A Viral Video Mocked A Small Town Store And Oklahoma Pushed Back
Growing up in Frederick, Oklahoma, we had two grocery stores, and at the time, it didn't seem like a big deal. But today, Frederick only has one designated grocery store if you don't count the two Dollar General locations. So really, there's only place in town where residents can get fresh produce or butchered meat.
Recently, an influencer went viral for mocking a small town grocery store, and small town Oklahomans took to social media to show the importance of their local grocery stores.
Oklahoma's small town grocery stores provide residents with sustenance and community.
When I visit Frederick, I don't often make it a point to stop in the local United Supermarket. But when I do, I'm always glad I did because I often see someone I haven't seen in a long time. Or I get a moment to feel like a kid again when my dad stops for a conversation with a friend in the middle of an isle.
On the outside, Frederick's local United may not seem like much, but inside, you'll find pretty much everything you need on your grocery list, and what you're not looking for but need, and that's community. And community is what's always in stock at every small town grocery store in Oklahoma.
Frederick's United is where many of my friends had their first job. It's one of the first places I went when I got my drivers license. It's where my dad stops to pick up fresh fried chicken for a last-minute dinner. And usually every visit to the local grocery store comes with connection, whether that's talking to your neighbor working the checkout counter or an old friend who happened to be at the store at the same time.
Oklahoma residents are clapping back at an influencer who dragged small town grocery stores.
In a now deleted video, influencer Catherine Ebs posted a video over the July 4 weekend, documenting a visit to a small town grocery store, presumably on the East Coast. The comment section of the video was immediately flooded with comments about how "tone deaf" and "snobby" Ebs was in the video as she appeared appalled and gagged at the small town grocery store she was "forced" to shop at.
In the video, she can be heard saying "this is a simulation" as she gawked at the isles. And multiple times she said, "this can't be real life." Ebs posted a follow-up video clarifying that the grocery store itself wasn't the problem and actually had a pleasant experience at the store and with the employees. However, that didn't change audiences' interpretation of the first video, and commenters still felt that Ebs was being judgmental of "normal people's" regular shopping experience.
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Some small town residents in Oklahoma have also taken to social media in response to Ebs' video by showing off their small town grocery store. Oklahoma author Gwenna Laithland (@mommacusses) showed off her Super C Mart in Noble, Oklahoma.
Laithland talked about how sometimes there may be things you need out of stock, but usually you can find the things you need after the store gets a shipment in. And she often finds things she didn't need or didn't know existed until she visited her small town grocery store, like a two liter of Bana Nina soda she bought after filming the video.
She also mentioned that her local grocery store carries locally grown produce because "small towns like to support each other." She ended the video by stating that yes, the store is small and yes, it is old, but it's what locals need, and the store is the heart of the community.
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