# HRMs (home replacement meals) - why do you buy them?



## CWS4322 (Oct 5, 2012)

Home Replacement Meals (HRMs) are those ready-made meals in grocery stores. I don't buy them, I prefer to cook at home. Here in Ontario we have a chain store, M&M, that specializes in entrees, etc., that are HRM. You get a loyalty card, etc. I always thought that people who bought HRMs didn't know how to cook. I was talking with an executive chef the other day about how off-shoring has really hurt my profession. He said the HRMs have hurt restaurants. That people buy those rather than go out to eat. I had never thought of it from that perspective. So, I'm curious, why do you buy the ready-made meals/entrees?


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## Aunt Bea (Oct 6, 2012)

My local Wegmans has great HRM's and I indulge in one ervery couple of months.

I buy them to try things that are too much work or expense to make for one person.

If I am too tired or disorganized to cook, most recently after spending the day in a hospital with a friend.

Finally, Wegmans has interesting vegetable sides that I like to try before making them at home.  They usually share the recipes on the stores website.

They offer three versions, $6.00, $8.00 and $10.00, everything from meatloaf to salmon.  The portions are generous enough for two meals and they are restaurant quality.  

Sort of like a giant doggie bag!


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## Claire (Oct 6, 2012)

I, too, wouldn't buy (this hasn't hit this part of the country) HRM, probably, but, unlike you, I can see why people would.  Like Aunt Bea, if you live alone or with one person, buying everything for a single great meal can be more expensive than just buying the meal.  For example, a bag of carrots or stalk of celery can last us, well, months.  If I need a bit of celery in something for the crunch, I really have to work to make sure we use the entire stalk when all I needed was a rib or two.  I know people who are fussy eaters or married to such, and cooking becomes a chore.  

And let's not mention, keeping a clean kitchen.  My husband and I had a pre-nup.  No, not about money, and not on paper.  Just that we both love eating, and both like cooking.  The pre-nup was that whoever cooks gets to put their sorry sore feet up and relax while the other cleans the kitchen.  Even though I love cooking, there are days when I'd do anything NOT to have to clean the kitchen.  

I broke my hip a few months ago .... if I'd lived alone, I'd be grateful for a meal, ready-to-eat.  

I have friends who hate to cook, and once was looking at the price for ready-to-eat Thanksgiving meals.  I swear, you could not cook it for the prices they were giving at the local grocery store for a turkey and all the trimmings.  I told her to look into it, and she was delighted (unfortunately we lived on opposite coasts or I'd just have invited her over).  

All I can say, is that you couldn't pay me to cook a meal at those prices.  I don't buy, because when I buy a meal I want someone to serve it to me and wash dishes after.  In other words a restaurant.  But I really can see the appeal.


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## Whiskadoodle (Oct 6, 2012)

I was going to say, this sounds exciting, wish we have HRM's here. Then I looked at a Wegmans website and discovered we already have such things, a hot deli serve yourself with a salad bar on the other side. Whole thing arranged like a buffet. So, now that I know what HRM is defined, I have to say, I always walk by without stopping. I know they have chicken, mash potatoes, gravy, something yellow, either au gratin taters or mac n cheese, something in a red sauce, once I saw Plain cooked Corn in a pan. I forget what the cost is, it's all sold by weight, so corn costs the same as chicken. What is offered here is all things I can make at home, and it doesn't have to sit in a steam table for who knows how long. Otherwise, the concept would be better if it was things I couldn't or didn't readily make myself. 

And Celery. Don't get me started. I almost always have to toss out before I can use up a whole stalk. And the dang salad bar at the grocer's--- No they do not sell celery, either by the stick or chopped for a salad. C'est la vie.

If rotisserie chickens count,  I have bought those.  Not real often.    And I buy smoked  pulled pork ( butt) by the pound from a good BBQ joint.   But they don't seem to use a scale,  so it's always a heavy heavy pound,  and I get the sauce on the side so I can use it for whatever way I want to incorporate into a dish.


