Life at the Grocery Store - 1950s & 1960s America

Take a stroll down the aisles of your typical 1950's and 1960's American grocery store. Grocery stores of that time period were a lot smaller and carried a lot less variety of products compared with today but inventions like shopping carts and plastic wrap would change the grocery shopping landscape forever.
#1950s #1960s #americana
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[@wesmcgee1648]

With three growing boys born in the 50s, grocery shopping was my mom's hobby through the 60s and 70s. God bless her soul.

[@lesliehoncharik1289]

It was FUN grocery shopping in the 1960s. Now its just a hassle and you check yourself out. Some places you also bag your own purchases. These days you just want to get in and out as fast as possible. Back in the day it was a leisurely activity. Those were the days.

[@markclifford1857]

Hello 👋 Leslie. How are you doing ? Hope you are fine. I'm Mark Clifford and am from Denver Colorado, Where are you from? You seem like a real country girl

[@packard5682]

When I was a kid living in a small agricultural town of about 600 people in southwest Nebraska back in the early 1960's, my mom and I would go to a small market called 'Fitzers'. The size of the store was probably 40' x 60'. We would take our purchases to the check out and the owner of the store would ring us up and call out the price of each item hitting the buttons for the price of each item and at the end hit a button on the cash register and it would make a lot of noise printing out the tape. He would then ask if we wanted to pay for it now or put it on our 'tab'! My mom always paid the grocery bill the first of the month. She would sign the ticket. At the end of the month, we would get a bill. Mr. Fitzer made a very good living out of that little store!

[@puntinprincess7343]

What a wonderful memory , thanks for sharing.

[@TwoSidesOutReach]

That’s so awesome. Man wish we was back in those times or even the 80’s 90’s just seems like now everything is becoming a bot an can’t trust anyone anymore it’s sad

[@Nadir-vw9ep]

I love the 60s wish I was born in that era or in 1914 - 1918

[@suemar63]

I love these videos looking back on the way things were. So fun to see the prices! And everyone dressed so nicely and were so slim. Sure do miss those times..............

[@Dragongod462]

Foods are more processed now than back then. You ate the food and your body got the nutrients it needed. Now you need to eat more as less nutrients and more fats and sugars are in our food hence fat people everywhere.

[@marshasweigart8506]

As a 16-yr. old teenager in 1980, I worked in a small town grocery store.We still had paper bags and bag boys at every register. We also had a carport for people who wanted their groceries put into their cars for them.

[@brucesturton8521]

I remember that I worked at a dominion grocery store from 1974 to 1979 up in Toronto Ontario Canada.

[@mikeweizer3149]

Marsha sweigart I see something similar with the local Heinins here in the Cleveland area!.

[@aaronwilliams6989]

I remember that, too.

[@Juju-l3o]

Things are so much convenient these days but things were much better back then.

[@itinerantpatriot1196]

When I was growing up we had three grocery stores within walking distance of our house. Unfortunately, the neighborhood got so bad that eventually all three shut down. They got tired of all the shoplifting and armed robberies. The last one folded in the late 1980s and there wasn't another one in the area until they tore down my old high school in 2012 and a Myers Superstore was built on the old location. And before you say it, no, they didn't close down because of Walmart. There has never been a Walmart in the neighborhood. It was the high crime rate that closed them down. Think about that when a DA talks about not prosecuting theft below $900. Sooner or later, businesses in those areas will leave, just like they abandoned my old neighborhood. In the end, the law of diminishing returns always prevails.

[@jasonnorthcutt4008]

I'm betting you've got plenty of diversity though

[@Gr13fKvlt]

@@jasonnorthcutt4008 LOL

[@bobmackay3414]

Patriot, You must be talking about Redford High School in Detroit near Grand River Ave. and McNichols ( 6 Mile Road )

[@jamesrobiscoe1174]

@@bobmackay3414 And I went to Cody (West Chicago near Southfield) from '58-'62. We had a local market but my folks often went to an A&P, where they could pick up 2 large paper bags of food for around $20, more or less. I liked the task of grinding the pound bags of coffee beans set up in the aisle. Freshly ground coffee...ah...

[@bonniem3754]

Like my old neighborhood in Hawthorne California!

[@aimee-lynndonovan6077]

The paper bags actually held up! Unlike nowadays!

[@nicholasdavidson5683]

I would like to have an example from then. I work at a supermarket. The paper ones for online deliveries hold up okay but they are still quite thin (a competitor uses an even thinner paper bag which rips using the same force on the bags as I do for our ones at work) Those old ones look super strong

[@asteverino8569]

So many things under one dollar. Thanks for these pics and narration. 😘

[@HeatherB81]

I absolutely love how women were always dressed so nice and looked put together… even when going to the grocery store!

[@ant-1382]

I can still remember my Mom putting her hair up in rollers, and getting dressed up to go shopping. Wouldn't be caught dead being out in public without looking her best. She is still with us, doesn't do that anymore.

