westfaironline.com November 21, 2022
D O O F T S N I GHT AGA
THE FI
INVOLVES BETTER PLANNING IN THE STORE AND THE KITCHEN BY PHIL HALL Phall@westfairinc.com
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ith Thanksgiving on the near horizon and the December holidays a month away, many people are putting a seasonal emphasis on meal planning for gatherings of family and friends. However, anyone who’s been to the grocery store lately will certainly be aware of the steep increase in food prices, and there is little evidence that prices are
going to be slashed for the holidays. Susan Mazrolle, consulting registered dietician with the Big Y supermarket chain, hosted a recent Zoom webinar to discuss how a shift in shopping and cooking habits can help consumers save money on groceries. “Food prices are up about 12.5% since last year,” she said. “The overall inflation rate is 7%, so the grocery world is even worse. I was just reading a blog the other day and it said turkey
prices are up 23% — that’s our Thanksgiving meal centerpiece — and eggs are up 30%, butter is up in the 10% to 20% range.” To combat the inflationary hike, Mazrolle recommended approaching grocery shopping with an advanced strategy. “We really have to be a smarter shopper, and we have to think about planning,” she continued. “I think it was Ben Franklin that said, ‘If you fail to plan, then plan to fail.’” For starters, Mazrolle
recommended creating a weekly meal planner that will detail what will be served for breakfast, lunch and dinner — thus, there is an understanding of which specific foods will need to be obtained. She also advocated checking the grocery store’s weekly print circular or downloading the store’s app to obtain coupons for any special promotions. Mazrolle also suggested limiting the amount of grocery runs during the week. “The more times we go to the grocery store, often
Hotel proposed for town of Cortlandt BY PETER KATZ Pkatz@westfairinc.com
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eveloper Bilal Ahmad is proposing to build a 91-room four-story hotel on a 2.41-acre site in the town of Cortlandt. Attorney David Steinmetz of the White Plainsbased law firm Zarin & Steinmetz introduced the application at a meeting
of the Cortlandt Planning Board. The property is located in the town’s Designed Commercial (CD) District, which permits as-of-right the proposed hotel use but allows only three-story buildings. The property abuts U.S. Route 6 and is adjacent to an on-and off-ramp for the Bear Mountain Parkway. The
property currently has two drive accesses from Jacob’s Hill Road. Steinmetz said that the property is an ideal location for a hotel. “It is easily accessible to travelers while avoiding an increase in traffic through Cortlandt’s commercial corridor,” Steinmetz said. “In addition, the property’s close
proximity to the town’s already developed commercial district along East Main Street will allow the town’s businesses to benefit from increased foot traffic.” Steinmetz said that the applicant intends to brand the hotel as a Courtyard by Marriott. It would feature an
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the more things end up in our cart that we didn’t really intend,” she said. “We buy by impulse, we buy by sight, things look good, or we’re hungry — we really need to be careful about not shopping when we’re hungry.” “Sometimes we need to go shopping by ourselves,” she added. “Sometimes our kids want to throw things in the cart. I had one lady that says, ‘I hate shopping with my husband, he’s always throwing things in that aren’t on my list.’”
While in the store, Mazrolle advocated for shoppers to consider store brands, also known as private label brands, that are positioned next to highly advertised brands. She observed the store brands were not inferior to the more familiar products but were often the exact same item. “Many of these products are actually produced by major manufacturers,” she said. “Years and years and years ago, I worked
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A GUIDE TO REGIONAL E-COMMERCE HOLIDAY SHOPPING SITES BY PHIL HALL Phall@westfairinc.com
HOLIDAY SHOPPING
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