MARTIN SLOANE | Supermarket Shopper Reader ran across new reason to shop with kids

I always urge parents to leave young children at home where they are safer, and it also makes for easier shopping. Here's an opposing opinion:
Dear Martin: I urge parents to take the kids to the supermarket with them. You never know when you will need them for protection. Many years ago, I was shopping with my 5-year-old daughter when a mouse ran across the aisle. In a state of panic, I jumped into the cart. With me in the cart screaming, my daughter pushed the cart down the aisle and all the way to the exit. By all means, take the kids! Betty Johnson, Compton, Calif.
Dear Betty: I haven't heard that kind of screaming for a long while. So, they must have caught the mouse. Thank you for your opinion and a chuckle.
Dear Martin: What do you think about a woman who visits newspaper boxes early Sunday morning, deposits a coin to open the box, and then sits down nearby and removes all of the coupon inserts? When she finishes, she puts the newspapers back in the boxes. Jean Higgins, Hanson, Mass.
Dear Jean: Thank you for the note. This act of thievery robs each newspaper purchaser of more than a hundred dollars in coupon savings. This thief should be apprehended and prosecuted for grand theft. Please call the newspaper and report the robbery to the circulation manager.
Dear Martin: I would love a 50-plus supermarket. I find it aggravating that fresh meat is not packaged in smaller sizes. I check all the packages in the display, and I have never found a pound of ground beef. I have to ring for the meat man; what a pain. I don't think any of my local supermarkets are thinking about a 50-plus store, but they should! Shirley Days, Bridgewater, Mass.
Dear Shirley: Smaller fresh food packages, a place to sit down and bigger shelf labels are part of the consideration supermarkets should show for their customers. And it doesn't require a new store to make it happen.
Dear Martin: I know these "Come be our guest" bakery container displays are supposed to attract customers. But there is no way I would ever buy anything from them. When you buy fruit and vegetables, you expect to wash them when you get home. Try washing a donut! I feel much safer buying boxed bakery items or those that are displayed in closed service department cases. Kathleen McLaughlin, Plymouth, Mass.
Dear Kathleen: Thank you for writing. I think it is prudent to avoid unpackaged food that is touched by other shoppers. If I can't wash it, I usually don't buy it.
Dear Martin: I'm responding to the reader who found the supermarket had removed the lower shelf from shopping carts. Shame on the management for such an unfriendly decision. If they had given the problem more thought, they might have realized mirrors can be placed above the registers, so cashiers can see any items left in the cart. Linda Szortyka, Sinking Springs, Pa.
Dear Linda: Shoppers do occasionally forget items placed on the lower shelf; often larger items. I think your idea should work. After the customer unloads all the items in the cart basket, with a glance up at the mirror, the cashier should be able to see an item left on the lower shelf. I hope my reader who reported the missing shelves suggests this to the supermarket.
Dear Martin: My total grocery savings in 2003, using sales and coupons, was $1,579.08. I think we do very well for a couple in our late-70s. John Moto, Plymouth, Mass.
Dear Martin: I kept a record of what I spent for groceries in 2003 and what I saved with store promotions and manufacturer coupons. When I added it up in the first week of January, I was surprised. I saved an average of $177 a month, $2,124 for the year. It was a tremendous savings for me; all because I took the time to clip and save. Linda in Lakewood, Calif.
XSend questions and comments to Martin Sloane in care of The Vindicator. The volume of mail precludes individual replies to every letter, but Martin Sloane will respond to letters of general interest in the column.
United Feature Syndicate