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## taxlady (Oct 6, 2012)

I once stayed with a young woman in Newfoundland in a small town. She bought TV dinners and explained it was much cheaper, and almost as good, as the local restaurant for those nights she was too tired to cook.


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## bakechef (Oct 6, 2012)

We have a gourmet store called "The Fresh Market" and they do a lot of this stuff.  It is quite pricey though.  I haven't been in lately, but their rotisserie chickens were sold by the pound and could cost as much as $12 a piece.  A package of 2 slices of quiche (cold, ready to heat) was $9.  This store is in the right location though, right in the middle of a large affluent area.  The HRM section is always crazy busy around dinner time when people are heading home.  

The food always looks very good, but I'm too cheap to buy it, because in my head I can figure out the cost to make it myself.  For that 2 slices of quiche for $9 I know that I could make 2 whole quiche from scratch, even using free range, local eggs.

We have an upscale chain here too, and they do a lot of this, so it must be popular with some people.  This store has prices on almost everything higher than the competition and still manages to do well, I wonder if people just don't realize it, or just don't care?


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## CWS4322 (Oct 6, 2012)

bakechef said:


> We have a gourmet store called "The Fresh Market" and they do a lot of this stuff.  It is quite pricey though.  I haven't been in lately, but their rotisserie chickens were sold by the pound and could cost as much as $12 a piece.  A package of 2 slices of quiche (cold, ready to heat) was $9.  This store is in the right location though, right in the middle of a large affluent area.  The HRM section is always crazy busy around dinner time when people are heading home.
> 
> The food always looks very good, but I'm too cheap to buy it, because in my head I can figure out the cost to make it myself.  For that 2 slices of quiche for $9 I know that I could make 2 whole quiche from scratch, even using free range, local eggs.
> 
> We have an upscale chain here too, and they do a lot of this, so it must be popular with some people.  This store has prices on almost everything higher than the competition and still manages to do well, I wonder if people just don't realize it, or just don't care?


Have you noticed if this has resulted in restaurants in the area closing or changing their menus?


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## bakechef (Oct 6, 2012)

CWS4322 said:


> Have you noticed if this has resulted in restaurants in the area closing or changing their menus?



No, not at all.  But the area that that I live in has been doing quite well in spite of the recession, we have more business and restaurants being built all the time.  

People who buy this would likely be the people that would do to-go food from restaurants, but that doesn't seem to be big business here, you rarely see people buying whole meals to-go from restaurants. 

We have a lot of people here with a lot of money, they can afford convenience.  If this recession has done anything, it has weeded out the mediocre restaurants, but the good ones are still thriving.

I imagine that if it was right beside a restaurant that specialized in to-go meals, that they could have an impact.


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## taxlady (Oct 6, 2012)

bakechef said:


> We have a gourmet store called "The Fresh Market" and they do a lot of this stuff.  It is quite pricey though.  I haven't been in lately, but their rotisserie chickens were sold by the pound and could cost as much as $12 a piece.  A package of 2 slices of quiche (cold, ready to heat) was $9.  This store is in the right location though, right in the middle of a large affluent area.  The HRM section is always crazy busy around dinner time when people are heading home.
> 
> The food always looks very good, but I'm too cheap to buy it, because in my head I can figure out the cost to make it myself.  For that 2 slices of quiche for $9 I know that I could make 2 whole quiche from scratch, even using free range, local eggs.
> 
> We have an upscale chain here too, and they do a lot of this, so it must be popular with some people.  This store has prices on almost everything higher than the competition and still manages to do well, I wonder if people just don't realize it, or just don't care?


Maybe the pricier stuff is better?


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## chopper (Oct 6, 2012)

I think there is always someone to buy those meals. New couples working long hours, single people wanting a big meal for two,  spouses alone when their loved one goes out of town, busy families that run out of time one evening. I could go on and on but you get the idea. Sometimes when I am pressed for time I will buy a ready made chicken and just bring it home to make the sides to go with it, but I could see myself buying the entire meal at some point. I kinda like that it is there in case I ever want to try it.


