To wonder why people do "top-up" shops

[RedSkyAtNight]

Just as the title says really. I've read a few threads where people either mention a fortune doing a top-up shop or mention doing a top-up shop as a job that needs doing in the week.

We shop once a week and buy enough food for the week. We then don't buy any more food until the following week. Other than folks who have very little storage (or possibly very large families?) I can't really understand the need to do a top-up shop. I mean obviously if you want to go and get something different to what you have in, that's fine. But why do it if you see it as a chore?

Because i don't have room in the fridge for the 7/8 punnets of grapes my ds alone gets through in a week.
Because some fresh foods don't last a whole week and stay nice, even in the fridge.
Because sometimes we unexpectedly use more milk/bread/apples etc than we thought we would.
Because sometimes I fancy xyz so go and buy it.
Because sometimes I forget something in my main shop.

To name a few reasons why.

Because even if strawberries lasted 6 days, they get eaten by day 3 in our house.

I think if we lived more remote we would make do with one bigger shop but I find we have more wastage that way as plans change through the week. However we live near several supermarkets so it is easy to call in to a shop while kids are at activities.

You literally can't picture a scenario different to your own? Really? You can't think something through from a different perspective? I don't believe you. You feel good about the way you do something. Good on ya.

Echoing pps statements about wanting fresh fruit /veg/meat/milk/bread instead of stuff that's been lying around for a week and gone a bit manky.

We do a 'dry goods' shop about once a month for things like rice, pasta, flour, tinned food, toilet paper, washing powder etc.

I don't really see how that's a difficult concept to get your head around.

You clearly don't have teenagers, 'The Big Shop' last a few minutes in this house these days!!

I want fresher food in the week. We go through two loaves of bread a week and I wouldn't fancy eating a loaf that had been sitting there for four days.

Same as above - because I prefer fresh fruit and veg, so buy as we use it up. I have 2 DC under 5 so we get through a lot of milk and can only store 2 4 pinters in the fridge at a time. My freezer isn't big enough to store as much as I'd like.

I don't understand what you don't understand? You prefer to do one shop, some people prefer to do a few spread out in the week. Personally I tend to go every couple of days to make sure that our milk/bread/fruit/vegetables are as fresh as possible. I don't really do one big shop.

I'm struggling to understand how someone can be so obtuse they can't envisage running out of milk or bread, or just forgetting something at your main shop and needing to go out in the week again. Do you have no imagination?

Bread and milk
Fresh fruit and veg
Small freezer

Maybe you eat lots of processed food?

I occasionally have to do them because someone might have a cheese craving and eat all the cheddar that was meant to be used for something else, or dd has eaten all the fruit and I fancy some, or we've run out of milk.

It's hardly a chore though.

Well we don't have a car or any time so I just walk to Tesco metro every day on the way to work and buy what we need. It's not always possible to do a big shop.

I don't like bread that's been frozen, it just doesn't taste as nice. I also don't really like plasticy long life milk and bread that's full of additives is a bit shit anyway.

I like fresh fruit and veg.

I don't like throwing out wasted food, but our apeitites vary week on week, so sometimes we need more milk/bread/fruit/ham/cheese etc, sometimes less - in that situation you either buy the minimum amount and then do a 'top up' shop, or you buy the maximum amount and many weeks throw stuff out that's gone off before consumed. DH walks past one supermarket on his way to/from the train station every day and I have 3 within a mile of our house, so it's not a big deal to pop in.

I'm better at just getting what we need in a top up shop than many on here though !

I'm about to do a top up shop BTW ! Have a proper food order coming tomorrow morning, but both DCs suddenly decided they wanted toast this morning (neither normally eat toast for breakfast), so suddenly I don't have quite enough bread for sarnies at lunchtime.

No need for top up shops - plus it's a 10 mile drive to the nearest supermarket!

That makes a huge difference, depending on which way I go to work I pass a Lidl and a Tesco and/or a co-op. Things like rotisserie chicken cannot be bought on Monday for tea on Friday.

Because I have two teens plus however many mates they have round at any given time ( two extra today - still in bed).

If they get up sometime today and decide they fancy scrambled eggs, the box will be empty!

Because I have 3 hungry teenagers so my large fridge couldn't hold enough food for a week.

We mostly do just top up shops. We have a huge delivery of basics once a month then top up with fresh things to last 2-3 days. Means food is fresh when eaten not a week old or thrown out and much easier. I have two supermarkets across from work and DH passes Aldi and M&S food on his way home. Better for us than lugging/unpacking a week's worth of shopping in one go.

Sometimes plans change.
Sometimes we use more ingredients than we planned to.
We like bread and milk fresh.

Its nit a big deal for us. I live less then 10 mins drive from work but i pass an Aldi, a Lidl, an Asda and a Tesco express.

Honestly? Boredom. We freeze bread and use long-life milk, but I notice that I deliberately meal plan loosely to justify a mooch round the shops. I'm self-employed, I wfh, going round the shops is actually a welcome break.

We also have slightly too small a fridge/freezer, but I think that's secondary.

And I'm pregnant with odd cravings, but I think that's also secondary.

Gawd...some folks will find anything to belly ache over OP! Get a life!

But as you ask, we eat loads of veg and fruit. Broccoli bought on a Monday does not last (fresh) for a week, neither does cabbage or some other fresh veg like watercress.

Apples I keep in the fridge, as you ought to, but even green bananas go off after a few days, never mind 7.
Ditto avocadoes, soft fruit etc.

Bread and milk can be frozen.

Fresh bread, fruit and milk if I need to as we have a smallish fridge/freezer but usually we just make do. I can't afford top-up shops! My kids get stuff on crackers the day before a shop usually...

I have to do at least 2 top up shops for fruit, bread and milk and anything else we forgot to buy. We get through loads of fruit and milk.

Surely you could have taken 10 seconds to work out for yourself that people want fresh bread/milk/fruit or have just forgotten the odd thing. Fgs.

If you call in to a supermarket on the way home from work, there are often lovely bargains to be had - cakes/pies/sandwiches/bread/fruit and veg etc. reduced to 10p and still fresh enough to eat or freeze. The same on a Sunday afternoon when I do my main shop. I save loads of money that way.