A couple odd grocery lists
This is a weird one and this is an honest one. Posted at 8:23 AM Central Time

People do the craziest things -- for shopping carts
"The grocery store at Sea Ranch on a1a just north of Lauderdale by the Sea has introduced a new security measure for its shopping carts. On one of the wheels is a box. If you take the cart out of the parking lot, crossing a yellow line painted on the driveway exits from the lot, the box descends around the wheel and the cart won't roll properly. This is designed to prevent people from removing carts from the parking lot. I assumed the system would work until I was riding down a1a and noticed two elderly women with a grocery cart. They obviously were having a terrible time pushing the cart. In fact they were putting the full weight of their bodies against it to barely make it move." Posted at 6:38 AM Central Time

Save Time, Save Money
"Don't go to the grocery for a couple of items and walk out with fifty dollars worth. Make a list, go straight to the items on the list, and check out! This will save time and money." Posted at 6:47 AM Central Time

Robert B. Wegman; Supermarket Innovator
"Robert B. Wegman, 87, who introduced the idea of one-stop shopping at his family-owned chain of supermarkets, which are the envy of the industry for their unparalleled levels of customer and employee loyalty, died April 20 at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, N.Y." Posted at 7:12 AM Central Time

Treehugger: Organic by the Numbers
"Just how big is organic? And how fast is it growing? TreeHugger readers have shared their own organic experiences in an instant survey...now the German Farmers' Association (Bauernverband) has published some hard and fast statistics on the situation in Germany, a country often perceived as a leader in the bio and organic fields. The growth rates make China's economy appear to be in slow motion..." Posted at 11:42 AM Central Time

The April GLC Giveaway: Three free gardening books!
UPDATE: The GLC Giveaway books for April are gone. Congrats to Adrienne, Cindy and Diana -- enjoy your books! | Spring is here. It's garden season and the GLC has a few useful books to send your way to help get you started. The first person to write in and request one of the books linked below gets it for free during our fourth Monthly GLC Giveaway of 2006. Limit one per person -- and you must request a specific book. First come, first served. You also must include a snail mail address -- but we won't use your email or postal address for anything other than sending you the book.

Gone! Claimed by Cindy of Sioux Falls, South Dakota!
The Kitchen Garden (Month-By-Month) | "Just like the other books in the month-by-month series, this book by Andi Clevey puts you on the right track by providing a timetable for all the necessary chores in the kitchen garden. As timing is crucial for sowing and planting, this book is a very handy reference. The author is a well known expert in this field and the book is a clear and concise guide to beginners and pros alike." —Amazon.com (List price: $27.75)

Gone! Claimed by Diana of St. Paul, Minnesota!
Kitchen Harvest: A Cook's Guide to Growing Organic Fruits, Vegetables, and Herbs | "This is a bright, gorgeously designed book with vivid color photos and charming illustrations. A worthwhile addition to your collection if you already have some knowledge or experience with container gardening, however it lacks depth on certain matters and concepts... Still, I found the short blurbs on each type of plant helpful, right down to which exact hybrids grow best in pots and what kind of yield to expect. This is the first container gardening book I've come across to include potted trees, although I was a little disappointed to find no citrus plants were included." —Amazon.com (List price: $22.95)

Gone! Claimed by Adrienne of Mulberry, Florida!
Rodale Organic Gardening Basics: Vegetables | "Nothing beats the taste of vegetables from a home garden -- especially if they are organically grown, and it's never been easier. [This book] includes chapters on preparing the soil, choosing the right varieties for different regions of the country, the latest tools, and new vegetable breeds with increased phytonutrient and vitamin content." —Amazon.com (List price: $14.95)

UPDATE: The GLC Giveaway books for April are gone. Congrats to Adrienne, Cindy and Diana! So, go for it and get gardening. Just write in and request a free book!

Love,
The GLC Crew and keaggy.com Posted at 6:52 AM Central Time

listography: your life in lists
"The place to share creative lists of every kind: wishlists, top tens, autobiographical, photo lists, favorites, to-do lists, and more!" Posted at 6:12 AM Central Time

Why Consumers buy Mega-Brand Name Food Even when they know it's not Nutritious
"According to James Tillotson, PhD, MBA, professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University said the reason why big brand names survive, 'mega-brands maintain their strong grip on our diet because consumers, food companies, and supermarkets are intertwined in a symbiotic relationship that yields great benefits for all three.'" Posted at 7:00 AM Central Time

Spending a lot on food? Readers lead you to savings
"We asked readers to tell us how they saved money on food. And they responded. And responded. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the average family of four spends more than $8,000 a year on [groceries]." Posted at 7:44 AM Central Time