[@HeatherB81]

@@ant-1382 isn’t that so interesting! I love the individuality of todays culture, but I also kinda wish it was still expected to look presentable when we step out.

[@fob1xxl]

That was before the 60's and women's lib hit ! Then it was, "I'm not wearing a dress ! I'm not wearing a bra ! I'll wear pants if I want to ! The lady Era was over !

[@iitsmadii]

@@fob1xxlthe era before that was harmful, having to conform to societies standards was damaging for both men and women. Also, yes, I want to wear pants. Thanks.

[@thenormalguy6683]

My grandparents had a corner grocery store from the 20's to the 60's. Supermarkets coming to town in the 50's ruined them. They went to their graves despising supermarkets. Ironically though, my parents opened a small meat market/grocery store in 1977, and retired in 1996. They did phenomenal business! Why was that? Because people were tired of the non-personal, piss poor customer service and lousy meat the supermarkets offered.

[@wesmcgee1648]

In the 60s and 70s we had 6 small mom and pop stores in my rural hometown. They all flourished until about 1980, then they all disappeared never to return .

[@keiththomas3141]

I loved the small corner grocery store of the 50's and 60's. I used to go with my grandmother to a corner grocery store that served her well in the 1940's during WWII. That was a neat little store that had everything. I can see why you liked them so much. Lots of personalized service. I really miss them.

[@jeffcarlson3269]

@Michael Nazaruk.. exactly what I stated in my comment above... nothing was mentioned about the ma and pa stores of yester year.. yet the video is titled stores of the 50's and 60's... what 50's were shown?....

[@denisefarmer366]

Supermarkets didn't appear until late 60's, early 70's. It was just smaller grocery stores. I believe Kroger was the first supermarket which was three or four times the size of a grocery store like neighborhood A&P or IGA.

[@AG.services.Gone.Wild.]

Hopefully it will come back

[@troyspain7073]

I remember that horse! God I loved him. Drove my mother crazy, now I am almost 60 and have horses of my own some things just don't change.

[@snowysnowyriver]

Two things are really striking about this (and other videos from this 1950s time period).... how people are so neatly dressed, and also there are few overweight people and no grossly obese people. We may have bigger stores and more choice but we are not healthier.

[@monicaqueenan9985]

Portion sizes increased by the 1980s and never went back. "Would you like that supersized?" All contributed to the BMI problems we have in this country.

[@denisefarmer366]

Yup..... Obesity was almost non existent in the 50's. Even the 60's & 70's didn't have much obesity. But in the 60's some fast food chains started appearing, like Burger King. Up until then McDonald's was it.... and their menu had maybe only 5 items until the mid 60's. Anyone over 70 will remember that and those over 65 might also remember. McD's in the 50's had burgers 10¢, cheese burgers 15¢, fries 15¢, shakes and cokes. Feed a family of 4 for about $2.50. Amazing, huh.

[@monicaqueenan9985]

I do remember. Also (another 80s thing) coffee shops in Malls began showcasing cookies nearly the size of salad plates. Fast/Casual restaurants started serving meals on platters, not plates. People may have thought splitting food with others, or doggie bags were gauche. Devouring the food in one sitting became commonplace. Who knows? It doesn't take long for oversized portions to become the appropriate size in one's mind.

[@bentonrp]

