Rich Henderson and his wife, Rachel Negro-Henderson, grocery shop for their family at the Aldi in Bellmawr, New Jersey. Rachel Wisniewski for NPR hide caption

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Rachel Wisniewski for NPR

BELLMAWR, N.J. — When Rachel Negro-Henderson started shopping at Aldi regularly during the pandemic — a change her family made when her husband lost his income as a crew coach — she'd sometimes have awkward run-ins with acquaintances.

"People would not want to talk about why they were here, like it was a mistake," the healthcare administrator said. "They just stumbled into a grocery store because they needed a tomato."

But after just a few years, those interactions have changed. Negro-Henderson, who lives in Audubon, N.J., with her husband and three kids, says she now sees people she knows there all the time.

"Everyone's like, 'Yeah, I'm saving money. I might as well come here.…