Anonymous
04/09/2023 13:48
Subject: Whole Foods versus Giant/local supermarket
I find both Whole Foods and Giant to be relatively on par with price (especially if you use the Prime discount and the Giant bonus card). If you get the Whole Foods brand and don’t buy everything organic, you can keep the costs pretty reasonable.
Anonymous
04/09/2023 09:38
Subject: Whole Foods versus Giant/local supermarket
Anonymous wrote:Giant is one of the most expensive stores. Whole Foods is better quality for nearly the same price as Giant. Wegmans, TJ, Costco, Walmart are better options to buy staples.
I agree - Giant is very expensive and their specials don't save that much money. Safeway seems to be cheaper overall around here. Harris Teeter seems cheaper when you are shopping but it doesn't reflect when you check out.
Anonymous
04/09/2023 09:31
Subject: Whole Foods versus Giant/local supermarket
Anonymous wrote:I find Safeway and Giant to be expensive and lacking in variety and quality, particularly for produce.
Before I had kids I would do MOM’s, Harris Teeter and Trader Joe’s. Now I do the bulk of the weekly shopping at Wegmans even though it is a 30-minute drive. I fill in from MOM’s and TJ if needed.
I tried going to Lidl and Aldi but didn’t really like them. I tend to avoid Whole Foods simply because the parking is such a nuisance.
Agree generally, but Safeway can vary greatly in terms of both quality and price -- I think that they either have a much more complex algorithm for setting prices and selecting products or individual stores must have more leeway in making those decisions.
The Safeway near me is a total travesty and I refuse to go in there -- poorly stocked, lots of damaged goods, produce selection is a joke, I wouldn't even touch the dairy. But with high prices anyway because why not?
But my kid goes to a swim class in Northern Virginia that is literally next door to a Safeway, and during a period of time when she was taking a 4pm swim class once a week, I wound up running in there several times to grab one or two items we needed for dinner or lunches the next day, and discovered it was bright, clean, incredibly well stocked, and ran tons of great deals. After that, I started doing a regular shop there for certain items (especially good for frozen food, dairy, and pantry staples like stock and canned tomatoes).
She's been on swimming hiatus a few months but I was just looking at the schedule and mentally factoring in which day would make the most sense for me to do a grocery run while she was at class. So you never know! Maybe the Safeway near you is just bad generally.
Anonymous
04/08/2023 22:24
Subject: Whole Foods versus Giant/local supermarket
I find Safeway and Giant to be expensive and lacking in variety and quality, particularly for produce.
Before I had kids I would do MOM’s, Harris Teeter and Trader Joe’s. Now I do the bulk of the weekly shopping at Wegmans even though it is a 30-minute drive. I fill in from MOM’s and TJ if needed.
I tried going to Lidl and Aldi but didn’t really like them. I tend to avoid Whole Foods simply because the parking is such a nuisance.
Before I had kids I would do MOM’s, Harris Teeter and Trader Joe’s. Now I do the bulk of the weekly shopping at Wegmans even though it is a 30-minute drive. I fill in from MOM’s and TJ if needed.
I tried going to Lidl and Aldi but didn’t really like them. I tend to avoid Whole Foods simply because the parking is such a nuisance.
Anonymous
04/08/2023 22:14
Subject: Re:Whole Foods versus Giant/local supermarket
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I shop at Whole Foods, Harris Teeter, Giant, and Trader Joes. I buy different things at different stores.
Whole Foods has good prices on high quality produce. It will cost more than at other stores but will cost the same or less than organic items at other stores and be better quality. It is worth it to buy produce at WF, in my opinion.
Meat is often about the same at Whole Foods and Harris Teeter, and the Whole Foods meat is generally of a better quality (hormone free, more likely to be from a regional farm, etc.). We don't eat a ton of meat but I almost always buy it at WF.
You can also get decent prices on the 356 brand at WF, especially on shelf stable items like canned goods and spices. Also a select number of brand name items, including dried pasta.
Prepared foods, most dairy, and commercial bakery items at WF are MUCH more expensive than at other stores. Prepared food at WFs is highway robbery.
Alcohol, bakery, certain snack items (nuts, chips, crackers) are very well priced at Trader Joes. These are the main things I buy there. Sometimes cheese. I find their frozen items low quality overall but there are a few things I'll buy there because the prices are very good and I check the ingredients list.
Harris Teeter is, overall, the best one-stop-shop if you are cost conscious. You have to watch their BOGO deals and pay attention to how they are applied -- many deals are applied even if you only buy one item (so you'd get it half price), though not all. Literally today I got butter for baking for half price (under $4 for 1lb, best price I've gotten in over a year). HT also tends to have the broadest range of eggs available, with some budget options (cage free are always cheaper than organic or the ones that can guarantee GMO-free, but you can't be too precious about chemicals in your food when you are on a budget in this day and age). Commercial bakery and dairy are also pretty much always cheapest at HT, even when you buy high quality. We splurge on a local farm for milk and can get it at HT in the returnable glass bottles for a full dollar cheaper than the equivalent option at WF. Yogurt options at HT are pretty much the same as WF and always cheaper.