Fatty foods aren't the real problem. Cholesterol isn't the real problem. Gluten isn't the real problem. Portion size isn't the real problem. Incorrect Ph Balance isn't the real problem. Carbohydrates aren't the real problem. A lifestyle lacking in exercise isn't the real problem. Preservatives aren't the real problem. Inorganic meals aren't the real problem. Lacking in vitamins and minerals isn't the real problem. Calories aren't the real problem. Meals that aren't Keto or Paleo aren't the real problem. The real problem is that most of us are simply and purely Being Poisoned... by machine processed plant oils, known commonly as vegetable oils. They are snuck into our foods everywhere under the moniker of: Corn Oil, Palm Oil, Vegetable Oil, Soybean Oil, etc. But they are not these things. They are processed, they are not healthy, and they are not food, but rather they are poison. The solution to ending the misery (of always eating health food, always working out, but somehow remaining fat) is a simple one; It is a matter of stopping from putting the actual Poison in your body. Then you will live like I do (as appose to how I used to helplessly be), and you live like they did in the 1950's before by-product was mass-manufactured for nearly all of our foods' ingredients on a massive scale. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qILQoomMorJ1ac0 It's all in this video I found, but I won't bore you - I'll cut to the chase: The machines they use to process these inedible plant parts they used to just trash (like the stem, the stock, the leaves, the seeds) do not care how many millions of rotations it has to make to get a teaspoon of vegetable oil; the machine will do it anyway. The problem is, a teaspoon of this type of vegetable oil is actually a lot for our bodies to take, and our bodies malfunction while trying to digest this stuff. We only eat a microscopic amount of vegetable oil when we eat the actual vegetables, and the amount is so small it cannot adversely affect us. (It wasn't an amount manufactured from the direct result of a thousand pounds of processed plant parts.) But when we remove the vegetables to help our bodies process this oil, then there is no appropriate type of nutrient or fiber to help it, and our bodies see it as 'Poison.' The digestive track is trying to get rid of it, but it is in pain, because this pure vegetable oil breaks down into something else too easily: This "breaking down" (when it hits oxygen) kills cells, attacking their mitochondria, our energy levels. (I do feel like I have a kid's energy again after simply avoiding products with any sort of plant-based oil in their list of ingredients, btw. This means nearly always avoiding cookies, cakes, and even crackers, which is sadly, the toughest part of this whole diet...) That's why olive oil should come in a dark vial, because it oxidizes quickly. But, aside from coconut oil (lowest oxidation), it is better for you than the other oils, because the other oils can't be stored in a dark vial to help them stay pure - they ALL oxidize anyway, immediately and right from the start. That is why they are poison. The 1950's had Crisco, which was also poison (sunflower seed oil or cottonseed oil). But they didn't eat Crisco by the meal-size the way we commonly eat entire meals made mostly of vegetable oils. So, they poisoned themselves a lot less. They cooked Crisco, which oxidizes its plant oils and turns it into this Poison (which explains why some of them are fat), but they didn't have it as a main food ingredient that was infused within the meal itself, as if it was a primary food ingredient, like many today now have to experience. They are usually thin because most of them cooked with animal fat (talo which is beef fat, lard which is pig fat) or butter. Contrary to belief, these saturated fats do not oxidize quickly and will keep you thin if you eat them with meals. Contrary to popular belief, these are the good fats, whereas mono-unsaturated fat, and especially poly-unsaturated fat are the bad fats. ALL because they oxidize quickly, to spare you the scientific details (oleic acids, and whatnot). I have been cooking with butter instead. I have been eating all the red meat I want. As well as ice cream, sugar, candy, dairy, ALL the bad stuff. I am much thinner, healthier and energetic than when I exercised hard cardio every day and stuck to health food. Like a kid, I have no stomach cramps or pains when I move around or strike a weird pose. I feel healthier and better repaired in the gut, the joints and in the mind. I have now become, for the first time in my life, one of those happy people who stays thin and healthy but eats like crap... ...ALL because of only doing one thing; And that is: I look at the ingredients when I shop, and if any sort of plant-based oil is in their primary list of ingredients... I choose another product. With the exception of coconut oil and olive oil, which don't oxidize too much, so they're fine. A majority of Americans can eat whatever junk food they want and still stay thin and healthy, as long as they simply stop POISONING themselves first, and that is really ALL it takes! In other words: I avoid from putting the Actual POISON inside of my body. 😊 I hope this helps!

[@Iceechibi]

@@bentonrp That’s actually false. Car-centric America is the main cause of obesity. We still had trollies and trams in suburbs and cities up until the 60s. Then, every white family wanted to be away from the unwanted of society, so they moved into suburbs with low-density housing.

[@RugMann]

I was born in the year of the new millennium. Im so grateful there's old pictures and footage like this that can allow future generations to experience our past first hand. I always feel nostalgic seeing old photos of the mid-century despite never actually living it myself.

[@luisreyes1963]

The one thing I miss about going to the supermarket is getting S&H Green Stamps after the purchase was made. At least some supermarkets now feature self checkout stations. 🙂

[@sherrieoneillthompson7061]

Was thinking about those stamps a couple of days ago. And the collect all the pieces China.

[@johnbockelie3899]

Walk into a store now and people run you down without saying a thing.

[@rareform6747]

Obama Biden put that away yesterday today !

[@MisterMikeTexas]

Haven't seen those stamps in 40 years! As for self-checkout lanes, it's fun to do the staff's job for free without discounts.

[@carolynridlon3988]

I also remember both s&h stamps and blue chip stamps - growing up my parents collected them both and we loved going to the redemption center in Stockton CA to see what my parents would get to add to our home.

[@knobdikker]

All those "June Cleavers" out buying groceries! What a wonderful time to be a kid!

[@HelloooThere]

Bybth3 80s, those June Cleavers all looked twenty years older than they actually were and became old maids!

[@HelloooThere]

By the 80s, those June Cleavers all looked twenty years older than they actually were and became old maids!

[@knobdikker]

Shopping carts 🛒 are properly called "a buggy or buggies" in the Southern USA

[@mrs.g.9816]

I remember the A&P in my hometown. Around Christmas, they would have toys perched above the food shelves in the center of the store. The floors were wood, the ceilings were embossed tin, and there were wooden ceiling fans. At each checkout counter, they had coffee grinding machines for their Eight O'Clock and Bokar coffees. I loved smelling the coffee. Back in the 1960's, Mom always dressed up to go shopping, even in the summer, even if we were far from wealthy. She always had something snarky to say about women who came into the store with curlers in their hair or wearing shorts and tank tops.

[@spankynater4242]

Ha ha so not everybody dressed up to go to the grocery store. Thanks for clarifying that.

