‘Attention, Shoppers — Family Being Constructed on Aisle Six!’: Grocery Shopping and the Accomplishment of Family

Abstract

Trading recipes with family members. Scanning the newspaper and clipping food coupons from store supplements. Making a grocery list. Deciding who will do the shopping. Noticing a billboard ad for a store’s fresh produce on the way to get enough gas to drive to that store. Remembering a newscast about the dangers of food additives. Placing an apple from New Zealand in the cart. Negotiating snack purchases with the oldest of the kids. Allowing a younger child, sitting in the grocery cart, to eat a free cookie from the in-store bakery while the shopping gets done. Managing the emotions of a child’s temper tantrum at the checkout lane. Noticing that the person first in line is (also) using food stamps. Unloading the groceries and putting them in specific places. Fixing and serving a meal from the food just purchased, then cleaning the dishes. Baking a cake for a family member, with the kids helping. Making a payment on the refrigerator. Weighing whether the family can afford a new microwave