5 things: Grocers move in on restaurant v-day sales5 things: Grocers move in on restaurant v-day sales

No reservations about a grocery Valentine’s Day: Competition between food retailers and restaurants has heated up in recent years, with grocers (and even convenience stores) producing restaurant-quality meals in-store. Now grocers appear to be trying to out-restaurant restaurants on a very restaurant-centric holiday: Valentine’s Day. Witness the country’s largest seller of groceries, Walmart, which is offering a complete steak dinner for two (with wine and desert!) for under 50 bucks, all available with one-click ordering. That’s a deal that’d be tough to beat at just about any restaurant. And there’s a bonus to opting for a supermarket celebration of this romantic holiday: You’ll get to assess your date’s culinary skills. —Heather Lalley

Bringing home the (costly) bacon: With inflation still affecting grocery prices, this recent study from WalletHub took a look at the states where people spend the most and least on groceries. Shoppers in Mississippi actually spend the most on groceries, which have an average cost of 2.6% of the median household income, the highest percentage in the country. For comparison, in New Jersey (where shoppers spend the least on groceries),  residents only spend around 1.5% of their income on groceries. While grocery prices in Mississippi are actually relatively low, the main issue is that the state has the lowest median annual household income in the country, at $52,985. Food for thought. –Bill Wilson

Municipal farmers markets? It’s been a little over a month since Supermarket News reported that the City of Chicago had taken a pass on applying for state grant funding for its plan to open its own grocery stores in food deserts. But that’s not the end of the story. WBEZ Chicago reported on Wednesday that Chicago is now considering launching new farmers markets and expanding existing ones. Anton Seals Jr., of the city’s Food Equity Council, told WBEZ that the city is pivoting away from brick-and-mortar locations to help  ensure “more nutrient-dense and local agriculture across the city.” Seals said the focus of the program is on neighborhoods. “This is in conjunction with the community. So it’s important that it not be framed as something for downtown. This is not something for downtown at all,” he told WBEZ. —Tim Inklebarger

Sustainability vs. golf: Most of us know the absurdity of food waste in the United States—about 30% of food produced is sent to landfills, but 30 million or more of our fellow citizens are food insecure. What’s worse is that a large percentage of those food insecure people are children. During the recent FMI Midwinter Executive Conference, at the “Meaningful Maneuvers Towards Food Waste Reduction” session, Suzanne Long, Albertsons chief sustainability and transformation officer, said she spends a lot of her time trying to reduce both parts of the equation and additionally shared some of the tools used to achieve that worthy goal. The problem was that only a few attendees heard the message as the panel was held during the show’s golf tournament. Hopefully, the golfers were discussing the issue of food waste while carting between holes. –Ron Margulis

Pucker up potato: Just when you thought things couldn’t get weirder…they did. In honor of Valentine’s Day, the Idaho Potato Commission has launched a limited-edition french fry-flavored lipstick. Yes. Yes, they did that. According to the organization, the “Kiss of French” lipstick is actually made with real Idaho potatoes, which get mashed and incorporated into the formula to “ensure an authentic fry-inspired experience.” The lipstick is already sold out, but don’t despair. Grab a chapstick and some french fries and launch your own DIY fry lipwear! —Chloe Riley