You showed us yours: from boho food coops to your backyard to the big chain

Last week we asked you to show us your grocery store — and you did! Oh, how you did. We’ve got a few of the photos and written clips here, and the rest of the photos are waiting for you on Flickr.

Lisa in Washington state

This is just a taste of what Lisa wrote about her beloved Nelson’s Market; I strongly suggest you click through to read all about it (it has pancakes AND an ice creamery!) — and see more photos.

Beckie in Cotswold, UK

I might be a little biased but I think we do have some of the best local food shops in the country. We only use the supermarkets for things like pasta and flour. Veggies, meat etc. are purchased from farm shops, butchers, fruit and veg shops, and farmers markets — and also a little bit from good will stalls at peoples gates. We get our eggs from a farm near where we live. The eggs are so huge Im disappointed when I don’t get a double yolker now!

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See her posts on Tumblr for more photos of life (especially food-related life) in Cotswold.

Kisså in Mt. Airy, Pennsylvania

I love my grocery store with a passion normally reserved for fiancees, small babies, or puppies. I live in Philadelphia, in a neighborhood called Mt. Airy, and our local market is the Mt. Airy branch of the Weavers Way Coop. Weavers has been around since 1973, and the Mt. Airy location is the original store. A brandy-new one was just built up the road in Chestnut Hill — and don’t get me wrong, it’s nice — but it can’t hold a candle to the cramped, pseudo-worn hominess of the store on Carpenter.

Going to the coop is always a treat. Many of the people who live in our neighborhood shop there, so whenever I go I run into at least oneperson I know. Beyond the fact that Weavers carries all sorts of organic, natural, local goodies (everything from produce to local dairy, even handmade gifts and soaps etc. etc.) the store creates a great sense of community. There’s a table outside where you can plunk down and have a snack, and the stairs to the second floor are papered with local news bulletins and ads — I often spend ten minutes browsing just to see what’s up in our ‘hood.

My husband and I are working members, which means we each put in six hours of work, once a year (Weavers now has so many members that they’ve made working optional, which I feel kind of defeats the mission of a coop, but whatevs.) We always sign up for bulk packing, where we can work together in the prep kitchen in the basement, shoveling various bulk goodies into individual bags. It’s relaxing, and it’s actually one of the few times a year when Himself and I can just stand quietly together and chat while we work for more than a few minutes at a time.

By far my favorite thing about the coop, however, is the smell. It smells like…tasty. It’s hard to describe; maybe a mix of green veggies, baked goods, and spices? The newest store in Chestnut Hill doesn’t smell that way, and that’s one of the main reasons why I don’t shop there! When I go upstairs at Weavers, I am greeted by a wall of aroma: upstairs is where the bulk coffee dispensers are, as well as all the essential oils and aromatherapy items. I could breath that mix of scents every day for the rest of my life, and be a happier person for it.

It’s a great place that’s had such a positive effect on our whole community in general, and on me in particular. I’d never belonged to a coop before this store, and now I can’t imagine not having it as a part of my life and my neighborhood!

Grocery store porn from other readers

Thank you all for sending in the stores you frequent! Take a look at more on Flickr — and keep adding! Use the tag “obhgrocery” and your pics will show up in the stream.