My colleague Andrea Walker's front page article about Giant Food's efforts to revitalize its stores, elicited lots of e-mails. People are passionate about their groceries.

Here are some edited e-mails. Let us know your take on Giant.

Angela Balsamo of Glen Burnie: My concern, which no one has been talking about, is the slow demise of the shopping centers where Giant was the only anchor store. There are 2 shopping centers in Bowie where Giant was the only anchor, but has since left. Now almost 2+ years later stores in each shopping center are closing left and right because Giant is gone and hasn’t been replaced by anything.

Normally this would be the responsibility of the management company, however in both cases Giant still holds the lease and refuses to give it up. They pay the rent each month, content that their former spaces are sitting empty. Meanwhile the “mom-and-pop” stores that pay rent based off the fact that Giant is the anchor are struggling.

From Stan Sirody: Unfortunately, those changes miss the biggest problem I've noticed in over 40 years of shopping at Giant: their selections have diminished greatly, and many former favorites of mine are now gone. It's obvious to me that they're trying to consolidate their offerings into fewer choices, whether for the economy in price or the convenience of having fewer suppliers. I can no longer find my favorite lunch meats, barbecue sauce, toothpaste and dozens of other items, nor can I stand their poor produce quality. It looks as if they're now at the bottom of their suppliers' lists when it comes to fresh produce. Anyway, I've moved on.

Bob Davis of Columbia: I enjoyed reading your article in the Sun today (online). But I tend to agree with David Livingston's opinion that the current changes won't do much. We pretty much gave up on Giant several years ago. The closest Giant (River Hill in Columbia) was regularly charging higher prices than the Hickory Ridge Giant for the exact same items. And the service on both stores was heading straight down hill. I wrote a letter to Giant management and they essentially blew me off. They could not have cared less. Since then we do large shopping at Safeway, Harris Teeter and sometimes even drive to Wegman's in Hunt Valley to avoid Giant. The newest changes to the River Hill store are mostly cosmetic. We anxiously await the Wegman's slated for Colubmia.

Mike Singer writes: Sorry to put you in the middle on this. Have you read the comments attached to this article? These are the real thoughts and issues surrounding Giant. I respectfully ask that you do your best to contact Ms Michel and implore her to read these comments. All this money spent on new uniforms, and paint jobs, all customers want are good prices, selection, and customer service.