at least
twelve more in the stockroom! We love to
have a lot of variety for customers to choose from, so that results in a lot of
inventory taking up space. We like to see the inventory move and the products
change often to delight our customers!
Do not deprive yourself of
those “nice to have” but unnecessary snacks and staple foods. If you are living
paycheck to paycheck, as many of us are, and doing most of your shopping in
long lines at the big box retailers, imagine the convenience of shopping
locally to grab the essentials. You save
time and gas, which is money, in the long run.
We would love for you to become
a “regular customer”, shopping frequently enough to be aware of the food
“specials” and giveaways, and at the same time helping to support your local
store. As they say, “use it or lose it.” Next time you shop with us, let us know that
you would like to be on the contact list to receive surplus foods and
beverages. We will keep a list of your
favorites and essential needs and preferences and call when we have something
you might like to have. We really hate
to throw away any food or useful products, but sometimes keeping it on hand is
just too much to manage considering the small space and our desire to have
enough space to keep fresh and popular items on the shelves and in the coolers
and freezers.
Usually the perishables that
we have surplus most months are:
- Milk, eggs, cheese, orange juice, iced tea, deli dips, fresh salsa, and salads
- Bread, buns, crackers, cookies, muffins, chips
- Produce
- sandwiches, sliced cheeses and sliced lunch meat, hot dogs
- Other dairy products (sour cream, chip dip, whipped cream, cottage cheese)
Also, every few months we
have surplus in these categories:
- Snacks
- Baking supplies
- Salad dressing and other condiments
- Pasta and rice
- Pet food
- Ice cream, cookies, and candy
- Frozen entrees, frozen meat and cheese, frozen bread
Infrequently, we also have
“closeouts” on various brands of soft drinks and also beer and wine overstocks.
Occasionally, we even have some “special order” tobacco brand that needs to go.
The more often you visit the
store, the more likely you will be the recipient of such “closeouts” and “price
reduced for clearance”. But please don’t
go hungry, even if you are not a frequent shopper. Please stop by and let us know you would like
to be considered for food clearances and giveaways. Leave your phone number, and we will call you
with offers. We will be doing each other
a favor!
