Cheapest grocery chain?

[Anonymous]

Other than Costco-type places where you have to buy in bulk? I know Safeway and Giant are both pretty high and very similarly priced, but I'm wondering if we might do better driving a bit further to options like Harris Teeter, Wegman's, Food Lion, Target or WalMart. Has anyone done a comparison of prices at the big chains in the area?

[Anonymous]

Consumer Checkbook magazine did this comparison in a recent issue -- might be some helpful info for you in here:

http://www.checkbook.org/interactive/spmkt/other/w/article.cfm

Wegmans did very well in terms of price + quality. I believe SuperTarget/Super Wal Mart/Aldi's were tops on price, but the quality wasn't always there. Shoppers Food didn't have the edge in price that it once did.

[Anonymous]

Also meant to add - Giant and Safeway are expensive. But if you comb the mail flyers and also get in their shopping "clubs," you can find some bargains. Safeway has an smartphone app that also offers periodic special sales.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Has anyone done a comparison of prices at the big chains in the area?

I've started doing this. For Giant and Safeway, it depends on the weekly sales. TJ's is cheaper for cereal, organic milk and yogurt. Costco is cheaper for certain cheeses. Getting the best grocery prices could mean rotating stores each week.

I lived near a Shopper's Food Warehouse several years ago and it was pretty cheap. The quality of the food was lower too.

[Anonymous]

Aldi's
Stop, Shop, and Save

I grew up poor and ate a lot of Murray's frozen foods.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for posting that article. I actually live in Bethesda, and for the past 4 or 5 months I've been schlepping all the way up to the Wegmans in Germantown and doing one big shop instead of the weekly trips to the Giant on Arlington. I figured I was saving between $30 to $40 bucks on groceries, and that's with the cost of the gas factored in.

This month, I had a doctor's appointment all the way out in Greenbelt. Since there was an Aldi's not that far from the office I figured I'd check it out. The selection is very limited; brands you never heard of which I assume is the house brand and some european goods. But the prices were very low and the quality is pretty good. Milk was dirt cheap at $2.69 a gallon (Wegmans' is also pretty low at $2.89 iirc). There were also "special buys" which I took to mean stuff they get in and when it's gone, it's gone. The ones I noticed were Kraft Olive Oil Mayo in the squeeze jar, Duke's Mayo, a Leg of Lamb, some snazzy looking ice cream cakes and a bunch of other things I can't remember. I didn't buy any, but I was impressed with how big the produce section was: the store itself was maybe 4 or 5 aisles wide plus a refrigerated/frozen section all along three walls and produce took up one double sided aisle.

In the end, I got out of there having spent around the same as I would at Wegmans, even though I bought more meat than I normally would. I would definitely make a habit out of Aldi's if I could find one that was closer.

[Anonymous]

I grew up poor and ate a lot of Murray's frozen foods.

I remember Murry's hamburger patties as being pretty tasty. That was when lots of added salt/MSG was a feature, not a bug.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for posting that article. I actually live in Bethesda, and for the past 4 or 5 months I've been schlepping all the way up to the Wegmans in Germantown and doing one big shop instead of the weekly trips to the Giant on Arlington. I figured I was saving between $30 to $40 bucks on groceries, and that's with the cost of the gas factored in.

This month, I had a doctor's appointment all the way out in Greenbelt. Since there was an Aldi's not that far from the office I figured I'd check it out. The selection is very limited; brands you never heard of which I assume is the house brand and some european goods. But the prices were very low and the quality is pretty good. Milk was dirt cheap at $2.69 a gallon (Wegmans' is also pretty low at $2.89 iirc). There were also "special buys" which I took to mean stuff they get in and when it's gone, it's gone. The ones I noticed were Kraft Olive Oil Mayo in the squeeze jar, Duke's Mayo, a Leg of Lamb, some snazzy looking ice cream cakes and a bunch of other things I can't remember. I didn't buy any, but I was impressed with how big the produce section was: the store itself was maybe 4 or 5 aisles wide plus a refrigerated/frozen section all along three walls and produce took up one double sided aisle.

In the end, I got out of there having spent around the same as I would at Wegmans, even though I bought more meat than I normally would. I would definitely make a habit out of Aldi's if I could find one that was closer.

So, I assume you went to the Aldi's in Enterprise plaza in Lanham (MD-450 just outside the beltway). There is a new Aldi currently under construction in Beltsville (US-1 less than 1 mile outside the beltway). I know it still is not close to Bethesday, but is it about 10 minutes closer to Bethesda and frankly, it is about the same distance as driving to the Wegman's in Germantown.

You could drive to Aldi's in Beltsville, buy what you can and then go to the SFW in College Park (US-1 and Cherry Hill Lane, which is essentially at US-1 and the Beltway) to round out the shopping trip and still save a lot of money. It's two stops, but the second stop is on the way back home so only will only add about 3-5 minutes to the trip other than the shopping part.

[Anonymous]

I think Shopper's is the least expensive. They're getting more organic produce in. They have a nice variety of things--I was shocked to find gluten-free oyster sauce there, which I couldn't find at Grand Mart!

[Anonymous]

Aldi, we used to shop there all the time but it's too far away from where we live now.

[Anonymous]

I've heard on this forum that H-Mart has great produce prices, but I haven't checked it out yet.

[Anonymous]

I can vouch for H-Mart. But it can be annoyingly crowded at times.

[Anonymous]

I have pretty good luck with the Safeway app--loading coupons for various things, including produce at times. We are somewhat close to a Safeway gas station and one time with all the bonus points I received from adding coupons via the app I saved a dollar a gallon--filled up DH's big SUV and saved $25 that way.

[Anonymous]

Aldi for canned goods, cereals, crackers etc. Prices truly are rock bottom and I plan on visiting more often to stock up. I recently noticed fewer products containing HFCS than when I went a few years ago, but there are still some out there. They are also starting to offer a limited selection of organics.
H Mart for produce.
TJ's for things I can't get at the other places. Cheap and good frozen fruit, big container of organic yogurt for 3 bucks, sprouted grain breads, uncured meats.

[Anonymous]

Shopper's Food Warehouse

Great Wall Chinese supermarket
Hmart Korean supermarket
But with all Asian markets, if you go on a weekend, do so before 10am.