[@imzackson]

great video the folks took much better care of them selves back then!!!!!!

[@joconnor9256]

Love the way people dressed up to go shopping , don’t know about in the US but here in Australia you see some sights 🙄 especially in the winter months , people actually go to grocery shops in their PJs and dressing gowns

[@3713msg]

We see that here in the USA as well. Usually Walmart has the market cornered on the slobs, including the most obese human beings one has ever seen.

[@lb9031]

in the 50s, my family got dressed up to go shopping every Saturday night.

[@jeffcarlson3269]

@Jo Connor... heck.. my parents would get dressed up to go to the taverns.. which was our Saturday routine for many years.... Store at 10 A.M... then tavern hopping with us kids in tow.. from 11 A.M. till close to Midnight... many times I had to beg and cry for the folks to put their beers down so I could get home in time to watch Sci-Fi.. movie theater on at 10:30.. they usually didn't balk too much when we hissed a fit.. cuz after drinking for 9 hours or so they were pretty much 3 sheets to the wind....and as they staggered in the house.. sloppy drunk they pretty much did not care what show I watched.. even though Dad controlled the TV...

[@andynieuwenhuis7833]

@@lb9031 That was the normal dress code in that time; it was Still Very good EVEN INTO the 70's. Sometimes you'd see a woman or two wearing curlers in their hair.

[@spankynater4242]

Pajamas is also a thing in America.

[@mr.mendez9378]

They didn’t mention that some stores and most gas stations issued blue chip or S&W stamps, that one could redeem and purchase items from their respective catalogs. Great times, thanks for the memories.

[@luisreyes1963]

I think you meant S&H Green Stamps.

[@mr.mendez9378]

@@luisreyes1963 blue chip stamps existed as well. I bought a Spaulding baseball glove at the redemption center as they were called in those days back in 1971.

[@balerjohnson3099]

When I was kid we had several small neighborhood grocery stores in our town . many of the buildings remain today . I remember my Grandma sending me at 5 years and my brother 4 years old to Greens grocery in Miami Ok to get" Ott"s salad dressing" before dinner at her house ..Greens was about 3 to 4 blocks away ? It was a different time ..we never locked our doors or worried about crime or letting the kids play in the neighborhood at young ages and we all survived and were happy .

[@mr.bnatural3700]

It all went to hell while us boomers were in charge. We Boomers are 100% responsible what society is like today; we made it that way.

[@jeffcarlson3269]

@baler johnson.. did your folks ever have you make a cigarette run for them..?.. my mom would send us to the store 4 blocks away to pick up smokes in a blizzard if she needed them.. we didn't mind cuz she would give us each a nickel to buy some candy or gum for ourselves... all that stopped when I got to the store one day...and they refused to sell me cigarettes.. because I was too young... 8. years old... .. they said my mom would have to send a note with me.. I did not enjoy going there twice,, that day... cigs were 25 cents a pack...

[@balerjohnson3099]

@@jeffcarlson3269 Same here Jeff and I also remember when they started asking for a note so they could sell me the cigarettes . Sounds like we are about the same age .

[@badexter1]

You know I used to think it was just the way old black and white movies portrayed characters but it looks like in those days people really did dress up to go to the store. That is a novel type of Self Respect and to be commended..BD

[@glennso47]

People actually dressed up going just about everywhere, even to baseball games.

[@troymartin4260]

Well forgive me if during the summer when it's 95 degrees I don't wanna dress in an expensive 3 piece suit just to get a gallon of milk

[@bonniebester606]

Land Sakes l love watching These! 💝

[@ant-1382]

Remember when they had scales in the produce dept. so you could weigh your vegies, been so long since they had these I had forgotten about them.

[@choward5430]

My brother and I would sprint full speed down the isles of the grocery store. This was in the mid-60s. We'd wait till an isle was clear lol.

[@Stache987]

In Higginsville MO, there was a small Piggly Wiggly, some of the filler brands came from Associated Wholesale Grocers I think. Sadly the last time I went in town for something to drink while I had business in town, the store was closed for good. I remember a device my mother bought in the early 70s which was old-fashioned as it was, it fit in your palm and had four buttons, ten dollars, dollars, dimes and cents, and maybe a button on the side to either reverse a digit at a time, or reset, I don't remember it's functional purpose, but you pushed appropriate buttons to match the price. I still found one of these in the 90s, I lived with a person who was poor with budgeting how much was in the cart, to avoid send backs at the register I used one.. one night we had been out after work, that kind of out, and went shopping after, we had a little on this card and a little bit on another etc. left. We were trying to trim the bill, and he opened the freezer on a end cap and placed a bottle of shampoo in there. Anytime he was referring to that kind of place clear up until he passed, he'd still call it the "shampoo aisle"

[@user-xk4wj6ge5b]

I grew up in Italy. We had good food. No soda only sometimes.

[@bellawright4265]

Remember when pepsi was 10 cents a bottle plus 2 cents deposit. Find 5 empty bottles and get a soda or pack of ball cards and candy bar.

