FERN’s Friday Feed: Price check
Welcome to FERN’s Friday Feed (#FFF), where we share the stories from this week that made us stop and think.
Kroger’s murky sales tactics squeeze customers
The Guardian US and Consumer Reports
“Derek and Allison Hadfield became more and more fed up whenever they shopped for their family of four at their local Kroger grocery in Belpre, Ohio. When they tried to save money by buying stuff on sale, they said, many of the discounts vanished when Kroger rang up their carts at checkout. Personal pizzas posted as on sale for $1 a piece rang up for $1.25 each. An 8 ounce jar of minced garlic listed at a low price of $2.49 cost $3.99 at checkout — a 60% jump. The family’s experiences are not an isolated problem involving a single store, an investigation of the supermarket giant’s pricing practices by The Guardian US, Consumer Reports and the Food & Environment Reporting Network has found. Kroger stores in multiple states, the investigation has revealed, show a pattern of overcharging customers by frequently listing expired sales prices on the shelves and then ringing up the regular prices at checkout – a practice that adds additional burdens onto American families already struggling under the weight of the soaring costs for eggs, meat and other groceries.”
Trump’s assault on small farmers could devastate rural communities
FERN and Mother Jones
“Trump’s chaotic first months back in office—his flurry of orders, tariffs, and cuts by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—have sent America’s farmers into a tailspin. Few farms were spared, but smaller and newer ones have been disproportionately harmed—with potentially far-reaching consequences for their communities. It’s hard to overstate how thoroughly Trump’s policies have disrupted farmers’ lives,” writes Teresa Cotsirilos. “This spring, the USDA suspended billions of dollars in outstanding payments for at least 15 programs for farmers and rural communities. It also cut $1 billion destined for food banks (another hit for the farmers who supply them), and gutted regional USDA offices, which provide a vital lifeline to farm country. Today, some farmers “may have to drive a hundred miles or more to get to an office,” said Ben Lilliston, the director of rural strategies and climate change at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.”
How millennials learned to sit at their desk and love the bowl
The Ringer
“The millennial embrace of food culture has helped lead to dozens of trends: bacon, gastropubs, cronuts, cupcakes, smashburgers, avocado toast, Nashville hot chicken, meal kits, Guy Fieri. But none embodies the generation’s consumer experience quite like the bowl,” writes Alan Siegel. “It’s just one example of a slick, streamlined product pushed on us as a ‘bold’ way to improve our daily lives. Like Away suitcases or Warby Parker glasses, the bowl is exquisitely engineered, focus grouped, aesthetically pleasing, and sold as something that stands out from the rest. But now it’s ubiquitous. And it always ends up feeling like everything else.”
Welcome to hibachi, USA
Taste
“From New Hampshire to California, hibachi restaurants are peppered across the American restaurant landscape. Although they are rooted in Japanese culture, hibachi restaurants have become distinctly American since the iconic Benihana opened in Manhattan in 1964,” writes Londyn Crenshaw. “Whether it’s halal hibachi in Queens or hibachi burritos in Long Beach, there is something undeniably American about hibachi’s many current iterations. It’s a cuisine that has evolved as it cemented itself in the American consciousness, becoming a symbol of the ‘melting pot’ ethos that permeates perceptions of the US culinary scene. Even the word ‘hibachi,’ in its current use, is American. Traditionally, ‘hibachi’ refers to a small vessel used to hold burning charcoal in Japan. While hibachis can be used for cooking when a small grate is placed on top of the vessel, the flat-top grill most associated with hibachi restaurants is called a teppan. The style of cooking often showcased at hibachi restaurants is referred to in Japan as ‘teppanyaki,’ a term that has grown in prevalence stateside as the importance of perceived ‘authenticity’ has grown in the US food scene.”
How the best restaurants can make you feel
The Atlantic
“[Keith] McNally’s vibes have been so irresistible to diners that, for better or for worse, they’ve reshaped where the city’s heart beats, helping turn sleepy neighborhoods into crucibles of spiraling rents,” writes Serena Dai. “Pastis appeared on Sex and the City multiple times as a stand-in for all that’s thrilling about a night out in Manhattan; Carrie Bradshaw once referred to it as ‘the only restaurant that seemed to exist.’ But the real trick of the McNally experience is its accessibility. Bathed in lighting that critics have called ‘McNally Gold’ or a ‘fairytale glow,’ you might feel as though your meal is already a wonderful memory. His restaurants are where Jude Law can brighten your breakfast meeting and Rihanna might enhance your date night, but because they typically have ample tables and walk-in bar seating, they are also readily available to you, the totally-normal-yet-especially-beautiful-tonight you. If anybody can make the case for the restaurateur as an artist, it’s the creator of this particular vibe.”