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## kadesma (Oct 6, 2012)

I would buy and do now and then. DH is at work and I'm busy baking for my dialysis nurses and pals. We plan to park and watch a movie or a ball game.  Me I've had a run of things happen that slowed me down so I see nothing wrong with HRM's nor would it shame me to use them. As to celery I don't have to buy the whole stalk, I can just buy the amount of ribs I'd like, I love my grocer they do most of what you ask and It's so nice.
kades


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## CWS4322 (Oct 6, 2012)

I guess I failed to make the point--are HRMs the restaurant equivalent to off-shoring jobs in other areas? Does the fact that grocery stores offer HRMs mean people pick an HRM vs. going out? I'm with Claire--if I'm going to eat a prepared meal, I want to be waited on and have s/one else clean up. I just never thought about HRMs having an impact on the restaurant business.


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## Addie (Oct 6, 2012)

We have a place here. They specialize in Italian food. You can get spaghetti or spaghetti and meatballs. Or just meatballs. It comes in idividual size serving or family. They also do Meals on Wheels. My daughter has been a big fan of them for parties. Since she got sick, it seems like it is the only thing her husband has been buying for them to eat. (He doesn't cook.) My daughter commented to me the other day she is sick of the meals. and she thinks they have a new chef. There is a change in how they taste. (That could be her medications.) I have never been a fan of these meals. I would rather make it myself.


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## chopper (Oct 6, 2012)

CWS4322 said:
			
		

> I guess I failed to make the point--are HRMs the restaurant equivalent to off-shoring jobs in other areas? Does the fact that grocery stores offer HRMs mean people pick an HRM vs. going out? I'm with Claire--if I'm going to eat a prepared meal, I want to be waited on and have s/one else clean up. I just never thought about HRMs having an impact on the restaurant business.



I think it  is just another option for people. The restaurant business is a separate business. The grocery stores are offering a variety of things, and there is not a problem with that. the restaurants are free to offer take out and many do. Kind of the same idea.


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## Whiskadoodle (Oct 6, 2012)

Well,  I like to be taken care of/ don't cook tonight as much as the next person.   I haven't to this point and don't consider HRM's as being that care-free.  A restaurant meal, if the food and service are good,  is a treat. So I guess I would put it in the same category as Take Out/ To-go.   It's just the HRM is bought at the supermarket,  not a resto.  

Maybe the HRM's are an up-sale over frozen pizza or tv dinners and not a competition for restaurants.  Maybe it cuts into fast food business?     

Another,  and I think as valid, competition for restaurants,  is the proliferation of Food Trucks.   They pretty much operate over lunch times, at least in our downtown areas during the week,  which is when more people are downtown.    

I seldom go downtown,  and walked along a whole block of them,  but I was meeting someone for lunch,  and the  restaurant we picked to meet at was still packed and we had to wait for a table.    After we were seated and eating,  the whole place pretty much emptied out on  a dime.   Pretty much what you  would think a working person's lunch time is like.   A restaurant can only handle so many seatings/  turnovers  during a crucial service time.  Can't say what kind of impact the food truck business has had.  I do know the city regulates so they can't park directly in front of other food businesses.


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## Merlot (Oct 6, 2012)

CWS4322 said:


> I guess I failed to make the point--are HRMs the restaurant equivalent to off-shoring jobs in other areas? Does the fact that grocery stores offer HRMs mean people pick an HRM vs. going out? I'm with Claire--if I'm going to eat a prepared meal, I want to be waited on and have s/one else clean up. I just never thought about HRMs having an impact on the restaurant business.


 
Most people I know enjoy going out so they would choose a restaurant over HRM's.  I myself do not go out to eat but if I had the option of a HRM every once in awhile I would.  I am tired when I get home at 6 and I still have cleaning, baths, and homework to deal with.  I usually make sure my child and husband are fed then I deal with myself when I get time.  (I'm dieting at the moment so I am not eating the same as them).


