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How often do you wonder about your foods' roots?

Starting today, the origin of meats, fruits and vegetables and certain nuts will be revealed on grocery shelves nationwide. According to new federal legislation, known as country of origin labeling, uncooked meats, including beef, chicken, pork and lamb, fresh and frozen produce and several kinds of nuts, such as pecans and peanuts, must bear labels that state the country where the food item was born.

Lately, grocery retailers, including Ukrop’s Super Market and Save-A-Lot stores in Roanoke, have been working quickly to create signs or print labels to strategically place on or near meats, nuts and produce. They now must note food shipments as the items arrive from around the world, changing signage and labels accordingly.

For U.S. foods, labels state “Product of U.S.A.”

But you won’t find these labels on all required foods immediately. It only applies to products packaged after Sept. 30. And retailers and suppliers have a six-month grace period as they roll out this new information.

Click here for more details about country of origin labeling.

Ready or not, the holiday season is coming. Retailers are making sure that we know that.

Each year, it seems that stores roll out their holiday merchandise a little earlier than the previous year. Sometimes, it's really not much earlier, but it may seem that way.

This year, the economy is one reason that Wal-Mart plans to bring out its Christmas get-up during the second week of October. Because households want to stretch out their holiday spending, the retailer said today that it expects consumers to start checking off their gift lists earlier this year.

By the second week of next month, Wal-Mart will start filling the shelves in its Christmas shop. The full line-up, including toys, will be in stores by Nov. 8.

For more examples of how other retailers are pushing this gift-giving season, read this story.

What holiday items have you seen lately at local stores?

A gallon of gasoline seems to be the new standard against which consumers and retailers have been comparing the cost of certain products, from food to make up. For example, I've noticed signs comparing the price of gas to groceries posted throughout Save-A-Lot’s Roanoke grocery store.

“Fuel your family for less than a gallon of gas” states a card, placed strategically above the $1.19 frozen Totino’s pepperoni pizzas.

Also, during an interview recently, the co-owner of a local Merle Norman store compared the cost of shipping a package of make up with the price of a gallon and a half of gas. She explained that her store's shipping orders have increased in the last year because sending make up and skin care products by mail is cheaper for some customers who live out of the area. They'd rather pay for shipping than for fuel.

In case you’re wondering how gas prices are looking right now, check out the daily fuel gauge report. The average price of a gallon of regular gas in the Roanoke Valley was $3.73 today, which is up from $2.73 a year ago.

Weekend plans? Take note of these relatively large events tomorrow at two regional shopping centers, Valley View Mall and New River Valley Mall.

Valley View Mall:
Think pink and dress like it. The Positively Pink Parade to benefit the Every Women’s Life Program begins bright and early at 8 a.m. at the District at Valley View, which is adjacent to Valley View Mall. Every Women’s Life provides cancer screening and diagnostic services to uninsured or underinsured women.
Parade participants dressed in crazy pink garb will take a lap about the mall’s outer loop. There will be prizes for the best dressed parade participants. You can register through 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning at the parade. Click here for more details.

New River Valley Mall:
With hay wagon rides, pony rides, amusements and concessions, the Community Fall Festival will be held at the New River Valley Mall in Christiansburg from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. This year’s event will feature a bike rodeo sponsored by the Christiansburg Police Department and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

It sounds like some of you are familiar with Direct Buy or have researched the wholesale shopping club.

Here is a 2007 Consumer Reports blog article with a few more details about Direct Buy, including the membership fees charged at some New York clubs last year.

The doors are open at Direct Buy, a new store on Electric Road in Southwest Roanoke County, near Texas Steakhouse. But not everyone can walk inside and immediately start shopping. You first must be a member to shop at this retailer selling furniture, appliances, home décor, jewelry, stemware and other home-related products.

Direct Buy says that its items are less expensive than at mainstream retailers because they are sold directly from the manufacturer. That means the products do not have mark-up fees attached to them.

Brock Wilson, co-owner of the local Direct Buy, would not reveal the cost of a membership. Instead, he encouraged interested consumers to schedule an open house appointment to learn all of the necessary information. That includes finding out the membership fees.

People with a Direct Buy membership from another location still can shop at the Roanoke County store. Direct Buy has more than 160 locations in the United States and Canada.

Wilson and his wife first became Direct Buy members when they lived in Chicago, prior to their move to the Roanoke Valley in 2001.

On some days, Direct Buy's doors open later than traditional retailers. On Tuesday through Thursday, its hours are 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. On Friday and Saturday, the store opens from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed on Sunday and Monday.

Ice cream lovers may want to start planning now. Cold Stone Creamery’s Christiansburg store will give away free 3-ounce ice cream creations on Thursday.

This is a fundraising event benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation at Cold Stone locations nationwide. You’ll be able to choose from ice cream concoctions created by two of the foundation’s sponsored children. They were developed using two Cold Stone ice cream flavors: Nutter Butter and Marshmallow.

One ice cream treat combines Nutter Butter ice cream, yellow cake, KitKats and white chocolate chips. The other mixes Marshmallow ice cream, Oreo cookies, chocolate chips and fudge.

If these creations sound good to you, they are free to all from 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursday at the Cold Stone shop on Franklin Street in Christiansburg. Donations will be accepted for the Make-A-Wish cause, which grants wishes to children who have life-threatening medical conditions.

Agnew Seed, a long-time retailer on Market Street in downtown Roanoke, reopened today after shutting its doors in July. The store has been closed since its owner, Kent Agnew, was found dead of unknown causes inside the shop.

Agnew’s wife, Pat Agnew, said the store will have limited hours for now, opening on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Agnew Seed sells a variety of seed products and gardening equipment, including organic gardening supplies, prepackaged seeds, garden tools, decorations and Virginia peanuts. On its Web site, it’s already marketing its spring 2009 seed selection.

Agnew Seed has been operated by extended family members since 1897.

Hey, blog readers. I have spent the day reporting on the closing of the City Market Building in downtown Roanoke. In case you didn't hear, this historic structure that houses 10 restaurants that serve pizza, subs, hamburgers and more closed to the public on Friday. The food businesses are doing extensive cleaning and according to officials, mice were found inside the building.

The city said today that these businesses will not reopen until all are properly cleaned and the health department can give the restaurants the go-ahead. City officials don't know when the building will reopen for dining. In the meantime, be prepared to scout out other eateries for dining in downtown Roanoke.

Check www.roanoke.com today and tomorrow as more details unfold.

Also, on an unrelated subject, but one that is somewhat close to home, read this story about the status of Circuit City, which is based in Richmond. The chief executive officer of the electronics retailer has resigned, as the company initiates a turn- around effort. Circuit City is considering whether to sell the company in the midst of financial troubles and declining business at its stores.

There is one Roanoke area Circuit City store, located near Valley View Mall.

Here is some hot coffee news. Java the Hutt's kiosk at Virginia Western Community College now is open, along with its new shop at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. These additional locations for the local coffee retailer have been in the works this year.

On the hospital’s lobby level, Java the Hutt has taken over the former Jazzman's spot. And at Virginia Western, you’ll find the coffee retailer’s new kiosk in the student center.

Java the Hutt also is making plans to open a larger shop, serving coffee and related beverages, muffins and desserts, in Virginia Western’s commons area. Bob Buckley, the owner of this local enterprise, said he’s working on architectural plans for the space, but it likely will not open until the spring semester.

Java the Hutt operates several coffee drive-throughs throughout the Roanoke Valley. Buckley and his wife, Mary, started the business in 1994.