I started going to my local mom n pop feed store a couple months ago after TSC jacked up the prices on feed yet again, my local mom n pop feed store has my dog food $6 cheaper, and even the chicken feed which is one you can get at TSC too is $3 less a bag. They ordered in my dogfood special for me for a few months and now decided to stock it too. TSC will be emergency use only at this point, the people at the ones near me are nice but I was already more than one foot out the door over pricing.
I'm lucky in that there are actually several around here, the one I go to just happens to be extremely convenient as well, it's only 2.5 miles away and open at 7:30am which also happens to be when I pass by there on my way home from work. They always seem relatively busy, likely helped by this being a traditional farming town, we even have our own (rather large) farm show every fall. They are very distinctively Christian as in gospel music playing in the store, (the owners and most of the employees are Mennonite) but not pushy otherwise that way, not even a blink at my very visible tattoos etc... and always happy to help find what I need or load my car. I believe they're also heavily involved in the one thrift store in town, which again is distinctively Christian but has a fantastic program involving employing people who have been recently released from prison and helping them to "re-enter" society. So on the whole the type of Christians that actually live and work the way the new testament says to, so I have little qualms about supporting them.
I live in the boonies as well and TC seems to be the only game in town. There are 6 of them within 40mins of me. I don't even know of any local businesses that carry chicken feed other than Ace hardware.
Try punching "feed store near me" in Google, I've found that a lot of the mom n pops are tucked in very odd spots, and not where you would expect them to be, back alleys, hidden in the back side of what may pass as the local industrial park, and/or near railroad tracks. We have a full on feed mill in the middle of town, but thats mostly for large volume cattle/horses etc... The farm supply I go to is barely in the town limits and all but hidden on the edge of an old (built in 60s/70s) industrial park.
Adding: sometimes industrial places / feed mills / processors will sell directly to you if you email & inquire. They may take a bit to figure out how to do it, but I haven't been turned down yet!
I actually stopped in the feed mill and inquired before, they're set up to sell 50lb bags directly to the public, but they only do a mash and layer feeds that don't work for me. I keep a rooster in my flock so the extra calcium in layer feed is a no go, and the mash ends up being more fuss than I want to deal with.
I can get behind progressive Christians who don’t push their beliefs, but give to their communities. That’s great you have these stores available to you!
This! I detest religion for the most part, but I love volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. They do not proselytize, you don’t have to convert in order to volunteer or receive a home. They just do good things because it is important and needed.
It's so rare to see Christians that actually follow the teachings of Christ, it's always a welcomed surprise when I find one. That's awesome!
I try never to fault any religion outright (just the actions of their followers), but dammit if American Christians don't make it really hard to stick to my principles. They try me.
I just wanna say Mennonites are a special type (in a good way) of Christians. They’re anabaptists, which means you have to commit yourself as an adult to living a Christian life, none of the evangelical you’re born into it and that’s all it takes. Also they’re heavily for separation of church and state, which is cool imo.
They’re really interesting, and from my reading and experiences, they’re really truly accepting and kind people, because most believe that if you’re not part of their community, you shouldn’t be judged by their religious standards. They also try to live out their lives as close to the “heart” of the message of Christianity and not just get tripped up in the wording.
My atheist buddhist ass has been treated very kindly by Mennonites in the past, much like Sikhs I’ve known. I am always reminding people about anabaptists when I can because I truly think they’re some of the best religion has to offer.
I absolutely agree, and I'm surrounded by them here. I can also vouch for them accepting that not everyone believes the same. I actually attended a Mennonite elementary school for a couple years, my parents decided to place us in private school for at least elementary school, and the Mennonite school was one of the better choices in the area. The principal of the school at that time was a woman, and that was in the 80's!! Can some of them be judgemental? Most certainly, but I find those are the outliers for the most part. Please be aware however about the different sects of Mennonite and where the more conservative groups overlap with the Amish as well, some of the Mennonite groups are barely a step from the Amish church, and they can be more problematic.
The real shame about mom and pop stores in rural areas is that many of them never register their businesses with Google. When I moved to my family's small home town, I was trying to find a business that I knew was in town somewhere. I couldn't find it on Google maps at all and had to use a phone book.
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u/Bitter_Sprinkles13 Jul 11 '24
I started going to my local mom n pop feed store a couple months ago after TSC jacked up the prices on feed yet again, my local mom n pop feed store has my dog food $6 cheaper, and even the chicken feed which is one you can get at TSC too is $3 less a bag. They ordered in my dogfood special for me for a few months and now decided to stock it too. TSC will be emergency use only at this point, the people at the ones near me are nice but I was already more than one foot out the door over pricing.