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## LPBeier (Oct 6, 2012)

CWS4322 said:


> Home Replacement Meals (HRMs) are those ready-made meals in grocery stores. I don't buy them, I prefer to cook at home. Here in Ontario we have a chain store, M&M, that specializes in entrees, etc., that are HRM. You get a loyalty card, etc. I always thought that people who bought HRMs didn't know how to cook. I was talking with an executive chef the other day about how off-shoring has really hurt my profession. He said the HRMs have hurt restaurants. That people buy those rather than go out to eat. I had never thought of it from that perspective. So, I'm curious, why do you buy the ready-made meals/entrees?



M&M's are across Canada and when they first opened out here people thought they were great - much better quality than the HRM's you would get in the grocery stores.  But being a cook I never tried them...until Dad came to live with us and he had been living off of M&M's for years.  He was in his 70's and 80's and a widower who never lifted a finger in the kitchen when my Mom was alive.  So I would buy some of the individual meals for him until he got used to my cooking and that was that!  I would have tastes of it, and the food was good.


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## LPBeier (Oct 6, 2012)

CWS4322 said:


> I guess I failed to make the point--are HRMs the restaurant equivalent to off-shoring jobs in other areas? Does the fact that grocery stores offer HRMs mean people pick an HRM vs. going out? I'm with Claire--if I'm going to eat a prepared meal, I want to be waited on and have s/one else clean up. I just never thought about HRMs having an impact on the restaurant business.



I am not one to answer this, because if I want restaurant quality food at home I cook it.  If I want less fuss, I go out to eat - so I can enjoy not cooking or cleaning.  An HRM still means I have to do something with it and I would probably wouldn't be happy with it.

This is actually a very good topic.


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## CWS4322 (Oct 6, 2012)

Given that the person who made the comment that HRMs have hurt restaurants is an executive chef at an upscale restaurant, I am under the impression that the increase in the availability of HRMs and the quality has hurt restaurants (which generally employ more people in the food prep area than a grocery store would). I am somewhat sensitive to sending jobs out of the country (the off-shoring), but had never thought about the various industries that HRMs could impact. As I get older and have more and more friends my age who have lost their jobs because their jobs moved to other countries, I am more inclined to support local businesses and would not buy HRMs, rather, go to a restaurant. Grocery stores sell groceries. I don't consider HRMs groceries. And, I do the math and know I can make the dish at home for much less and probably have all the ingredients I need to do so or something that I can substitute. I have a well stocked pantry, fridge, and freezer. My grocery shopping is to pick up dairy (milk), fresh fruit, replenish supplies such as flour, rice, and the like. At this time of year, I can go 3-4 weeks without having to go to the grocery store and when I do, I spend less than $25.


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## CWS4322 (Oct 6, 2012)

LPBeier said:


> M&M's are across Canada and when they first opened out here people thought they were great - much better quality than the HRM's you would get in the grocery stores.  But being a cook I never tried them...until Dad came to live with us and he had been living off of M&M's for years.  He was in his 70's and 80's and a widower who never lifted a finger in the kitchen when my Mom was alive.  So I would buy some of the individual meals for him until he got used to my cooking and that was that!  I would have tastes of it, and the food was good.


I find M&M's products very expensive for the quantity. I know people who consider M&M their grocery store. I just can't justify spending that kind of money because I'm too tired/lazy to cook. Hence, the reason I do "cooking days" (like I am doing today) where I prep a bunch of stuff for the freezer so I can just pull something out, nuke it, and be able to eat. Or, I prep a bunch of stuff for later in the week if I know I'm not going to have time to spend in the kitchen. And, I live alone most of the time, so this is cooking for me.


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## chopper (Oct 6, 2012)

When we eat at home are we hurting the restaurant's business?


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## LPBeier (Oct 6, 2012)

CWS4322 said:


> ...I don't consider HRMs groceries. And, I do the math and know I can make the dish at home for much less and probably have all the ingredients I need to do so or something that I can substitute...



This is a really good point and I would like to expand on it.  HRMs, no matter how well they are made, are mass produced and have ingredients in them that we wouldn't normally use in our foods, nor would a mid to high end restaurant.  

