The Nicest Grocery Store in Bobo!

Come with me to our “Publix”!

I want to share with you Bobo Dioulasso’s nicest grocery store, Marina Market! Marina is a chain grocery store here in Burkina. We do not have many chain stores and most can be limited. Marina can be wildly expensive, for example, a box of American cereal can be up to $10 and a gallon of shelf stable milk is around $11! Thankfully not everything is quite that expensive, but I definitely wouldn’t say this is our “Kroger” with great bargains and deals.

If Marina Market can be expensive, what exactly makes it worth it?

My first answer would be, the cheese! This is the only place I will buy our cheeses from! There are other stores around Bobo but I have often noticed that their cheese will already be covered in mold or headed that way. Marina has the freshest cheese and widest options.

I have also loved the quality of Marina’s meat and deli options. Meat can be hit and miss almost anywhere in Bobo if you are expecting high quality. If you don’t mind a bone every now and then in your ground beef (which really isn’t that bad!) you can easily buy beef directly from a local butcher. Local butchers will be less expensive but Marina’s meat quality is so hard to leave once you’re used to it!

A few more items we enjoy, but don’t buy regularly due to high cost, are their frozen berries, hamburger buns, chocolate chips, and wide range of imported sodas/drinks. 

Recently our Marina added in a new freezer section. We were delighted to see all kinds of Ice cream! Normally we make Ice cream at home but these different flavors were a fun treat.

In size our Marina Market in Bobo Dioulasso is about the size of a small Dollar General but with the costs of a Publix or a Farmer’s Market in the states. Our Marina includes four isles to browse from, a small freezer section, and a meat counter.

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There are other chain grocers I enjoy going to such as ABC, Bon Samaritan, and Cap Faso (if you can find one that doesn’t smell like dust and mothballs).

Ultimately though the best deals you will find on all of your everyday essentials will be at a “boutique”. These are small locally run stores. They are usually smaller than the average gas station store in America. They are small but mighty! You can find rice, flower, levening agents, sugar, powder/shelf stable milks, pastas, canned goods, couscous, diapers, bathroom supplies, cleaning supplies and more! Boutiques usually will not have cheeses, meats, or any fruits/vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are best bought from individual stands or at the outdoor market.

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As blessed as we are by all the options we still miss a few things from the states! We either do not get or rarely get:

• Brown sugar
• Beef jerky
• Dr. Pepper
• Fresh milk
• Maple Syrup
• Hot Dogs
• Peanut Butter
• Pop Tarts
• Bacon
• Coffee beans/ground coffee
• Fresh peaches
• Blueberries
• Fruit snack gummies
• Doritos
• Any type of condensed soup
• Ranch
• Pre-Shredded cheese
• Ready spaghetti sauce or Alfredo sauce
• Cheese dip
• Mac and Cheeses
• Sushi

We may miss some of these things but it honestly makes us appreciate so much more the moments stateside we can have a bag of Doritos or snack on blueberries. It makes them taste even better! We also have chances for friends and families to bring treats when visiting. I have even heard of parents saving and bringing their missionary daughter a Chick File A sandwich! 

I wanted to note that availability in food choices will vary from city to city inside of Burkina. Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, has more shopping options. Ouagadougou is a good five hour drive or one hour flight from us in Bobo Dioulasso. We don’t get to go often but when we do, we enjoy browsing the different options at the stores! On one trip we had even found reasonably priced Mountain Dew. 

Overall we have learned that food isn’t everything. Things we thought we would miss dearly we hardly even think about. God provides what we need when we need it. The average Burkinabé lives with very limited food variety. Having meat at a meal can be expensive. Chicken is a specialty and usually only for big occasions. 

As missionaries in a third world country we may not have Doritos and Dr. Pepper; however, those things rapidly fade in importance when you live beside an entire population of people that live day to day. Some may not know if they will even get to eat that day. Making a big deal about our favorite type and brands of food starts to look silly next to someone who would just be happy to eat all. 

Let’s remember to thank the Lord for his daily provision this holiday season! Thank you for taking the time to come with me to Marina Market! 

À plus tard!

Emily Wilkerson