When 20% off really isn't a bargain......

Empty isles at our local Marsh store. This week they are selling out everything in the store for 20% off. It will never be a bargain. 48 people are losing their job, another huge "big-box" now stands empty in Winchester, we have no place besides Walmart to buy fresh produce (I'm not sure what they sell is really "fresh"). The preprinted signs throughout the entire store that say "we value you" feel like a mockery to customers.

Grocery stores have always been an important part of my life. My grandparents owned and operated Kampus Korner grocery for many years right next to Northwest Nazarene College in Nampa, Idaho. My childhood jobs included spending time with them marking individual prices on groceries, learning how to ring up items on the ancient cash register and learning how to make change. It was a sad day when they finally closed the grocery. I now understand the loss to our nation and our culture by the closure of family owned small grocery stores and the dangers of depending on big-box stores.

As I walked through the store today talking to the employees and expressing my sadness over the loss of their jobs, I ran into other customers who were doing the same. I spent more time talking to people today than I did shopping. That is one thing I will miss the most, the opportunity to connect to our community through our local grocery store. I'm sure it will happen at Walmart, but there are many of us in this community who will not shop there. In addition to losing Marsh, I will be losing a connection to our community that brought me joy.

No matter how much I saved today on brussel sprouts, black-eyed peas, parsnips and dried mushrooms.....it will never be a bargain.