Oh, and if you buy any of the following, the best prices are actually at Target (go to a full-size suburban Target, not a small city Target): soda, lunchbox items, Rao's sauce. I go to Target when I have to stock up on foods to send for snacks for school and activities, it's waaaaay cheaper than other options for that. And I recently discovered they run deals on Rao's all the time -- that's a favorite barely-cooking dinner for us on a weeknights, so I like to stock up on it. It actually winds up costing less than when I make my own sauce because I buy good quality canned tomatoes and those have gotten crazy expensive pretty much everywhere.
I maintain spreadsheets on grocery costs and can easily compare what I spent on the same items at different stores over time, and will also sometimes note prices on items I don't buy and take photos to record later so I can price compare. I also look at the weekly grocery deals at all stores. I am obsessive about grocery costs because it is one of the best ways to keep your monthly expenses down. I would estimate I save $100-200 a month on groceries this way. That's an extra $1200-2400 a year going into the 529 and Roth IRA instead of the grocery bill. Not a ton but it adds up over time. Worth it.
Have you shopped at wegmans? That’s my closest store and wonder how they stack up in your awesome system.
Only very occasionally -- the closest Wegmans is like a 30 minute drive so I only go if I'm doing something nearby. My impression is that it's fairly similar to Harris Teeter but without the BOGO deals which for me is the whole point of HT. The markup on prepared foods at Wegmans isn't as bad as at WF but still bad. Don't buy prepared foods! Inflation has pushed prices on many regular items up anywhere from 30-100%, but on prepared foods the increase is more like 100-300% increase. It's insane. I have a soft spot for Entenmann's coffee cakes and they are 200% more than they used to be so I simply do not buy them.
Oh, and I didn't mention Giant in my long post, but that's because Giant is weirdly expensive! Like OP is right that WF is just a much nicer store with better quality food, but at least HT is offering actual deals on food that I think justify the fact that it's not as nice to shop there. But Giant is actually the worst overall shopping experience and has the worst food options, but is also somehow the most expensive. It's like the CVS of grocery stores -- I only go there in an emergency.
Anonymous
04/08/2023 22:13
Subject: Whole Foods versus Giant/local supermarket
Giant is one of the most expensive stores. Whole Foods is better quality for nearly the same price as Giant. Wegmans, TJ, Costco, Walmart are better options to buy staples.
Anonymous
04/08/2023 22:05
Subject: Re:Whole Foods versus Giant/local supermarket
Anonymous wrote:I shop at Whole Foods, Harris Teeter, Giant, and Trader Joes. I buy different things at different stores.
Whole Foods has good prices on high quality produce. It will cost more than at other stores but will cost the same or less than organic items at other stores and be better quality. It is worth it to buy produce at WF, in my opinion.
Meat is often about the same at Whole Foods and Harris Teeter, and the Whole Foods meat is generally of a better quality (hormone free, more likely to be from a regional farm, etc.). We don't eat a ton of meat but I almost always buy it at WF.
You can also get decent prices on the 356 brand at WF, especially on shelf stable items like canned goods and spices. Also a select number of brand name items, including dried pasta.
Prepared foods, most dairy, and commercial bakery items at WF are MUCH more expensive than at other stores. Prepared food at WFs is highway robbery.
Alcohol, bakery, certain snack items (nuts, chips, crackers) are very well priced at Trader Joes. These are the main things I buy there. Sometimes cheese. I find their frozen items low quality overall but there are a few things I'll buy there because the prices are very good and I check the ingredients list.
Harris Teeter is, overall, the best one-stop-shop if you are cost conscious. You have to watch their BOGO deals and pay attention to how they are applied -- many deals are applied even if you only buy one item (so you'd get it half price), though not all. Literally today I got butter for baking for half price (under $4 for 1lb, best price I've gotten in over a year). HT also tends to have the broadest range of eggs available, with some budget options (cage free are always cheaper than organic or the ones that can guarantee GMO-free, but you can't be too precious about chemicals in your food when you are on a budget in this day and age). Commercial bakery and dairy are also pretty much always cheapest at HT, even when you buy high quality. We splurge on a local farm for milk and can get it at HT in the returnable glass bottles for a full dollar cheaper than the equivalent option at WF. Yogurt options at HT are pretty much the same as WF and always cheaper.
Oh, and if you buy any of the following, the best prices are actually at Target (go to a full-size suburban Target, not a small city Target): soda, lunchbox items, Rao's sauce. I go to Target when I have to stock up on foods to send for snacks for school and activities, it's waaaaay cheaper than other options for that. And I recently discovered they run deals on Rao's all the time -- that's a favorite barely-cooking dinner for us on a weeknights, so I like to stock up on it. It actually winds up costing less than when I make my own sauce because I buy good quality canned tomatoes and those have gotten crazy expensive pretty much everywhere.
