Shopping

As a regular frequenter of St. Louis farmers’ markets, I cannot recommend them enough! The Tower Grove Farmers’ Market (Tuesdays and Saturdays) is a great farmers’ market to explore with friends or a date. It’s also full of stalls selling local art, scented candles, handmade jewelry, knit blankets, and anything else remotely crafty that you could imagine. The Soulard Farmers’ Market (Wednesday through Saturday weekly), on the other hand, is a true produce market. I love to do my weekly grocery shopping there – you can find anything from exotic fruits to $2 cabbages to homemade pies. Not to mention, the prices can’t be beat! Last week, I bought a dozen bell peppers for only $5.

As someone who doesn’t own a car right now, I occasionally like to use an app called Instacart for my groceries. I like Instacart because it’s relatively timely; if you’re ordering in the morning, you can usually expect your delivery to arrive by the afternoon. Instacart also has occasional deals you can utilize to save money, and you can order from multiple different stores at once, too. I know there are apps like Uber Eats and Weee! for other select groceries, too. Not only that, there is another app I use — Too Good to Go — that offers free leftover groceries or food from select restaurants and grocery stores across the country. The premise is that they sell discounted foods at the end of the day that would otherwise go to waste. It’s a great way to get some extra, cheap food if you’re interested!

Grocery stores are a dime a dozen in St. Louis. If you have a car, or a friend with a car, most places are all within a 10-15 minute drive. Schnucks is the standard grocery chain in the area (like Publix, Giant, or any other regional chain). Drive 10 minutes in any direction and you’ll run into a Schnucks. Trader Joe’s is in Brentwood Plaza, about a 15 minute drive from the Central West End. Costco is also around a 15 minute drive from the Central West End. If you’re in the Central West End and don’t have a car, Whole Foods Market is conveniently located near all of the major neighborhood apartment complexes. If you prefer to pay premium prices on deluxe groceries, Straub’s is also a short walk down Kingshighway Blvd.

There is a range of international grocery stores available (Olive Supermarket, United Provisions, World Market, Pan-Asia Supermarket, and many more). These are all a drive away from campus, but many of our classmates have graciously given me as well as other classmates rides to get groceries and more! The selection is sizable, and I have not had trouble finding what I need. If I do encounter issues with sourcing a particular ingredient, I have been able to find almost everything from online grocery services (i.e. Weee).

The main mall nearby is the Saint Louis Galleria, which is about 20 minutes away from the Medical Campus by car and has the typical range of department stores. The St. Louis Premium Outlets are further out, about 40 minutes, but also have a wide selection of stores that almost always have pretty good sales going. I also really like to shop in the Promenade at Brentwood, which is about 15 minutes away, because it has Target, Trader Joe’s, Ulta and DSW in one complex.