I have a car, but for the sake of getting more exercise and enjoying the fall weather, I have started walking to the grocery store. There are three good ones within 5 miles of my house, so I grab my backpack, headphones, iPod, and pepper spray and take off walking. I only use the car if the weather is bad or if I need big items like laundry detergent (I usually buy it at Sam's Club - about 10 miles - little too far). I have seen some people with bicycles pulling a small trailer that could easily accomodate several bags of groceries. That might be an option for you to explore.
Maybe it's because I've never had a car in my life, but to me it seems obvious to just get a four-wheeled cart. Of course, I've never had to shop for more than two people at a time as I have no children, and so groceries for a week will fit easily into a decent sized shopping cart. If I had a lot of kids, I might have to make use of the free delivery service that comes pretty much standard with grocery stores in my area. I don't live in a place where a lot of people have cars.
That's exactly how I am. I go in a mission, thinking about all the things we need in the house. Then after I'm all checked out, I realize I have a stroller, a toddler and like 6 heavy bags. Honestly, if I had the money, I would go on one big shopping trip and pay a cab to take me and my daughter back home. Even without my daughter, I still am a good ways away from the grocery store, making it nearly impossible to walk home from the store, without stopping to rest.
There is a gas station and a 7-eleven nearby me as well, but I try to stay away from them unless, I am in desperate need of a certain food item. They tend to overprice, everything because they know that they are convenient, and that the nearest grocery store is a ways away. I can absolutely walk to most of the grocery stores around me, but it's such a hassle, especially when I barely have anything in the fridge and have to go for many items.
When my parents did not have a car, they would walk to the grocery store, which was about a mile away. They used my brother's "Little Red Wagon" to hold and transport their groceries. Public transportation in our area has improved some, so now I would probably walk to the grocery store and catch the bus on the way home.
Although I do not live far from the supermarket, I injured my neck, shoulder, and ankle a few years ago and I cannot walk to the supermarket anymore and I didn't want to depend on friends too much to get my shopping for me so I started to order my groceries online. I would rather have the chance to look at what I am buying first but I have never had a problem with the quality and they make sure that everything I order is in good date. I also get the chance to save loyalty points where I wouldn't with my local supermarket. I can use these points to pay for the Christmas shopping and that saves a lot of money. There is a delivery charge, but petrol and bus fare would cost even more so I do not really lose out. Amazon is another way of buying groceries online. I usually use them for cat food and cat litter as it tends to be cheaper on there and there is no delivery charge. Amazon's grocery range is a little bit limited, I find.
I own a grocery bag on wheels too. It's very convenient when I take a bus to the shopping center. Also, I'm living close to a few grocery stores so I don't need to walk very far to get the food.
In my country, public transportation is quite common, so people who do not have cars simply just ride in one of them after doing their grocery. I think that you really have no other choice but to just have your groceries delivered if you can't find a way to get a ride.
I can't commute when I have packs of groceries at hand. I just take the cab whenever I don't my car. It's definitely convenient though if you have one each time you do your groceries. But if it's really not possible then might as get a cab.
I think if I lived to far I would take a cab and think nothing of it. I'd rather do that than pack all that stuff home myself which would be to heavy anyway. I would try to make it easy on myself and take a load of myself if I didn't have a friend to take me.
My local Walmart, which has a supermarket, is 1.5 miles away, so I load up my wheeled grocery cart with my reusable bags and walk to the store. I also walk back home over a little bridge and watch the ducks swim under the bridge. I'm in Florida, we have a lot of water and wildlife, so I actually enjoy the walk to buy groceries.
5 miles is a bit of a hike to walk. I lost my license a few years ago and was living by myself in a suburban area (where it's almost impossible to get a taxi), so I tried walking a few times to the closest stores nearby which were about that same distance from me. It depends on where you live, since not all communities have sidewalks everywhere and I hated walking down the side of the road with cars having to swerve around me. I ended up moving to another location that was right next to a plaza, so it was real easy for me to walk over and get some groceries or other stuff. I found myself walking a lot more in that instance.
If a family doesn't own a car they wold bring some kind of carriage with them to help them carry everything. There are also special kinds of nylon type bags that help with the whole grocery buying.
I have a family member who takes me to the grocery store to take care of some of the major grocery shopping. As for some of my other grocery shopping I have two different grocery carts that I have used. One is smaller but easier to handle, while the other is larger, and hold more in it. However, it getting to the point where I might not be able to use these any longer. I now have some serious back problems that could prevent me from continuing to shop in this way.
I use a shopping cart and a backpack to bring home my shopping. When I don't have the cart I have to remind myself that I am walking and have to carry all the stuff I want to pay. I don't live to far from the store, it works out good and I get my workout. The bus is also available but I usually just walk.
I just take it by food. I live in the center of the city, so shops are 5-10 minutes away from me, so there is no reason to even try and take a ride..
My boyfriend doesn't have a car, so he has to shop almost daily for groceries because he can't carry it all home at one time. It's frustrating because of how much time is wasted in going to the store almost every day, but you gotta do what you gotta do I guess. I'm tempted to just tell him to steal a cart and get it done that way, but that's not very legal I presume.
There are a lot of methods from doing this but really it depends on your location or anything concerning traveling or if you are quite far to the nearest grocers.
I'm right with you, I prefer to pick things out myself....luckily we'll soon have an organic store in walking distance, but for now I take cabs (it's worth it to me to be able to pick my own food) for the most part and there's a free bus here that works in a pinch. It's one of the worst things about not having a car, imo.
I live in Oregon, which is difficult to buy groceries without a car because the grocery store is kind of far away from where I live. One thing that I dislike about living in this town is people cannot function without a car, which is sad because I would rather walk to the grocery store.
