During
our trips to both South Carolina and Mississippi, we explored grocery stores.
On
Saint Helena's Island, we stopped in Chamberlain's Store and Farm. Inside
we found the usual selection of beverages and foods, with several other more
interesting items. On the counter sat two huge jars of pickled pigs feet,
ready to eat. Packages of Blue Ribbon extra long grain rice, $1.99 for a 3
LB bag, lay stacked on the shelves. Signs announcing the sale of fresh produce,
such as collard, turnip and mustard greens, at $1.50 per bunch, were taped
to the wall. With the exception of these products, specific to the Sea Islands,
Mr. Chamberlain's store was typical to other grocery stores in America.
What separated his establishment from most, however, was his produce selection behind his store. After we had strolled through the interior of the building, Mr. Chamberlain invited us outside where we found scattered piles of peanuts and watermelon. Three kinds of greens, cabbage, tomatoes, and carrots sprouted in their own rows. We also found sugar cane growing in neatly farmed acres. Sugar cane, cut and ready for sale, waited under a blue tarp. Mr. Chamberlain very generously cut pieces of sugar cane for everyone in the class to enjoy, and he even pulled up fresh carrots for students to take with them. All of these items were free of charge.
Chamberlain's grocery store presented an unusual combination of corporation produced products and local, homegrown food. He does sell food shipped in from other areas, and his store is not completely void of commercialism. Imports have not, however, obstructed the demand for fresh fruits and vegetables grown and sold locally on the Sea Islands.
A grocery
store in Clarksdale Mississippi demonstrated a different approach to selling
food. While it was similar to Chamberlain's grocery store in that it was located
in and catered to the African-American community, it did not have as much
fresh food. Most of the fruit and vegetables were packaged. Cured and wrapped
meats, including many pork products, 
sat
in freezers that lined the walls at the back of the store. The meat seemed
to be the only fresh items within the grocery store. Canned fruits and vegetables
lined the shelves, huge buckets of chitterlings stood stacked on top of one
another in freezers, and large jars of pigs feet (similar to those in South
Carolina) stood in rows on the floor. Fresh fried chicken, chitterlings, fried
pork, fried shrimp, and breaded fried catfish, all made on the premises, was
sold from a food counter located on the left side of the store.
The differences between the two stores reflects the effects of migration and modernity on Southern and African-American foodways. The Sea Islands are still a relatively isolated area which perhaps allows their residents to continue traditions that are usually, out of necessity, replaced by modern conveniences in other locations, including Clarksdale Mississippi. Many Gullah descendants did not move West with the migration and have resided on the Sea Islands their entire lives. They have less access to traditions outside their families, friends, and region. Therefore, it is not out of the question for Sea Island store owners like Mr. Chamberlain to sell produce that is, quite literally, fresh from the garden.
