Supermarket Sweep

My addiction to the Corner Store began freshman year. At the time, it was the only place on campus to get good ice cream. The selection of normal food – laxative-free – is why I have continued to shop there. It is a refuge from the day-to-day meal options on campus. Many of my suitemates often frequent the Corner Store to meet their various culinary needs. When we find the time, a few of us prefer cooking to the indigestion of Danforth. Yet the Corner Store does have one negative, one very large downfall – the ridiculously exorbitant prices. Anyone who has ever visited Wegmans, or any other supermarket, immediately recognizes the difference. Every item at the Corner Store, from the cereal to the laundry detergent has been inflated from the reasonable prices found in any grocery store. After a little investigation, I discovered that the pricing difference between Wegmans and the Corner Store is drastic. A box of Cheerios at Wegmans costs $2.50, while the Corner Store charges $5.69. Such inflation is standard for the items in the Corner Store. Even the organic products, such as the Fig Newmans, are priced more than $1.00 over the Wegmans prices. Oddly enough, these excessive prices do not affect me much. Others may feel stripped of cash, but with my $1,500 Declining Dollar meal plan, I have not yet run into problems. I often find that by the end of the semester I am buying extra food just to use what is left of my meal plan. Spending my Declining on such ridiculously priced items has yet to phase me. Declining Dollars seem like play money. While I may be covered by such an excessive amount of Declining Dollars, many other students need to budget their Declining expenses in order to last through the semester. Before spring break, my best friend was attempting to save the $32 of Declining she still had. While it is no surprise that the Corner Store is unreasonably expensive, it is shocking to learn that after having compared the price of a basket of goods at Wegmans and at the Corner Store, the Declining Dollar is equivalent to $1.53 of real money. However, the question still remains – why are Corner Store prices so high? Last semester, a comment card hanging in the store explained it all. The circulation of Wegmans is greater and therefore they can afford to purchase items in bulk. A campus of 4,000 undergraduates, however, does not quite merit bulk purchases to imitate the Wegmans empire. While Wegmans may be a wiser financial choice, the Corner Store suits my excessive meal plan and its convenience can’t be beat. Whether you are visiting to pick up cereal, tomato soup or one of the hot employees, the Corner Store remains the only place on campus to get Hagen-Dazs butter pecan ice cream.