This point is very important to me as DH has many food intolerances and we have to be careful what we buy.  I make most things you might buy in a jar or tin or from the frozen food section myself (including condiments) because he can't have them.  Many restaurants are getting very good about substitutes but HRMs are made the way they are made and that is that.  At least the ones I come into contact with.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Oct 6, 2012)

I used Take-Out and the Hot Deli a lot while Shrek was in the hospital.  I can only eat so many hamburgers.  And the grocery Deli's were all closed by the time I would leave the hospital.  I found out which restaurants don't mind packing up a To-Go meal.  I will get Take Out when I'm tired and want my shoes off while I eat.


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## CWS4322 (Oct 6, 2012)

No, we are not hurting the restaurant industry when we eat at home. The issue the executive chef had was that HRMs are hurting the bottomlines for restaurants because instead of going to a restaurant for a meal when one doesn't wish to cook at home, people are picking up HRMs, thus, restaurants see fewer patrons during the week. That's where the HRMs are hurting restaurants. I agree with LP--I'm pretty sure these HRMs (the pasta dishes, etc.) are not made in the grocery store but are made in another location and shipped in.


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## chopper (Oct 6, 2012)

We don't go out much because Hubby likes what I make at home better. We only go out when I don't feel like cooking. There are times when he doesn't want to go out AND I don't want to cook. Those are nights I would consider this type of meal.


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## Barbara L (Oct 6, 2012)

chopper said:


> When we eat at home are we hurting the restaurant's business?


Excellent point! I see restaurants, fast-food places, HRMs, TV dinners, frozen pizzas, etc. as something I may utilize when I can't/don't want to cook. But I do not exist to keep them in business. They exist to serve our needs. If enough people need their services, they will stay in business.


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## chopper (Oct 6, 2012)

Barbara L said:
			
		

> Excellent point! I see restaurants, fast-food places, HRMs, TV dinners, frozen pizzas, etc. as something I may utilize when I can't/don't want to cook. But I do not exist to keep them in business. They exist to serve our needs. If enough people need their services, they will stay in business.



Amen to that sister.


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## CWS4322 (Oct 6, 2012)

Restaurants are a business. They also employ a lot of people. My parents sold their restaurant, which was located downtown where we lived, when the big box stores started moving in and taking business to the outskirt of town, essentially killing off a lot of the downtown businesses because people no longer shopped downtown and the local stores could not compete with the chain stores. My parents were fortunate, they sold the restaurant before the chain restaurants came in. But, the new owners folded within 5 years. This restaurant had been a mainstay of the downtown area for some 35 years before my parents sold it.


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## Barbara L (Oct 6, 2012)

CWS4322 said:


> Restaurants are a business. They also employ a lot of people. My parents sold their restaurant, which was located downtown where we lived, when the big box stores started moving in and taking business to the outskirt of town, essentially killing off a lot of the downtown businesses because people no longer shopped downtown and the local stores could not compete with the chain stores. My parents were fortunate, they sold the restaurant before the chain restaurants came in. But, the new owners folded within 5 years. This restaurant had been a mainstay of the downtown area for some 35 years before my parents sold it.


Oh, don't get me wrong--I love eating out at restaurants! Can't afford it a lot, but they definitely serve a purpose. I hate seeing a good restaurant go out of business (my uncle managed a great pancake house that ended up going out of business--I think a lot of people just kind of figured they would always be there to go back to).


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## CWS4322 (Oct 6, 2012)

As I was peeling carrots, a friend with whom I haven't been in touch for a couple of years, called. This triggered the memory of when her husband was dieing. Here in the Ottawa area at that time there was a group of chefs and cooks who donated, yes, that's right, donated, meals to people who had family members in hospice, undergoing transplants, etc., etc. That is another thing about eating at a restaurant (and, I have priced HRMs, you can get less expensive meals at some restaurants), people who work in the restaurants are part of the community. HRMs sold in grocery stores are often packaged elsewhere and shipped. Sure, the grocery store owner/manager and staff are also part of the community, but will the companies supplying the HRMs ever give back to the community? I guess it is a question of social consciousness. I can't afford either--HRMs or eating in restaurants. I have no choice but to cook at home and to eat what I cook.