[@dremadumitrescu6546]

If it were still that way we wouldn't have a glass shortage. Great times! I miss those days.

[@jasonnorthcutt4008]

I'm not quite that old but I remember tencent deposits cold drinks. I remember walking to the store my feet in the ditch feeling for bottles. Normally by the time I made it to the store I have enough bottles for a Coke and a candy bar for free. That was in a rural Tennessee in the 70s. Back before the whole world went mad.

[@Hopeless_and_Forlorn]

It is certainly true that we have a much greater selection of items today than we did when I worked part time at an A&P after school in 1959. However, much of the apparent proliferation of choices is the result of manufacturers vying for additional shelf space by producing endless variations on the basic products that we all look for. The result, of course, is that you cannot find the can of plain old tomato soup you need because it has been crowded out by the stupid variety of riffs on the theme on tomato soup. If there is shelf room for only six cans of the original product, those cans will likely disappear before you get there, leaving only the over-fiddled lookalikes that you don't want. Progress?

[@aunch3]

It’s amazing how much better the Boomers had it. My grandparents bought a house in SF for $20k on a working man’s wage. All it took was hard work. That house is worth millions now. I could work 200 hours a week making $40 and hour and still wouldn’t come close to affording it.

[@iitsmadii]

Hard work just isn’t much anymore, people can barely afford rent.

[@hebneh]

Keep in mind there WERE large supermarkets during this period in addition to the smaller neighborhood ones, the latter of which could be independent or part of a chain.

[@thomaslucas6403]

I remember these type in the 1960s from the time I was 7 years old to 12. When I was 12 in 1967 my parents started shopping at Lucky market.

[@Walkercolt1]

There were GROCERY stores on almost every corner that were small, then there were SUPERMARKETS that had MORE food items than Wally-World does! I started in 1966 working at the smallest Safeway in Tulsa as a "sacker". That meant I carried your groceries to your car, mopped floors, cleaned bathrooms, washed windows, stocked shelves. We carried 270,000 FOOD ITEMS. That's 50% MORE than a Wally-World according to a friend who's a manager who goes to my church. We didn't carry 15 SIZES and 12 BRANDS of ketchup, but we carried FAR more DIFFERENT items than "super stores" carry today. And Safeway didn't carry the selection of items that Foodtown or Warehouse Market did much less Wolfermann's! We didn't sell Rice-a-Roni!

[@51-FS]

Was it the safe way out north?

[@michaelmullin3585]

What runs supermarkets today is this: "if not everybody wants it, nobody gets it."

[@MisterMikeTexas]

@@michaelmullin3585 But then it makes no fiscal sense to carry what ain't selling.

[@goblue9828]

In light of the economic trouble ahead are we in for a return this style of shopping? Smaller grocery stores and more localized? I see so many comments on social media pining for many of the quaint and more personal experiences that was provided by lifestyles of the less materialistic, well relatively speaking.

[@bgraham928]

This is a neat video - thanks for posting. I live in a small urban neighborhood where there are no more supermarkets in the downtown area except the highway drag. Most of the grocery stores downtown are small and independently owned. And many have the uniqueness and charm these old stores had in their time.

[@paulbroderick8438]

Wow, the ladies dressed beautifully back then. I suppose general income easily supported such style!

[@mr.bnatural3700]

Women went to the grocery store in curlers. Smoking Salems in the store.

[@sandyjuntunen4088]

@@mr.bnatural3700 even when they were poor or sloppy people dressed better then. Ladies wore much more modest clothing, usually dresses, and you never saw men in shorts.

[@mr.bnatural3700]

@@sandyjuntunen4088 people dressed in what clothes were available at the time. They didn't dress up, they just got dressed. Did you live in the 50s & 60s? I did. But I lived on the coast of California; it was more casual even then.

[@denisefarmer366]

People back then did not wear pj's to the store which you can see just about any day at any Walmart. Let's face it, it was a completely different time when folks were more careful of how they dressed in public. My God, the entire world is upside down now. And I wouldn't call it progress.

[@evelynsaungikar3553]

2 ‘going out’ dresses, 3 ‘house’ dresses and an apron!

[@dremadumitrescu6546]

I miss the simpler times!

[@rkninrknin4610]

Yes back.then most food stuff was made in america no quality issues

[@MisterMikeTexas]

Before we had corporations and politicians (such as Beijing Biden and Senator Menace McConnell) in bed with the enemy, Communist China!

[@fob1xxl]

Growing up in the early 50's in San Jose, CA, we lived across the street from one of the first supermarkets. It was family owned by the YEE Family and called "DICK'S" ! I KNOW, I KNOW ! 😂😂Anyway they had everything ! Bread was 21 cents a loaf. Milk was 17 cents a quart. THEY were the first ones to have a full frozen food section. That's where I talked my mom into buying me my first TV Dinner, fried chicken, I think, which she didn't want to do, because she said , "That's not food" ! We were Italian, so my mom always cooked every meal with fresh food !The store even had a FOUNTAIN ! My older sister and I would go there and buy a hamburger and cherry coke at least once a week. It was only like 50 cents ! Once during the summer, I ran across the main street like I always did to go to the store, I was about 9 or 10 and I almost got hit by a double trailer truck headed to the freeway ! It made such a screeching sound I ran inside and hid in the back of the store! Two weeks later, my cousin, who was 3 years older than me, happened to be in the parking lot that day and snitched to my parents ! Ah.......growing up in the 50's. What great memories !

