$8.50 for a loaf of bread

[Anonymous]

In defense of OP, I do think WF recently jacked the prices of prepared foods way up. Yes, it was never cheap, but lately I have been noticing things going substantially up in price there and have been putting them back. I do wonder if they are testing the limits on the prepared stuff. Definitely shopping at TJ more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess I’m the only person in this thread who has no idea what the hell brioche is.

Ha. It’s a lovely, fluffy, slightly sweet bread.

[Anonymous]

Baked goods prices are way up. Thank Russia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t go to Whole Foods. Their prices are insane

LOL learn math please this is not true. One can easily shop and Whole Foods sales weekly. Right now Rao's marinara is $5.99 a jar at Giant, Safeway and Harris Teeter closest is $7.99 at Giant. The others are like $10.99 a jar.

Harris Teeter is way more expensive.
I

For those that like Raos I came across a few jars at TJ Maxx of all places in their food isle. $3.49 each and bought 5 of them. I felt like I hit the sauce jackpot.

[Anonymous]

I don’t find it crazy, but I buy fresh baked bread for our sandwiches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm stuck on that you use brioche for your French toast. I use a thick white bread.

Is brioche (used instead of white bread) much better?

No. It isn't. French toast is a recipe meant to salvage stale bread. It isn't supposed to be made with anything expensive. The whole point of the recipe is thrift.

There is no law about how to make French toast. It’s excellent with challah as well. We are no longer European peasants and don’t need to eat like them. Modern day peasants eat pop tarts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t go to Whole Foods. Their prices are insane

LOL learn math please this is not true. One can easily shop and Whole Foods sales weekly. Right now Rao's marinara is $5.99 a jar at Giant, Safeway and Harris Teeter closest is $7.99 at Giant. The others are like $10.99 a jar.

Harris Teeter is way more expensive.
I

For those that like Raos I came across a few jars at TJ Maxx of all places in their food isle. $3.49 each and bought 5 of them. I felt like I hit the sauce jackpot.

I just bought Rao’s marinara at Safeway yesterday and it was $8.99 a jar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm stuck on that you use brioche for your French toast. I use a thick white bread.

Is brioche (used instead of white bread) much better?

It is!! If you like French toast, it’s worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t go to Whole Foods. Their prices are insane

LOL learn math please this is not true. One can easily shop and Whole Foods sales weekly. Right now Rao's marinara is $5.99 a jar at Giant, Safeway and Harris Teeter closest is $7.99 at Giant. The others are like $10.99 a jar.

Harris Teeter is way more expensive.
I

For those that like Raos I came across a few jars at TJ Maxx of all places in their food isle. $3.49 each and bought 5 of them. I felt like I hit the sauce jackpot.

I just bought Rao’s marinara at Safeway yesterday and it was $8.99 a jar.

NP. That’s how much it’s always been at Harris Teeter unless it’s on sale. I usually pick it up for less at Target or Fresh Market. I’ve never seen it as low as $3.49. I’d actually be a little suspicious at that price.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But, isn't that why people go to Whole Foods? I thought people go there to show your status (i.e., I got money to waste).

Weirdly it’s got the best sales on good meat and produce. Always has - decades ago in law school we’d walk to like 6 grocery stores to save money and WF always had cheap meat that was actually still good for several days.

+1, the only place where I find better deals on produce is TJ’s and WF quality is better. Meat is about the same as other stores but quality is better. And then throw in the “365” brand on a lot of basic staples like canned goods, and WF is often less expensive with higher average quality, than the Harris Teeter or Giant near my house. The store is also more convenient because it has a better layout, and it has more pleasant lighting.

WF affords all this by charging people an arm and a leg on all their prepared foods (WF hot bar is a cafeteria where every plate of food costs $40) and carrying some items that have a very high retail price (expensive cheese and wine, specialty olive oils, random organic stuff from small batch producers). Since the price is already high, the standard non-gouging markup is also high, so their margins are better than a grocery store that doesn’t sell those items and whose customers are unlikely to buy them.

