Grocery Stores and Food Markets

Looking for a local grocery store or food market? There are a lot of options beyond Fresh Grocer!

Organic Supermarkets:

Whole Foods: This organic supermarket has higher quality produce and groceries, but it is also more expensive.

Locations:

• 20th and Pennsylvania Ave
• 10th and South

Trader Joe’s: This supermarket is a little smaller than Whole Foods, but also has healthier options than a traditional supermarket. This supermarket gets VERY crowded, so it is better to go during the day (before 5pm) and avoid weekends.

Locations:

• 22nd and Market

Acme: This supermarket is located throughout the city. It is one of the more affordable options.

Locations:

• 10th and South (right across from Whole Foods)
• 2nd and Girard
• Passyunk and Dickinson

Cousins Supermarket: A local supermarket that specializes in ethnic food products.

Locations: 5th and Luzerne Street (one block below Hunting Park Avenue)

H-Mart: A Korean grocery store, located in Upper Darby (accessible from the Market-Frankford Line)

International Foods and Spices: Indian grocery store, located at 42nd and Walnut St

Makkah Market: A 24-hour halal grocery store at 43rd and Walnut St

Farmers Markets: These are small, local markets that move throughout the week. All of the food is locally grown and produced, usually by the local Amish people. The farmers markets typically are available from May-September.

There is a farmer’s market on Temple’s campus at Broad and Cecil every Thursday from 2-6pm.

Reading Terminal Market: Surprisingly, the Iovine Brothers Market in Reading Terminal has some of the freshest and cheapest produce in the whole city.

Discuss:

Where is your favorite place to go grocery shopping?

Do you plan your meals before you go to the grocery store, or are your trips unplanned?

Understanding SEPTA

You will hear a lot of complaints from locals about SEPTA, which is the local public transportation system. SEPTA can seem hard to use, so here’s a quick overview of what you need to know.

 

There are three modes of transportation through SEPTA:

• Local subway lines
  • North-South: the Broad Street Line or orange line
  • East-West: the Market-Frankford line or blue line
• Busses
• Trolleys: to West Philadelphia from Center City
• Regional Rail: to New Jersey, Delaware, and surrounding towns in Pennsylvania. It is usually best to consult NJ Transit for a schedule and train costs.
• PATCO High-Speed Line: A high-speed train that goes to several local towns in New Jersey.

Here’s a map to help you: most of the time, all you need to worry about is the orange and the blue line.

Payment-There are also several ways to pay for your SEPTA ride:

• Tokens (coins): $1.80 per token
• Weekly passes and monthly passes (offers unlimited rides)
• Cash (exact change only): $2.25 per ride
• Key Cards: You might notice some machines advertising Keycards. Those are refillable cards that the city is testing out before fully introducing to the public. The city will soon be switching to Keycards as their main method of transit payment.

Locations-Here is where to buy your SEPTA tokens or passes:

• Token machines: Only certain stations have token machines. For a full list, go here. You will need cash to use the token machine. The machine only accepts $5, 10, and 20 bills.
• SEPTA Sales Office: This is where you can use cash or a credit card to purchase tokens or a pass. The tokens can be bought in 5 or 10-packs (they do not sell individual tokens).

Transfers:

This is what a transfer slip looks like

• Transferring between the Broad St Line and Market-Frankford Line is free. Follow the signs on the walls to get to your connecting train. Do not exit the station through the turnstiles, or you will need to pay again!
• Transferring from one mode of transportation to another (for example, the bus to the train) costs $1.00. The SEPTA employee will hand you a small slip of paper (see picture above). You must hand this paper to the next SEPTA employee when you get on your connecting bus, train, or trolley. If you have a weekly or monthly pass, your rides are unlimited, so you don’t need a transfer slip.

Getting on and off:

On busses, you will need to pull on the wire or press the button by the door to let the driver know you’d like to get off. It’s customary to do this about a block or half a block before you want to get off.

Make sure you stand near the bus stop’s sign. Sometimes, the sign is in the middle of the block, not the end of the block.

On the train, listen for the announcements, which tell you the name of the next stop. The name of the station will also be listed on the wall.

You might hear people say “coming out” to indicate that they would like to get off the train or bus.

Broad Street Line: Pay attention to whether you are getting on an express or a local train. Only the local train stops at Cecil B. Moore!  There is also something called the Broad-Ridge Spur which will take you directly to 8th and Market (near Chinatown).

Market-Frankford Line: At rush hour, there is an A and a B train. Some stops are only for A trains, and some are only for B trains. Read the schedule to know which stop might be A or B. The train will also say “A” or “B” on its screen. Some trains will also announce “making all stops.”

Have other questions about public transit? Ask us below in the comments!

 

Philadelphia Restaurant Week

Want to try new foods, sample Philadelphia restaurants, and spend time with friends in the heart of the city? Philadelphia’s Restaurant Week, happening now through September 23rd, allows you try out restaurants and get to know Philadelphia at a discounted price. To get more information and make a reservation, you might start here.

Following the $20 3-course lunch (or $35 3-course dinner), you and your friends can give your impressions of the foods you’ve tried. Feel free to stop in and talk about your experiences with a Conversation Partner, as well!