Our Family’s 10-Day Grocery Haul: How We Shop from Silverton
Groceries, groceries, groceries. Out here, food isn’t just a shopping list — it’s logistics, planning, and survival. Living in Silverton means the nearest “normal” grocery store is at least an hour away, whether north to Montrose or south to Durango. That’s not exactly a quick midweek errand.
So, instead of running to the store whenever we run out of milk or lettuce, we live by the big grocery haul. One trip has to stretch 10–14 days for a family of five.
After nearly 20 years here, I’ve gotten pretty skilled at adapting: knowing what my family actually eats, what holds up in the fridge, and how to balance healthy with realistic.
Yes, We Have a Grocery Store in Town
Silverton does have a wonderful local grocery store — and it has grown and evolved so much over the years. For many families, it’s their go-to. For us, it’s more of a “rounding out” stop: the forgotten ingredient, the dessert we suddenly need, or the last-minute dinner fix.
Because it’s here and remote, prices are naturally higher (and that makes total sense for them as a business). So for our family size, we trade bulk shopping for convenience. Still, we’re deeply grateful to Mark and Darlene Watson for sustaining this vital resource in town. Silverton wouldn’t be the same without it.
How We Make It Work
Think shelf life first. Veggies like cabbage, brussels sprouts, and broccoli go later in the rotation. Salad mixes, asparagus, and green beans? They get eaten first.
Stock the staples. Beans, cheese, tortillas, bread. Quesadillas or bean bowls are our emergency dinner when everyone’s hungry and I can’t think straight.
Bulk is your friend. It feels excessive at first, but buying in bulk is the only way to make 10 days last.
Balance healthy with easy. Fresh food is important, but I also need quick, no-fuss meals when the day gets away from me.
The Tools That Save Us
When ClickList (pickup shopping) came to City Market in 2018, it changed everything. Now I rarely step into the store. Instead, I order ahead, run my two or three other stops in town, and grab groceries last — bathroom break, fun drink in hand, ready for the haul home.
Time saver: Both City Market and Walmart save past lists, so a big order takes me 10–20 minutes. (This is also a huge saver for those items that you see on the shelf and decide in the moment that you need! It helps limit the impulse buys:)
Produce check: People ask if the pickup produce is decent. For me, it’s been great — and if something’s off, I send it back.
Plastic bags: Used to drive me crazy. Thankfully, Colorado’s bag ban has solved that one.
My Best Grocery Haul Tips
Laundry basket hack: Keep an old laundry basket in the car. It’s amazing how much fits, and it makes unloading at home so much faster.
Divide + conquer: If I forget something, sometimes I send one of the kids into the store while I load up the car. We’re usually done at the same time.
Cooler strategy: I pack a rectangular cooler plus three insulated bags. Frozen stuff and dairy go straight in, so ice cream isn’t soup by the time we hit Silverton.
Organize for your pantry. The grocery attendant doesn’t know your shelves — but I do. I pack my own bags when I can so unloading feels manageable.
Sparkly rewards. Kombucha or sparkling water for the drive home goes a long way. It’s the little reward for surviving grocery day.
What’s Always on the List
Eggs (dozens of them)
Milk + half & half
Yogurts
Chicken (I never leave without a rotisserie for the night we get home)
Bacon
All the fruit (kids plow through it)
All the veggies
Cereal + dry goods
Granola bars + nuts
Snacks (we’re moving out of the Goldfish + fruit snack phase, thankfully)
The Bigger Picture
For us, grocery runs can hit $400–$500 every two weeks. At first, that overwhelmed me. Now, I see it differently: when you’re not shopping daily, this is just how it works. I even think of it as a kind of health insurance. What we eat fuels us, and I want my kids to feel good, stay healthy, and know our house is a place where there’s always something to share — whether with family or with friends who drop in hungry.
Grocery runs here aren’t just errands. They’re part of the rhythm of mountain living — the way we adapt, plan ahead, and stretch what we’ve got. Sometimes it’s frustrating, sometimes it’s creative, and sometimes it’s just survival.
But it also means when we sit down at the table — even if it’s just beans and cheese rolled into tortillas — it feels like a small victory. One more meal shared, one more day lived well at 9,318 feet.
A snapshot of what it looks like when you start your shopping cart with City Market. Both it + Wal-mart save all your previous shopping trips, so you can literally just click on what you typically purchase and make your cart in minutes. Huge #momtimesaver