However, $8.50 on a load of store brand bread, even brioche, doesn’t really fit that framework. It is gouging, or at least testing the market to see what it will bear. Another thing WF does on non-staples, especially bakery items, is not display prices prominently unless it’s a deal. So it’s easy to get gouged on those items if you don’t pay attention because they are, in fact, trying to trick you into throwing it in your basket and testing to see if you notice. I think it’s especially devious because with inflation, shoppers are used to seeing the total cost of a cart of groceries creep up, so you could double the cost of brioche and many people would notice at first because their groceries are ringing up at $84 versus $80- they’ll assume it was marginal price increases on a bunch of items. Not a single item doubling. The people who notice will be the ones getting 3 items and doing a double take when it rings up for more than $20.

+2 As a vegetarian, WF, TJ, and Costco (plus ethnic stores) are the only places I shop. WF produce is cheap and worth it if I need organic. 365 is also cheap and good quality. I never buy their prepared stuff so I’m not one of the people they make money off of.

[Anonymous]

I noticed that Giant brand whole wheat bread was $4 a loaf last week. That's crazy for a store brand. I remember just a couple of years ago when $5 could buy an organic loaf with a few simple ingredients.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s expensive, but this is not price gouging. It’s called the market. It’s more expensive than you want to pay and there is a simple remedy - do not buy. If enough people follow suit, the price will decrease or the item will not be offered. This is how the market works.

No, because monopolies. Safeway merging with Kroger means we don't have any non-kroger groceries anywhere near me.

[Anonymous]

Whenever i see food at Tj maxx or
Marshalls it is always expired

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But, isn't that why people go to Whole Foods? I thought people go there to show your status (i.e., I got money to waste).

Weirdly it’s got the best sales on good meat and produce. Always has - decades ago in law school we’d walk to like 6 grocery stores to save money and WF always had cheap meat that was actually still good for several days.

+1, the only place where I find better deals on produce is TJ’s and WF quality is better. Meat is about the same as other stores but quality is better. And then throw in the “365” brand on a lot of basic staples like canned goods, and WF is often less expensive with higher average quality, than the Harris Teeter or Giant near my house. The store is also more convenient because it has a better layout, and it has more pleasant lighting.

WF affords all this by charging people an arm and a leg on all their prepared foods (WF hot bar is a cafeteria where every plate of food costs $40) and carrying some items that have a very high retail price (expensive cheese and wine, specialty olive oils, random organic stuff from small batch producers). Since the price is already high, the standard non-gouging markup is also high, so their margins are better than a grocery store that doesn’t sell those items and whose customers are unlikely to buy them.

However, $8.50 on a load of store brand bread, even brioche, doesn’t really fit that framework. It is gouging, or at least testing the market to see what it will bear. Another thing WF does on non-staples, especially bakery items, is not display prices prominently unless it’s a deal. So it’s easy to get gouged on those items if you don’t pay attention because they are, in fact, trying to trick you into throwing it in your basket and testing to see if you notice. I think it’s especially devious because with inflation, shoppers are used to seeing the total cost of a cart of groceries creep up, so you could double the cost of brioche and many people would notice at first because their groceries are ringing up at $84 versus $80- they’ll assume it was marginal price increases on a bunch of items. Not a single item doubling. The people who notice will be the ones getting 3 items and doing a double take when it rings up for more than $20.

+2 As a vegetarian, WF, TJ, and Costco (plus ethnic stores) are the only places I shop. WF produce is cheap and worth it if I need organic. 365 is also cheap and good quality. I never buy their prepared stuff so I’m not one of the people they make money off of.

Consider Shoppers, Aldi, and Lidl. They have really good quality vegetarian ingredients for 1/2 the price of WF, and less than TJ. They all have organic. My adult daughter and mother are vegetarians.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whenever i see food at Tj maxx or
Marshalls it is always expired

I think she means Trader Joe’s.