Gawd, I hope this grocery strike ends!!!! Anyone else having...

problems with the alternatives? Here is San Diego you dont have much of a choice.

Food 4 Less is always crowded and in disaray. The general grocery selection is terrible, the meat and produce are subpar, and I've noticed that since the strike they have jacked up their prices.

Henry's Marketplace. Smaller scale that FFL but expensive. The produce is exxellent but pricey, the meat dept is very limited and expensive. If you are looking for simple canned items such as crushed tomatoes or baked beans, you'll have to make a stop elsewhere. Henry's specializes in organic, supposedly healthier foods which elevated the prices severly. Always crowded.

Costco, Sams Club... Membership stores are always crowded here and its tough to shop there unles you are stocking up for a week or two. Produce is subpar and the meat seems to be more expensive than Vons, Ralphs, Albertsons.

Mom and Pop stores. If you can find one that has a decent inventory you are lucky. Some canned and dry goods. Really crappy produce at the ones that have produce. not very many left that have a butcher/meat dept.

I was making MAveRiC's homemade pasta sauce and needed 2 cans(Yes canned tomatoes are ok),of crushed tomatoes. Avoiding crossing a strike line I had to drive around fo 2 F---ing hrs to find a store that carried such an item.

I will not cross the line in respect for the workers and what they are fighting for, but I SO hope that it ends soon.

None in SD? Food for less is a zoo, but I kind of like the ripe produce compared with the big pretty, never ripe stuff at Alb's. Have been going to Trader Joes for lots of stuff. some good prices there.Wish we had a Gonzalez market.

the crowds aren't that bad, and they have an excellent produce section. I went this morning, and was in and out.

I'm in LaMesa, not far from San Carlos.
Thanx Frylock!

...I shop only at Bashas.

It's partly because the other places happen to be Albertsons, Frys, and Safeway...and shopping at one of those places is like crossing a picket line. I won't do it.

And it's partly because Eddie Basha likes to donate large sums of money to the Democratic Party and liberal causes.

Costco, I believe, are also Democratic donors. Sams Club are definitely not, and I don't know anything about Food4Less.

There's the Co-Op in SM, too. Fortunately, I haven't had too much of a problem doing my shopping. In fact, I'll probably never go to those chains again.

Vons, Ralphs and Albertsons seem to have a lock on the grocery monopoly.

Too many independants family-owned and operated; my Grandmother still shops at Piggly-Wiggly for example.

Unfortunately someone will eventually buy them out, hike up the prices 15% and tie the food costs into the stock market.

We have Kroger, Publix, Ingles, and the prices are going up in all of them weekly.

I haven't crossed the picket line, but we go without things for a long time because I have to drive to the other end of town, where I wouldn't otherwise be. I'm too tired after work to deal with it. I avoid the crowds by going to Stater Bros Sunday mornings at 7am; people are either in bed or getting ready for church, and it's not too crowded. Of course, 2 days before thanksgiving, a new Trader Joes opened up down the street; the lines have been long, but worth it!

I hope they get a raise if you go in you can still buy stuff

Have a great mom and pop market down the street, Wrigley's, here in Lakeside. We supplement it with produce from a produce market a few blocks away and the occasional trip to Henry's or the Navy Exchange.

FYI, Wrigley's has a nice butcher shop. Produce isn't that great, but we do have the produce store.

At this point, I'm not going back even after the strike is over, unless the supermarkets cave completely to the union's demands. Knowing that Safeway (Vons) is still donating money to Arnold makes me leery of shopping there anymore.

I've found that Trader Joe's isn't really to my liking (and it's been crowded as hell since the strike started), and I'm not aware of a Stater Bros. anywhere near me. I actually went to a Smart & Final last time I went shopping, and I really disliked that. The huge-ass packages you have to buy aren't really conducive to someone who lives alone, and it's actually pretty expensive for a "discount" store.

I WANT MY ALBERTSON'S BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

and Gelson's.

I'm sorry to say that when the strike ends, I'll still shop at Trader Joe's for the bulk of my stuff.