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## taxlady (Oct 6, 2012)

Sometimes we are organized enough to make our own "TV dinners". Very handy when you don't have the time/oomph to cook.


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## CWS4322 (Oct 6, 2012)

taxlady said:


> Sometimes we are organized enough to make our own "TV dinners". Very handy when you don't have the time/oomph to cook.


All my dinners when I eat alone are TV dinners . I don't do TV dinners, but I do make entrees, or, like today, I used the oven at the same time the bread and casserole were baking to bake some potatoes to make freezer hash browns (wanted hash browns the other morning, didn't have any in the freezer, didn't want to wait for breakfast for the potatoes). I have solved the problem of losing the "insta-entree" in the freezer by keeping those items in the freezer compartment of the spare fridge (since I haven't managed to empty it and not need it--it remains plugged in for now).  And, I write with white board pen on the front what I've added/subtracted. When I add s/thing, I also include the date.


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## Aunt Bea (Oct 6, 2012)

CWS4322 said:


> As I was peeling carrots, a friend with whom I haven't been in touch for a couple of years, called. This triggered the memory of when her husband was dieing. Here in the Ottawa area at that time there was a group of chefs and cooks who donated, yes, that's right, donated, meals to people who had family members in hospice, undergoing transplants, etc., etc. That is another thing about eating at a restaurant (and, I have priced HRMs, you can get less expensive meals at some restaurants), people who work in the restaurants are part of the community. HRMs sold in grocery stores are often packaged elsewhere and shipped. Sure, the grocery store owner/manager and staff are also part of the community, but will the companies supplying the HRMs ever give back to the community? I guess it is a question of social consciousness. I can't afford either--HRMs or eating in restaurants. I have no choice but to cook at home and to eat what I cook.



I am not sure what other grocers do but Wegmans has a program called Waste Not Want Not that distributes day old baked goods, produce, dairy products etc to charities in the local communities it serves.  In 2011 the program gave away 14.9 million pounds of food that would have ended up in landfills.  This is just one of the programs they have to help feed the hungry.

To me these HRM's are one of many choices we all have.  

In my case it is just a better choice than fast food burgers or pizza.  

I could just as easily go home and scramble a couple of eggs or open a can of soup.

I don't see any hidden agenda, sometimes dinner is just dinner!


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## chopper (Oct 6, 2012)

Aunt Bea said:
			
		

> I am not sure what other grocers do but Wegmans has a program called Waste Not Want Not that distributes day old baked goods, produce, dairy products etc to charities in the local communities it serves.  In 2011 the program gave away 14.9 million pounds of food that would have ended up in landfills.  This is just one of the programs they have to help feed the hungry.
> 
> To me these HRM's are one of many choices we all have.
> 
> ...


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## Steve Kroll (Oct 7, 2012)

CWS4322 said:


> I guess I failed to make the point--are HRMs the restaurant equivalent to off-shoring jobs in other areas? Does the fact that grocery stores offer HRMs mean people pick an HRM vs. going out?


No. When we go out to restaurants, we go to have an experience that we can't get at home. So no, I don't view them as a replacement. I see them (HRMs or HMRs - there seem to be different acronyms in different areas) more as a convenience for nights when there is no time to cook.

For example, I was going to a class a few nights ago that was scheduled for 6pm. I didn't have enough time after work to make a meal, and I don't eat fast food, so I stopped by our local co-op on the way home and picked up a couple of pieces of hot spinach quiche and salads for my wife and I. 

Buying hot food at the co-op where I shop, I know that it's made from the same food I buy when I shop there (mostly organic, often local). It's just that someone else has cooked it. Usually they are quite good, and the value is not bad.

It's not something I do every night or even once a week, but there is definitely a place for it. If I were a young bachelor, or not much of a cook, or out-of-town on business for an extended period of time, I could also see using them.

But not a replacement for a restaurant. While these HRMs are simply an alternative to cooking at home, going out to a nice restaurant is more of an event.


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## taxlady (Oct 7, 2012)

I have some bachelor friends who don't cook. They eat in restaurants all the time. If they were to buy HRMs, it would be instead of eating in a restaurant.


