Since it’s Tuesday today is the day Zoe and I trek up to the base for library time, the gym, playground, lunch, gas, and a trip to the commissary for our week’s groceries. Well the commissary was closed so I decided to shop at a local-ish grocery called Harvey’s on the way home. The SuperWalmart is my usual second option to the commissary, but I thought I’d branch out and support a local place. oops. Here’s the thing: all the vegetables are pre-packaged in those old school styrofoam trays…you know, the things that used to be for pre-packed meat. Yuck! Most places don’t even use those for meat anymore, they use that recyclable plastic. I try to be a consciencious shopper, so we don’t by much that is pre-packed or boxed or ever in styrofoam. The other thing was that I couldn’t even pick the handful of green beans, or 2 brocolli’s, or one pepper, or bunch of parsley, or 4 carrots, or 3 corncobs I needed. Instead I had to get these pre-made packs that were bigger than I intended and had a few beans or brocolli stems or a half a carrot that seemed undesirable. WEIRD and WASTEFULL. When I checked out I asked the lady what people do with them, to which she and the bagger cheerfully said, “just throw them away”. I asked if I returned them to the store could they be reused and she said, “nope, because the backs are heated to make the saran wrap stay on”….WHAT, ewwww…don’t you know NEVER to heat styrofoam? Who knows what odd chemicals are in my veggies now. Anyway, lesson learned. NOT shopping at Harvey’s ever again. I noticed that the local ‘nice’ grocery, Publix, packages a few things this way which I found bizarre and just don’t buy produce there either, but I was fairly taken aback when every vegetable was in styrofoam at Harveys. So, boycotting Harvey’s. I’ll head back to Walmart where I can select only 5 green beans if I want, and where the produce is fairly nice and from the southeast. Maybe I’ll venture out to the other local grocer, Winn Dixie or the IGA, and see what the produce options are there. Better option is to venture south of town to the farmers market.
Now, I’ve got 6 of these styrofoam things I need to use or craft with. ideas?
You could decoupage the tray and then cut out the center in the form of a shape. Pop a picture behind it and stick it on the frig. Maybe a leaf motive and stick a fall picture of Zoe behind it. A baby rattle and a picture of soon to be Avi behind it. You can use them as paint trays during crafting. Maybe you can decorate and attach them in some cool way to a message board and have each one as a spot for post it notes. One could be Doctors Appts., grocery list, etc.. Good Luck !!