UFCW members work at major grocery stores such as Kroger, Ralph’s, Meijer, Safeway, Giant, Albertsons, and Stop & Shop, and over the years have been there to help with last-minute Thanksgiving grocery shopping.
“My dad worked grocery for over two decades,” said UFCW International Facebook page fan Victor Román in response to a recent post thanking our UFCW members who are working this Thanksgiving. “I recall times we had to have dinner later so he could join us, or earlier so he could leave for his shift. I never take for granted, when I do have to go to the store on a holiday, the service the clerks and cashiers are providing me. While I would have preferred that my dad stay with us the entire Thanksgiving day, I’m glad that at least he got paid extra for providing his employer time that is priceless to us. That extra pay, I’m sure, was in large part due to negotiations that the UFCW had made on behalf of their members.”
Román wasn’t alone in expressing his gratitude for those working over the holidays. “I work at a grocery store that is represented by the UFCW, and have worked my share of holidays,” said Todd Gustafson in a Facebook comment. “And I do appreciate all my fellow sisters and brothers, who along with myself, have spent time away from their family so others could spend time with theirs.”
If you do end up running to the store on Thanksgiving, remember the people working and taking time away from their loved ones so that you have the things you need for your holiday feast. Even the most careful cook can forget an ingredient from time to time when there’s so much going on, so make sure you have these top 5 most often forgotten items.
1. Cream cheese
Cream cheese sneaks it’s way into a number of recipes from appetizers to desserts, but we don’t really think of it as a Thanksgiving staple so it’s easy to leave off.
2. Cream of mushroom soup
Green bean casserole and a number of other dishes make use of cream of mushroom soup as a base. Eyeball your recipes to be sure you’re not leaving this one out.
3. Celery
Celery is one of those ingredients that is easy to forget any time of year because it’s rarely the star of a recipe, but really adds to the flavor and texture of a dish. If you use celery in your stuffing, don’t forget to pick this up in the produce aisle.
4. Yams
Perhaps it’s yam’s simplicity that makes them easy to forget, but many would be sad to find this Thanksgiving staple missing from their table.
5. Butter
Grocery chain Meijer sells more butter the day before Thanksgiving than any other day of the year. It’s best not to guess on this one. Make a list of everything you’ll be cooking and add up how many sticks of butter you’ll need. Do you need salted or unsalted? Will you want more butter at the table for spreading on rolls? Try to leave enough time to let butter for the table reach room temperature so that it’s easier to spread.
