aruba - no eating out every meal

The answer to both is yes. Two big supermarkets are Kong King and Ling & Sons, the latter in the Eagle Beach areaq. Prices will be about 30% to 40% higher than in the typical U.S. supermarket, but I think you'll find most of the things you need. There may be a few more items produced in South America since Aruba is closer to Venezuela than anywhere else. I can't speak specifically to butcher shops and seafood markets (I suspect not, especially with butcher shops). You may be disappointed to find that a lot of seafood in the Caribbean is imported. There's more of a local food market in Curacao, so the focus in Aruba is more for the tourist trade, but I'm sure there's a fish market somewhere (someone???).

Every island does have some restaurants geared more to locals than tourists, but I can't make any specific recommendations. Sorry I can't help there.

thanks for the response.

We usually shop at Ling & Sons when we are in Aruba and can usually find anything we are looking for, but not every day. Some days they may be out of some things and then get restocked. They have a nice deli department with a lot of seafood and they also have a large frozen section, too. Besides Kong King there is also Certified Grocers. They cater more to the Arubians and also have a large section of everything. All three supermarkets (along with one other that I can't remember the name) are located together in a large shopping area. There are many local restaurants away from the tourist area that cater to local people. Some are in town and some are near the airport going toward St. Nicholas.