[@2degucitas]

Back in the 80's being a cashier could earn you good money. Our local chain store, Meijer bragged their aisles were so wide you could drive a car down them. They took pics of Fred Meijer standing in a 3 wheel European mini car smack in the canned foods section!

[@rockeerockey6941]

Notice how the shoppers are nicely dressed, unlike today

[@jefffriedberg]

Sound track was great. Had me tapping my toes. But the pics left me cold.

[@margaretnewton6409]

People really dressed that way mostly, when shopping.

[@paulhazel5754]

we didnt need so much stuff back then , and what there was, was good.

[@rick_terscale1111]

These days there's virutally no cellophane on any fresh produce. Only some prepacks. And meat is covered with plastic wrap.

[@janyceboschman3122]

Grocery stores were sometimes called a mums and pops store

[@anthonycassata5152]

I like all this and the cool music.🤓

[@mikeperry6794]

I still shop at a local 10,000 square foot grocery store. The owners are great people and they know us!

[@sherrieoneillthompson7061]

When I was about 5 in 1950 I remember waiting for watermelons to get down to 4 cents a pound. The selection was a huge decision. Standard all green or the green and white striped. And tapping many to hear the "thump"! Then the Big Test. The produce manager would " plug" the chosen one. A device he had created a small triangle shaped piece of the melon to taste. What an adventure for a young child!! This old lady today wonders what happened to the melons who failed the "Plug Test" ? Lol

[@spankynater4242]

They chopped them up, put them in a plastic box, and sold them as sliced watermelon.

[@bbrcummins1984]

Going to the grocery store nowdays is a nightmare

[@kck9742]

It is, I hate it! I used to work at Publix back in the 90s as a college kid, and back then it was a nice store with great customer service. Not anymore... the apathy is palpable. But that's everywhere these days.

[@Juju-l3o]

I love these videos ❤

[@spankynater4242]

I would also assume that the invention of and availability of electric refrigerators, and the greater availability of processed food, allowed people to buy more at once. Prior to that, I’m guessing they had to buy fewer items, because they would spoil quicker.

[@ant-1382]

To this day, I shop pretty much on a daily basis. Buy what I need for that day, maybe grab a little extra of something I like if it's on sale.

[@ryohn5468]

I grew up in 1970s small town Ohio. IGA and Kroger. I knew all the employees even though I was a child. It was a pleasant experience then. I used to make my parents mad though by putting things in the cart we really didn't need. Like certain cereals and TV dinners and drinks. That aside I thought shopping was a fun experience compared to today.

[@karrenpopovics2780]

I worked in ACME in the late 60's..manually entered prices, had to add and subtract in your head and double bagged groceries. Also had green stamps. 2 customers had a debate over green stamp values. No light to put on for help. Went to manager and when I returned customers left with unpaid groceries. Guess who paid for the groceries? I did the second time! The best of times and the worst of times💝

[@justjokinntokin5474]

0:37 😃 Those cars! 😃

[@jeffreychesters5364]

You can see the beginnings of plastic in this video. " Buying lettuce is nicer like this !"

[@jeffevans3193]

My mother loved the idea of one stop shop before grocery stores we would go the the veggy market the the bakery oh that smell lastly the butcher.

[@robertgambino6966]

I remember butcher paper and no plastic stickers on the fruit bananas etc, Fresh grd coffee.Everyone was friendly and the baggers walked groceries to your car.So much waste and plastics are unnecessary.Miss the past in many ways better.And we haven't learned from it.

[@jefffriedberg]

I do not recall any of the 12%-14% folks being in the supermarket back then? There has been a supermarket at the one location since 1948. Now it serves practically all muslin food and goods. And the entire area has gone from snowy to mostly muslin and/or mau-mau. This was at 4301 Walnut St, in Philly.

[@kenbob1071]

er, ok.

[@sandyjuntunen4088]

We were invaded, courtesy Obama.

[@jefffriedberg]

@@sandyjuntunen4088 I agree. He wuz da won.

[@jasonnorthcutt4008]

@@sandyjuntunen4088 it actually started far before him he just amplified it. Look up the Hart Celler Act 1965. That's when the politicians stabbed Us in the back.

[@jessiearmstrong9920]

@@jasonnorthcutt4008 WOW!!! Just checked that out. Yes, I agree. Dirty ass politician. The family reunification clause opened the door to the cesspool that we've become.

[@edwardtelles1956]

Wow... This is amazing.....the prices , the products , the fanfare , the friendly people. If these people ever got a glimpse of our life in 2022 , they would slit their Wrists... The loss of a great Country in just 50 yrs. Who would've thought it was accomplished by our own Government.