Cooking: Easy Easter
Oops. Posted this one too late: "ALL but the most essential businesses will shut. Supermarkets will close. Butchers and bakers also will take a break. Even many pubs are off limits on Good Friday for a day of hard-earned rest." Posted at 10:58 AM Central Time

Junk Science opening, April 14
The Junk Science opening went great. Thanks to everyone who stopped by! If you missed it, the show will be up for two months at COCA. I should've taken more pictures, because it actually got good and crowded, but it was so much fun just talking to everyone. This is The Grocery List Collection installation mentioned below.
Posted at 10:44 AM Central Time

700+ grocery lists tacked to a wall!
This grocery lists collection is part of my new exhibit called Junk Science: Found objects, trash photography, strange collections and accidental art. It's based on my many years of web projects at keaggy.com and here at grocerylists.org.

You'll get to see more than 700 of these lists (plus a lot of photography) on display at COCA (the Center of Creative Arts) at 524 Trinity in the University City area of St. louis, Missouri. I'd love for a bunch of folks to be there for the opening, which is Friday, April 14, from 6-8 p.m.
Posted at 6:03 AM Central Time

Crackdown on wayward carts
"It's another enemy in the battle against urban ugliness: stolen shopping carts. The carts are strewn along roadsides, under bridges and in neighborhoods. Takers range from the homeless to the poor to the elderly. But never mind who made off with the carts. Local leaders are just sick and tired of seeing them. In theory, stealing a shopping cart is punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. But police rarely catch anyone in the act." Posted at 6:12 AM Central Time

A funny thing happened on the way to the checkout counter
"Grocery store guilt. It's an ugly thing, but I experienced it just the other night. This never happens at my regular grocery store, which I usually manage to navigate with at least a modicum of decorum. But every now and then, intrigued by its glossy Monday newspaper inserts, I go to a local discount grocery just to see what tasty stuff I can buy cheap. So one recent evening I dragged my wife along and, within 10 feet of the door, was hooting at the stuff that began filling my grocery cart. 'Oooh! Oooh!' I cried. 'Look at the price on those Pringles!' 'We don't need a tube of Pringles,' my wife said. 'I couldn't agree more,' I replied. 'We need four.'" Posted at 6:11 AM Central Time

Thief Rings Up $$ After Woman Leaves Wallet At Counter
"A woman shopping at a Target store paid for her items and left. But she forgot her wallet at the checkout stand. Police say the customer behind her didn't forget it, and picked it up and walked out with it. Within two hours, police said, $1,004.38 had been charged on one of the credit cards in the woman's wallet." Posted at 6:58 AM Central Time

A bad shopping day
"When Newsline reporters went shopping, here are some of the stuff they bought off-the-shelf. These items, common in any household grocery list, had either expired, were very old or did not have any manufacturing or expiry date." Posted at 6:15 AM Central Time

Grocery lists on display!
Several hundred of the lists in this collection will be on display in my found objects/photography exhibit in St. Louis, Missouri. The gallery show is at COCA, the Center of Creative Arts, and it's based on my many years of web projects at keaggy.com and grocerylists.org. More info: keaggy.com/junkscience. The opening is Friday, April 14, from 6-8 p.m. but the show runs until June 11, 2006. Please come by! Posted at 6:37 AM Central Time

Discounters challenge grocery stores
"Jerry Morales put baby food in his Target shopping cart, which already held his 6-month-old baby, Maylene. He came to the Baldwin Park store Friday to shop for baby food, diapers and formula, which was easily found. 'They usually have everything we need right here,' Morales said. 'It's easier for us.' The Baldwin Park Target has expanded its grocery offerings in recent years, growing from about four food aisles and four coolers to 15 aisles and 33 coolers and freezers, store manager Gilbert Diaz said." Posted at 6:19 AM Central Time

Beyond loaves and fishes
"A line of people snaked through the Howard Christian Church, out the door and down the sidewalk as hundreds of families waited for boxes of food on a recent Saturday morning. In the next county over, at West Side United Methodist Church in Clearfield, the scene was repeated as people lined up to claim 1,330 boxes of food. The churches are distribution points for Angel Food Ministries, a Georgia-based nonprofit organization that puts about $50 worth of food -- enough to feed four people for a week -- in the hands of people for $25." Posted at 6:16 AM Central Time

Get the pizza boxes out of that recycling cart, pardner
"Some Fort Worth residents are bemoaning the fact that city employees are snooping through recycling carts at curbside to determine if they are contaminated with household garbage or other nonrecyclable items... Residents should be happy about this enforcement crackdown. Recycling carts contaminated with household garbage and other nonrecyclables are a costly headache." Posted at 4:10 PM Central Time