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## Steve Kroll (Oct 7, 2012)

CWS4322 said:


> Restaurants are a business. They also employ a lot of people. My parents sold their restaurant, which was located downtown where we lived, when the big box stores started moving in and taking business to the outskirt of town, essentially killing off a lot of the downtown businesses because people no longer shopped downtown and the local stores could not compete with the chain stores. My parents were fortunate, they sold the restaurant before the chain restaurants came in. But, the new owners folded within 5 years. This restaurant had been a mainstay of the downtown area for some 35 years before my parents sold it.


Fast food restaurants have killed a lot of the restaurant business in the town I live. And new restaurants starting up tend to serve the same sorts of fare in order to compete: burgers, fries, and that kind of thing.

I find this to be irritating myself. I love nothing more than going out to a good sit down restaurant and enjoying a nice meal. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with the occasional burger, but over the last 30 years, we've become a country of people who seem to think of going to McDonalds as a night out.

Example. We had a nice little family-owned Russian restaurant open here a couple years back. Nice people, and the food was excellent and well-priced. DW and I would eat there once every couple of weeks. As we sat there one night enjoying our dinner one night, I took a look around and noticed we were the only people in the place. Looking out the window at the Wendy's, BK, KFC, and McD's across the street, there was a steady stream of people coming and going. In less than a year, our nice little restaurant had closed down.

That pretty much sums up the state of affairs for restaurants these days. It probably also explains why disease is rampant and a third of the population is morbidly obese.


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## Andy M. (Oct 7, 2012)

HRMs, Costco rotisserie chickens, take-out sections of restaurants, TV dinners, etc. are all reasonable options for people.  I don't see a stigma attached to it at all.

I can't imagine the hot meals available at the local Whole Foods store are sending American jobs out of the country.  

Every time you make a choice of where your next meal is coming from, all your other choices don't get your business.  If I cook at home, the executive chef at the upscale restaurant doesn't get my business.  Same as if I go to another restaurant.  I can't imagine his business is suffering materially from HRMs.  I'd guess fast food and casual restaurants would suffer more.

Our 'go to' supermarket recently did a major renovation including the addition of a food court.  This offers a variety of take-out food options above and beyond the rotisserie chickens they sold for years.  Granted the food court isn't selling groceries but why is that important?

If the HRMs are good food, I see it as a great option for some people some of the time.


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## Snip 13 (Oct 7, 2012)

I buy ready meals sometimes just to get a break from cooking since I'm the only one in my house that ever cooks! We can't afford to eat out much or get take out so this is as close as we get. I like the spinach and feta canneloni from Woolworths and the Indian Lamb Curry with Basmati. Tastes just like restaurant food and it's much cheaper.
We have one night a month that we buy ready meals, get some DVD's and Popcorn and have a family night. No washing up after!!!


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## buckytom (Oct 9, 2012)

i was trying to catch up, thumbing through lots of recent posts when i saw this thread which i found very interesting.

lots of good perspectives and opinions.

i found barbara's comment about restaurant's existing to serve us (rather than vice versa) to be spot on. if a restaurant fails, it's because the food or service wasn't equal to what the customers expected, and/or their location was their demise.

also, except for the most top scale restaurants, i've never heard of one that did not offer take out.  there are certain exceptions, such as korean or mongolian bbq (the experience of cooking or choosing your own food, respectively, IS why you go there). now, some restaurants offer a reduced menu for takeout, but i can't see why one would refuse additional business.

in any case, i don't see a problem with any food type business offering hrms, from grocery stores to places that specialize in take out, but unless you know exactly how the food was prepared, it should be viewed as another type of fast food. as in the old wisdoms of buyer beware, and all things in moderation.


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## Addie (Oct 9, 2012)

Hi bt. Good to see you here again.


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## chopper (Oct 9, 2012)

buckytom said:
			
		

> i was trying to catch up, thumbing through lots of recent posts when i saw this thread which i found very interesting.
> 
> lots of good perspectives and opinions.
> 
> ...



Love your opinion BT. You are spot on in my opinion.


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