A real time-saver at the supermarket

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You can save time shopping in Teaneck. 

I stopped at the Stop & Shop in Teaneck for a half-gallon of lactose-free milk on Friday and discovered a real time-saver -- a portable scanner that allows you to check out and bag your groceries as you walk up and down the aisles.


When you have everything you need, all you have to do is scan another bar code in the self-checkout lane, swipe your credit card and sign -- and you're on your way.


You also can get credit for reusable bags and redeem coupons. 


The system -- called "EasyShop" -- has been in place for more than a year in Teaneck, according to another shopper. You pick up your handheld scanner just inside the entrance by scanning your store card.


The system is ideal if you shop once a week for a large number of items, which you can scan and place in reusable bags as you guide your shopping cart through the store.


I bought a half-gallon of Stop & Shop Lactose-Free Milk ($3.49), Nature's Promise Organic Lemonade ($2.99) and naturally raised Australian Lamb Chops ($6.49 a pound). 


Nothing was on sale, and I paid more than I would have at my usual supermarket, ShopRite.


I also noticed that items on sale, such as Tropicana Premium Orange Juice, cost more than ShopRite sale items. For example, two 59-ounce bottles of Tropicana were $6, compared to $5 at ShopRite.


But Stop & Shop has a much larger selection of organic and naturally grown or raised items than ShopRite -- all sold under the Nature's Promise label.