Why do millennials hate groceries? | Hacker News Reader

Why do millennials hate groceries?

theatlantic.com

11 pointsapurvadave9 comments

What the heck are they talking about? CVS and "convenience" stores charge massive markups compared to an ordinary supermarket, or if you can find one, an ethnic grocer or farm stand.

This confirms for me that I have to spite cultural forecasters by making shakshuka at home tonight.

I'm a grad student, a shopping trip is expensive (time+cost). Walmart makes sense for me as we have a school shuttle that stops near one. None which ply along the route of a supermarket.

Supermarkets carry lowest-common-denominator items. I end up alternating between which store I shop at because none of them carry all of the items I need every week. And if I had a busy weekend with little time to shop, I'll spend more money and go to a small, local market because I can be in-and-out in 15-20 minutes.

Plus, the cost difference between eating out and easy-to-make food has been shrinking recently -- unless you buy the absolute bottom-bin stuff. So why would I spend $5 on an Amy's frozen Indian meal when I can get the real thing, fresh made from the restaurant for $8?

> So why would I spend $5 on an Amy's frozen Indian meal when I can get the real thing, fresh made from the restaurant for $8?

Has frozen ever been cost efficient? Seems like the better comparison would be homemade vs. the restaurant meal. (If we're comparing based on cost, not on time/convenience.)

> (If we're comparing based on cost, not on time/convenience.)

Which is exactly what we are comparing. I specifically said easy-to-make because naturally, making things from scratch can be extremely cheap, but people don't always have the time, energy or even skill to do that.

It's especially apparent for single people or couples without kids. I can get two burrito bowls from Chipotle for $15 on my way home and not have any dishes to clean up, spend $9 on home made fajitas + an hour cooking & cleaning, or and $12 on frozen enchiladas and just do dishes afterwards.

So, in my world (and probably that of most childless millenials), restaurants and ready-made meals are in competition for my meal dollars to some degree. After comparing the overall costs, we've just decided that our two busy-day dinners will be 1) pasta and 2) Chipotle -- as in, we literally plan eating out on our weekly menu. It's tastier, fresher, and probably more healthy too (than frozen/boxed meals).

But isn't there an inherent cost associated with time. Time which I could otherwise spend elsewhere?

This has been one of the most compelling arguments for a superfood like Soylent for me. All required nutrients, none of the hassles.

It's specialization at work really, restaurants really do scale better than at home cooking. At some point, it becomes cheaper to eat out than to maintain a stocked fridge and tooled kitchen.

Reminds me of living in the college town near campus; no grocery stores within walking distance, but there were plenty of bars and restaurants.

Corollary, is the money being saved from the recent trend of skipping breakfast influencing an increase in spending at restaurants and to a lesser extent bars?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com