There are quite a few grocery stores in Potsdam: Price Chopper, IGA, Walmart and the Co-op. As someone who has been eating vegan for a couple of months, I can say with certainty that the Co-op is just the best place to shop. There aren't a lot of options for vegans on campus, and when I went to the grocery store in my town I couldn't find a lot that I could eat, besides vegetables of course.
Good vibes.
I love the environment of the Co-op-- everyone who works there is very friendly and helpful. Everything is very easy to find and if you can't find it, someone will help you. It always smells amazing and it has a variety of foods.
Quality food.
Along with grocery items they also have sandwiches and wraps and different things. You can always find something vegan or vegetarian-friendly. All their food is wonderful! You can get almost any kind of spice there; there's a wall with a ton of spices and you can scoop out as much as you want into a bag to buy it!
Not just food.
The Co-op also sells really nice candles, essential oils and items made locally.
A few of my favorite things.
I love getting sesame sticks, they come in a couple different flavors and they are very cheap! Whenever I get sesame sticks from other places, they don't taste quite the same-- maybe that's just me being biased, though. I really like that they sell ginger beer in the cooler because it's really nice to be able to just grab one with my lunch instead of having to buy a whole case at other stores. My favorite thing to get at the Co-op, though, is chai cola. It's really good and I didn't know it existed until I started shopping there. These are my personal favorite items but I have never bought anything that I didn't like.
I love this shop so much; it's my first choice when I need something even if it might mean spending a little more it's worth it because it has such a nice vibe, the people are friendly, and you can't beat local. Yes, you could probably find most of these products at a big store like Walmart but the quality and environment will not be the same.The Co-op is a really nice little place and it is really important to support small businesses whenever you can! Shop local!