[@johndeere865]

That`s correct Edward.

[@MisterMikeTexas]

Decades of electing the wrong people. Now we have Klassified Klepto Joe in the White House and radical left-wingers in Congress. You have to be 21 to use tobacco, but you can decide to "change" your gender at 5 years old, and drag queens are reading to first graders.

[@larryrobinson6914]

On! Thursday nights you meet people you hadn't seen all week. Cashier's actuky thanked you.

[@josephgaviota]

Think what a high-skilled position "checker" was back then.

[@BlueSkyCountry]

They are called "shift leaders" today.

[@carolineconnor2156]

Kerry gold butter in 1960 ?! Hard to believe!!

[@ConnerKirk433]

It's so nice the prices never change just like televisions 🤗

[@rustybearden1800]

My childhood in 6 minutes - back then, you dressed up to go out, hair combed and slicked, shoes polished - you would not dare to be seen in public without being well groomed and spot checked. I remember the smells when you walked in and the pyramids of cans and boxed items. Everyone knew everyone. S&H Green stamps, the PA loudspeaker randomly asking for bag boys and clean ups, the smell of 8 O'Clock coffee being freshly ground and sneaking bites of grapes and strawberries while no one was looking. Occasionally, I would pull a can out from the bottom of a carefully stacked and arranged display and end up being buried under the avalanche of cans. Or I would dump a bag of 8 O'Clock coffee beans into the top of the grinder and press the button and stand there, mesmerized while the ground coffee poured out onto the floor. And then running for cover to hide from the stock boys afterwards. If I was the stock boy or clerk, I would have choked me and tossed me out but this was the random routine of being a bored 5 year old accompanying my mother on her regular trips to the local Winn Dixie or A&P or Piggly Wiggly. Great memories. It was a fantastic time to be alive.

[@denisefarmer366]

👍 Can't forget A&P, IGA, Piggly Wiggly, Winn Dixie. Life in the 50's was totally different from now. I think we're fortunate to have these 50's childhood memories that seem so much better and comforting than what kids have today. And that's a sad thing to have to say for kids today.

[@robertromero8692]

What a brat you were. My mom would never let me get away with such nonsense.

[@davismontana9307]

I worked at an A & P starting on my 16th birthday in 1970. You did everything the manager said to do. Unloading the trucks, stocking the shelves, checking, bagging, mopping the floors, you name it. The pay was higher than other stores at $2.25/hr. I charge $275.00/hr for what I do now.

[@bluejedi723]

My mom misses the days where $45 could feed mom, dad, grandpa and 4 kids for dam near a month

[@tommanfrede2883]

The music steals the show.

[@Chancey464]

Thin shoppers in the 50's & 60's.

[@brucebinde5303]

I did not see a single adult wear pajamas in the stores or see a child wearing exposed diapers.

[@Thomas-yr9ln]

When I was 8 years old until I was 12 we went to a older Grocery store called P&W. I had a lot of my warm childhood from the older smaller store. When I turned 12 they Bulldozed a Golf Course and built a mall and inside the parking lot next to the Road they Built a Grossery Store. Lucky Market. The Rest of my childhood my parents did their Grocery Shopping at Lucky Market. Now I'm a lonely old man and my parents are Dead. All I have is one sister and one Brother and then the immediate family is dead.

[@WWG1WGATRUMPISKING]

We going back to them prices SOONER THAN WE EXPECT

[@Oldschool-hb8rk]

At 3:10 you can see a time traveler checking her email.

[@Buffaloc]

I was talking to an old butcher. I said meat was really better back then. His reply 'you are kidding aren't you?'.

[@Fred-uc4eo]

Most meat now is injected with water. It doesn't sear, it just steams in the pan.

[@JamesSmith-jq2jc]

Yep, more healthy food back then too. Now we have genetically modified, preservatives you can't pronounce, and people that weigh as much as two average people from this time period.

[@troyspain7073]

And no A&P green stamps damned shame what we let these country turn into! Well we're about to reap what you sow.

[@bonniem3754]

No way. People weren’t aware of preservatives back then, but they are now. The lunch meat my mom gave us was garbage. Kids drank more soda, and ate more candy and chips than they do now. Salads were made of iceberg lettuce, radishes and cucumber. No real greens or steamed vegetables either.

[@denisefarmer366]

@@bonniem3754 Also IGA 😅 and in the 1950's the only soda we drank was occasionally a coke from the gas station. None at home. Chips and candy were rare as well. Mom made all dinners from scratch and just about the only prepared foods at home were cookies, frozen tv dinners, cold cereal, can soup and frozen OJ. I remember some ice cream. McDonald's was the only fast food chain at that time that we'd eat, at most, once a month. Obesity was rare then but not non-existent. Food processors have corrupted our food supply in so many ways that it's literally killing us. Death by 1000 meals. Even cooking from scratch is unhealthy if you're on low or fixed income. Everything has been ruined by GMO, preservatives, chemicals, too much salt and sugar. And that ruination goes for fresh, frozen, canned foods and all meat products. Nothing is safe. So, we just do the best we can...😉

[@bonniem3754]

@@denisefarmer366 It depends on how far you go back. I was raised in the 60’s, and we had 3 squares with very little sugar, but other food wasn’t so great. Remember Velveta cheese? Buddig/Leo’s lunch meat? High sugar cereals? Hot dogs? We didn’t eat sugared cereal or hot dogs, but so many people I knew did.

