Thriftway offers surprising glimpse into island culture
By Elizabeth Lande, Co-Copy Editor
  Whoever said “All roads lead to Rome” has clearly never been to Vashon Thriftway. While the eternal city certainly brings its own people together, this grocery store does a better job than Rome could ever hope to perform in uniting a community. In fact, I’m prepared to swear on all the pasta sauces in aisle three that, during one of my regular eight-hour shifts as a courtesy clerk, I see half the island’s population enter and leave the store.
  However, the most profound realization I’ve experienced working at Thriftway is that standing behind a check stand and carefully arranging customers’ groceries in a high stakes game of Tetris® provides an oddly accurate snapshot into Vashon life.
  As I bag groceries, carefully dividing their produce from their crackers, and their free burrito from their vanilla ice cream, there’s a brief exchange about casual topics such as the weather, or perhaps the sports team they’re displaying on their faded baseball cap.
  “Sun Devils going to win today?”
  “Sure hope so.”
  I catch people at their best — a productive day in which grocery shopping is part of a now-completed to-do list — or their worst — a long day at work that still isn’t over because some family member wanted an exceedingly specific item that could definitely not wait until the next day.
  Then, assuming they don’t want help out to their car, they’re gone.
  These short interactions are surprisingly telling of what Vashon is and of who we are, and they’re experiences for which I’m grateful.
  We’re a community that prizes interaction, even the introverts who squeeze past carts loaded with muesli or some other gluten-, egg-, dairy-, and soy-free concoction. Chats at the check stand can expand from simple small talk to extended, empathetic discussions about life. As I haphazardly maneuver the shopping carts across the parking lot, customers often ask about my own experiences. I’m touched that they care to know how I’m doing, where I’m at in school, and if I like my job.
  Our little island has standards for both our groceries and our society. There’s a reason Thriftway has a plethora of organic produce, a variety of healthy snack foods, and even a salad bar — people here truly do care about what they eat and are conscious of what they buy as a result.
  Generally, islanders’ healthy purchases fall into three main categories.
  People tend to hit the produce department the most heavily, choosing fresh greens that have been rinsed nearly an infinite number of times but will still be washed to within an inch of their life once they get home. Most recently, it seems that delicata squashes have been on the rise. Get ‘em while you can.
  There’s also the obligatory stop in the healthy snack section in preparation for an evening of lounging in sweatpants and watching reruns on the Hallmark channel.
  But, of course, it’s impossible to escape Thriftway without visiting the deli, ranging from the fantastically healthy salad bar in the south to the deliciously fattening hot case in the north. It’s a 50-foot stretch of temptation, and most of us don’t make it out unscathed, employees included. Still, the healthy choices — salads, olive bars, sandwiches — seem to be the most popular.
  This assortment of sustenance is all a testament to the emphasis Vashon places on quality, and the degree to which we hold our groceries.
  This community built on interaction, high standards, and kindness is the true nature of Vashon. In contrast to our geographer at the beginning, so insistent that Rome was the perfect heart of a community, I find Vashon Thriftway much more fitting. A hearth brings people together to celebrate their values, and in no place is this so true as standing behind a check stand and sorting organic, gluten-free groceries into paper bags.