The grocery store effect

For some time now (a year?  longer?), Jeff has taken over a very important aspect to keeping our family running smoothly....grocery shopping. 

95% of the time, he has his sidekick Sam with him and they descend upon Wegman's -- usually Sunday mornings (while Ian is in religious school) or some time during the weekend.  I do the menu for the upcoming week, write out the grocery list and hand-off the recyclable bags.  They do an awesome job! 

It was originally hard to give up control, but we've seen a huge impact on our grocery store charges.

I go to Wegman's with the same exact list I send Jeff with:  It costs an average of $240 to $260 each week.

Jeff goes to Wegman's:  Spends on average $130 to $140 each week.  One week he only spent $97!

Um, hello!  You don't have to knock me over with a feather to let me know its in our best interest to let Jeff do the grocery shopping.  I am impressed!  He sticks to the list and doesn't get easily sidetracked or tempted with unneeded items that look so appealing sitting there on the shelves.

Most weeks, Jeff will include one or two new items he finds that are Gluten-Free.  The latest surprise was a frozen pizza wrap.  Yum-O!  And he always manages to bring home a frosted cookie from the bakery for Ian.  Sam devours her during the grocery shopping.

I used to have help unpack the groceries with one eye closed.  It was hard to see the milk being so close to expiring or the huge quantities of yogurt that wasn't needed or going to be eaten within the amount of time needed.  Or finding a kosher, barbecue rotisserie chicken when I asked for a plain-flavored rotisserie chicken.  But no more!  It's been a few months since Jeff has messed anything up.  He certainly has gotten into a good groove.

The most adorable thing was when I came into the kitchen one Sunday morning and saw Jeff taking 409 to the inside of each of the Wegman's bags.  We had just seen a news report on how there is a good amount of bacteria breeding in these bags.  Jeff took it upon himself to make sure the bags were clean.

A big shout-out to Jeff who does an outstanding job (and I don't mean learning where to find all the food!).  Is it just me or does Wegman's change the placement of produce a ridiculous number of times?   And don't get me started on the mexican food aisle or the canned goods. It's a good thing I am not in there as much as I used to be.