[@packard5682]

@@bonniem3754 There was plenty of preservatives in food back then. A lot more than today. My mom would get Oleo margarine and it was awful!! Tasted like axle grease! When you boiled hot dogs, the water would turn red because of the Red Dye #2! Store bought bread hardly ever molded because of the preservatives. Also, when I was in 1st Grade (1961), the Weekly Reader warned us not to eat the snow because of the radioactive fallout from Soviet and Red Chinese atomic bomb tests! They forgot to mention the A-bomb test we were doing in Nevada!! I am surprised that we survived!!

[@dixieboy5689]

Return all shopping carriages to the proper area. Thank you.

[@kennethswain6313]

No USBS codes- how did they keep track of the prices?

[@dr9299]

price-adjustable sticker gun, or an price-adjustable ink stamper.

[@timvandenbrink4461]

@@dr9299 sticker gun with a holster. Used one working at the local grocery store during High School. 1984.

[@kck9742]

Stickers with the prices. And the cashiers had to manually input them, AND calculate change without the register telling you how much to give back.

[@college388]

A shopper checking email on an early model cell phone @ 3:10, haha.

[@larry1824]

Every Thursday night the whole family shopped together

[@robertsparks7244]

There nothing about today that better than then. A pleasure to shop then. Miserable to shop today. Better food then overpriced junk today.

[@azmike1]

Prices were so cheap because "king dollar" was a very strong and gold-backed currency. Today, the dollar has been destroyed and we are in big trouble folks. I hope most are prepared for what's coming.

[@walterburns1789]

Back in the '70s I remember as a child getting lost in a store that couldn't have been more than 20,000 ft. Now when I go into a super Walmart I wonder what in the heck happens in the children's mind if they should happen to get lost

[@Paulie1232]

You notice the prices ? Stable for decades. Now Binden screwed that all up, prices are thru the roof like never before....

[@lastnamefirst4035]

BS so u came here to post your hate of biden. Pretty lame

[@skeeterfan3626]

It's the effects of the virus that Trump let take over the country. Takes a lot of effort and time to clear up his humungous mess.

[@The8429]

It’s his build back better plan..lol

[@Mrbg123]

Lol, it was Nixon that created our current issues with the dollar. He took us off the gold standard and since then the dollar is like 1/10 it’s former value

[@Paulie1232]

@@lastnamefirst4035 Not really I was looking for you mom....

[@MrRockydee07]

I remember the price stickers on the items s , If if it went on sale, they would charge you full price if you didn't tell them 😮

[@bartsimpson6767]

I remember both my parents smoking cigarettes while grocery shopping. At least one thing changed for the better!

[@corvanha1]

As an European I never understood why Americans carried their groceries in tearable paper backs against the chest and not in proper bags with grips (handles?).

[@Og-Judy]

Shopping BUGGY. Well, depending what region of the US you live in. UK calls it a trolly!

[@aaronwilliams6989]

We sure did.

[@timothykozlowski2945]

Back them people would smoke while they were shopping.

[@hebneh]

I'm reading the usual erroneous claims posted here about how clean and well-dressed everyone was in the supposed better times of the past. Please be aware that the photos used in this video are NOT of people who just happened to be in a store when a photographer was there; they are models who were carefully posed, wearing fashionable clothes and with professional makeup and hairstyles. They are not actual everyday shoppers.

[@princessmeganelsa8794]

Cute!!

[@kenbob1071]

5:39 Free nylons with every box of Puffed Wheat...lol.

[@SpartanG229]

I pray to god every day I can wake up during this time.

[@NFLD_RPAS]

Weird way to say you like fascism.

[@SpartanG229]

@@NFLD_RPAS I do

[@knobdikker]

Little lady on the toy horse shows she was raised proper. Note she is riding "sidesaddle!"

[@stacystoltz8722]

Would need Small business owners Costlostof Money incountry

[@petrarassfeld7269]

❤❤❤

[@cindytrayer4279]

Intact families, before LBJ destroyed that concept.

[@2682shark]

Back when 90% of the food was actually real and wasn’t ultra processed garbage

[@jetsons101]

In the past 14 months shopping for food is no longer any fun, same with gas.... Inflation...

[@knobdikker]

When a real person at the cash register checked you out and took your money. None of this check yourself out to a computerized system that locks up after each item you scan because you put it in your buggy instead of a bag! I have asked God to forgive me for all the times I have dog cussed these aggravating contraptions!

[@davidefland1985]

Beef is rediculous