Wow how awful not being able to shop for smaller quantities. Luckily I live in Spain and I can buy one tomato if I like.
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You can buy small quantities at most U.S. supermarkets. Just don’t shop at say Costco, which is known for selling things in volume.
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I am not sure how you came to this conclusion.
As @Maggie8K said, most US grocery stores sell things in various sized packages, including single items.
Trader Joe’s, in particular, sells many things in smaller packages, including gourmet cheeses. And the prices are fair.
Hahaha! I’ll see your expired mozzarella stick and raise you a package of dried apricots. Similar vintage. They were BLACK 
And regarding the shopping-quantities comments, yes, it can be difficult to find small packages for one, and I’m frustrated by grocery stores’ discounted prices if you buy several of something when you only need one, but, on my U.S. housesits I have been able to find small quantities of things – single yogurts, small cartons of milk, and yes, single fruits & veg. I just don’t think it’s true that you can “only” buy bulk sizes.
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Oh my gosh…both these stories are giving me goosebumps. I cleaned out my grandmother’s fridges & pantry before she moved into care.
She kept…MANY things that she’d bought on sale over the years. Dried apricots were among her favorites.
The oldest boxes of cake mix expired in 1982. (This was in 2007…)
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Not true in my experience, Maggie. For example, at Kroger, HEB and Randalls, all mid-range supermarkets near me, you cannot buy loose mushrooms. You have to buy a whole box covered in plastic even if you only want one or two mushrooms. Same goes for a lot of other fruit and veg - only available as multiples in large plastic bags. Many bakery areas only sell packs of four or six bread rolls - no option to buy one individual roll. I’m sure places like Whole Foods and Sprouts might be different, but sits are not always near those.
I doubt most places sell individual mushrooms, because even if you say ordered or made a sandwich or salad, it would be odd to get only one.
I find it easy to shop for only myself when on sits, but of course your mileage might vary. I use apps like DoorDash or Instacart and find places easily, even if I want to check supermarkets and restaurants before pursuing a sit. (I don’t sit in places where it takes more than minimal effort to get food / groceries. Having access to good food is part of why I travel.)
Plus, my husband and I have lived in many U.S. states and have only ourselves to shop for — we don’t buy in bulk unless it’s say toilet paper, tissues, paper towels. My husband often buys only one fruit or vegetable — I found that odd about him starting when we were dating three+ decades ago. I usually want at least a couple, but could get them singly if I wanted to.
Hi Maggie8K, it doesn’t seem a thing in the US, but in the UK mushrooms are sold loose because you might just want one or two to put in an omelette or add to a pizza.
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If you’re in the U.S., I’ve seen mushrooms sold by the pound at say farmer’s markets, so I guess you could buy one or two. Never seen anyone buy them that way, but I don’t think anyone would stop you.
I’m trying to picture this on a sit if you’re solo — you’d somehow end up with a pizza with only one mushroom? I’d just order or buy a pizza with mushrooms on it, for instance.
A whole carton of mushrooms is like a couple of bucks, unless you’re buying fancier mushrooms. When I buy them, I toss the entire carton into a salad or split them into soup.
my friend who I occasionally sit with, and myself, vary so greatly on this. She will not eat a product if it is even a day past its sell by date. I don’t even look at dates (I know when I bought the items). My only exception would be cheeses/dairy products.
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As per your comment about Trader Joe’s. Their package of 10 falafels (comparable weight) cost $4, compared to Costco’s 30 falafels and $12. So sometimes you don’t need to buy bulk.
On current sit, they left cut watermelon, which I whipped in the blender for my breakfast the following morning. That was not going to last as week.
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I’ve done a couple of sits where the HO’s hate food being thrown away and wanted me to leave food I’d not finished in their fridge as they would use said food.
So I guess it’s about asking about these things before the sit.
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Our sitter left 2 huge meals “for US” (a big pot of bean soup which neither of us likes or wants) and a casserole and a crumble that looks more like taffy?! I don’t understand why she made all this food and left a note saying she made it “for US”. Is this common? It’s only the 2nd time we had a sitter but we were quite surprised and I hate throwing all this out. And she didn’t eat any of the good perishable stuff I told her she could have…eggs, cheese, carrots etc…???!!!
Some sitters do that. It’s well meaning but misguided that some cook for hosts without checking whether they’d like a meal made for them. Plus, some people think they’re good cooks when they’re not.
In your place, I’d consider it a nice gesture and leave it at that. You might consider hopping on Facebook or Nextdoor and checking whether anyone in your community might appreciate some free food. In my community in the U.S., people do that and get takers all the time.
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Misunderstanding.
Next time just say please leave the fridge empty for us, and check in advance if the arriving sitter wants things you leave. We try and eat through the fridge and leave it clean and empty, except for condiments, and eggs, milk, butter, bread left for the sitter (checked with them in advance if they eat these things). We don’t leave veggies, fruits etc as everyone has their own presence. Sometimes for sitters travelling by plane we leave an Instacart or Uber Eats gift card for the first day or two).
Some sitters think if you cook a meal for an arriving sitter they think they have to reciprocate (they don’t, they are 
ng to a new place, you are arriving home - different perspectives there).
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