Do stars buy their own groceries?

Do paparazzi hang out at certain Hollywood grocery stores? Just when I think a celeb is doing a good job shielding his kids from the press, the ubiquitous grocery store parking lot photos appear.
—Abby, Clemmons, North Carolina

Let's broaden this answer with some bonus facts:

• Many big stars actually do their own shopping. That includes Britney, Paris, Kirsten, Milla Jovovich, Kate Winslet, Jessica Simpson, Meg Ryan, Halle Berry, Chris O'Donnell and Sacha Baron Cohen. This fact, in turn, indicates that ...
• Paris Hilton not only pays for but also touches food, at least indirectly, via paper bag, or perhaps plastic. I doubt she actually unloads the groceries, though, on account of how she might get fat through osmosis.
• Stars grocery shop, often alone or with a child or a friend, despite the fact that they are most vulnerable to paparazzi.

"Usually, we can ask questions, and see what's in their trunk," dishes Tomm Taylor, West Coast editor of x17online.com. (And before you write in and ask: No, the paparazzi contributing to x17 have never spotted a dead hooker in squeaky-clean Chris O'Donnell's trunk. But don't worry, I'll bust him on something.)

There is no one supermarket that can rightfully claim to be the celery seller to the stars. However, the one that comes closest is, according to a casual rundown of x17 photo captions, the Whole Foods in Brentwood.

Brentwood...you know, the city where O.J. didn't murder his ex-wife. Meg Ryan has been spotted buying Easter flowers there. (Jennifer Garner, O'Donnell and others have also been photographed grocery shopping in Brentwood, though it is unclear whether they were at Whole Foods or another emporium.) Hilton has shopped for treats at the Whole Foods in Beverly Hills.

Another popular joint: Bristol Farms, a store so fancy it has its own wine steward and a flower department actually highfalutin enough to do decent weddings. Your Answer B!tch has seen Ryan Seacrest at a Bristol Farms on L.A.'s westside. I have also seen a pre-pregnancy Halle Berry standing in line there once, with her boyfriend, what's-his-name. And I've watched Milla shop for meats there.

Usually, the paparazzi do not lie in wait outside of a Whole Foods or Bristol Farms, the way they do at the Ivy or Nobu. Instead, they follow celebrities from their homes or after Starbucks runs.

One more tidbit of note: Britney. She shops at Ralphs, a lower-end chain based in Southern California. But sometimes she sends a minion. In fact, x17 reports, just this past Sunday, she sent a guy to Ralphs to buy some sort of product that lightens hair, leading to speculation that Spears is going blonder.

Hey, it's certainly better than crazy.

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