For those of you who aren’t familiar with Big Lots, it’s like a dollar store only bigger with a much wider selection of consumer goods.
As I walked quickly up and down the aisles trying to find a cheap, medium sized cooler, I suddenly came to a screeching halt when I spied out of the corner of my eye…
No it can’t be!
There in plain view on one of the main aisle end caps …
A prominent and very wide selection of Bob’s Red Mill Baking Supply Products!
Talk about out of place!
Nestled in amongst the cases of jumbo bags, boxes, and cans of ultra cheap, junky, no redeeming quality whatsoever, processed foods is this healthy selection of whole, grain based foods that appeals to Real Food Snobs like me!
Organic quinoa, old fashioned rolled oats, flaxseed meal, 7 grain hot cereal, even some gluten free pancake mix … bag after bag of stuff you would expect to find on an endcap at the healthfood store. Such products are not typically found even at a grocery store (unless in the very small “healthfood section”) let alone a Big Lots (I consider Big Lots a step down even from the supermarket).
Granted, few of the products were organic and there was no arrowroot powder to be found (that really would have wigged me out as I had just picked up a bag of Bob’s RedMill Arrowroot powder earlier in the day at the healthfood store to whip up some grain free ginger snaps for the kids’ lunches).
From what I can surmise, this aberration at the neighborhood Big Lots means one of two things:
- The Southeast Regional buyer for Big Lots is a major health nut.
- Real Food is indeed making some serious inroads into mainstream America.
I tend to think the latter reason is most plausible. There is no way a buyer for Big Lots would put his/her career on the line ordering a bunch of healthfood type products to be displayed so prominently on the endcap of a main aisle unless a profit could reliably be made – no matter what his/her culinary predilections.
So, here I am, still in shock at seeing Real Food products in a budget conscious, stripped down, bare bones retail establishment.
Have you had a Twilight Zone moment with Real Food in an unconventional setting? Tell us about it!
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist.com
Sarah Pope has been a Health and Nutrition Educator since 2002. Her work is dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. She is a sought after lecturer around the world for conferences, summits, and podcasts.
Her work has been covered by major media including USA Today, ABC, NBC, and many others.
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Be careful! At my local Big Lots some of the foods were expired. Their Cascadian Farm Organic cereals were expired too!!
Yes, they have Bob’s Red Mill at Big Lots in Michigan. It makes me wonder if Big Lots gets ‘older’, less fresh items (this applies to grains, seeds and starch as well, doesn’t it) ? There are also some other healthier items at Big Lots occasionally. I’ve seen Nature’s Path organic oatmeal and some other things. But it comes and goes.
Unfortunately, most of what is sold at Big Lots is there because it’s being discontinued.