I maintain spreadsheets on grocery costs and can easily compare what I spent on the same items at different stores over time, and will also sometimes note prices on items I don't buy and take photos to record later so I can price compare. I also look at the weekly grocery deals at all stores. I am obsessive about grocery costs because it is one of the best ways to keep your monthly expenses down. I would estimate I save $100-200 a month on groceries this way. That's an extra $1200-2400 a year going into the 529 and Roth IRA instead of the grocery bill. Not a ton but it adds up over time. Worth it.
Have you shopped at wegmans? That’s my closest store and wonder how they stack up in your awesome system.
Anonymous
04/08/2023 22:02
Subject: Re:Whole Foods versus Giant/local supermarket
I'll add that we primarily go to WF because they carry chocolate ripple. No one else in our area carries it except Wegmans and it's almost a dollar more expensive. Not a fan of Wegmans so WF is our mainstay.
Anonymous
04/08/2023 22:01
Subject: Re:Whole Foods versus Giant/local supermarket
Very similar to the poster above but we do Costco, WF, HT, and Aldi. I go to Aldi on Wed or Thursday for fruit restock, whatever is on sale for their new ad. Will also stop there for uncured bacon, some cheese, frozen items, random veggies.
WF is my go-to and I cost compare my list to HT. If it's more than $10 savings I'll go with HT, partially because they are always out of stuff for pickup and it's a whole hassle. WF is way more consistent with their stock and selection. WF also carries non high temp pasteurized milk and the best consistent price on pasture raised eggs. Also competitive on most meat. HT wins on BOGO items.
Costco is PT, TP, and specific items we like: jones chicken sausage, raos sauce, etc. Most of the year they have the best price on berries so we tend to do every other week between Costco and WF. Usually one of us will go get gas and fill up and get a few things.
Add in trader Joe's like once every 2-3 months for a few specific items.
WF is my go-to and I cost compare my list to HT. If it's more than $10 savings I'll go with HT, partially because they are always out of stuff for pickup and it's a whole hassle. WF is way more consistent with their stock and selection. WF also carries non high temp pasteurized milk and the best consistent price on pasture raised eggs. Also competitive on most meat. HT wins on BOGO items.
Costco is PT, TP, and specific items we like: jones chicken sausage, raos sauce, etc. Most of the year they have the best price on berries so we tend to do every other week between Costco and WF. Usually one of us will go get gas and fill up and get a few things.
Add in trader Joe's like once every 2-3 months for a few specific items.
Anonymous
04/08/2023 21:45
Subject: Re:Whole Foods versus Giant/local supermarket
I shop at Whole Foods, Harris Teeter, Giant, and Trader Joes. I buy different things at different stores.
Whole Foods has good prices on high quality produce. It will cost more than at other stores but will cost the same or less than organic items at other stores and be better quality. It is worth it to buy produce at WF, in my opinion.
Meat is often about the same at Whole Foods and Harris Teeter, and the Whole Foods meat is generally of a better quality (hormone free, more likely to be from a regional farm, etc.). We don't eat a ton of meat but I almost always buy it at WF.
You can also get decent prices on the 356 brand at WF, especially on shelf stable items like canned goods and spices. Also a select number of brand name items, including dried pasta.
Prepared foods, most dairy, and commercial bakery items at WF are MUCH more expensive than at other stores. Prepared food at WFs is highway robbery.
Alcohol, bakery, certain snack items (nuts, chips, crackers) are very well priced at Trader Joes. These are the main things I buy there. Sometimes cheese. I find their frozen items low quality overall but there are a few things I'll buy there because the prices are very good and I check the ingredients list.
Harris Teeter is, overall, the best one-stop-shop if you are cost conscious. You have to watch their BOGO deals and pay attention to how they are applied -- many deals are applied even if you only buy one item (so you'd get it half price), though not all. Literally today I got butter for baking for half price (under $4 for 1lb, best price I've gotten in over a year). HT also tends to have the broadest range of eggs available, with some budget options (cage free are always cheaper than organic or the ones that can guarantee GMO-free, but you can't be too precious about chemicals in your food when you are on a budget in this day and age). Commercial bakery and dairy are also pretty much always cheapest at HT, even when you buy high quality. We splurge on a local farm for milk and can get it at HT in the returnable glass bottles for a full dollar cheaper than the equivalent option at WF. Yogurt options at HT are pretty much the same as WF and always cheaper.
Oh, and if you buy any of the following, the best prices are actually at Target (go to a full-size suburban Target, not a small city Target): soda, lunchbox items, Rao's sauce. I go to Target when I have to stock up on foods to send for snacks for school and activities, it's waaaaay cheaper than other options for that. And I recently discovered they run deals on Rao's all the time -- that's a favorite barely-cooking dinner for us on a weeknights, so I like to stock up on it. It actually winds up costing less than when I make my own sauce because I buy good quality canned tomatoes and those have gotten crazy expensive pretty much everywhere.
I maintain spreadsheets on grocery costs and can easily compare what I spent on the same items at different stores over time, and will also sometimes note prices on items I don't buy and take photos to record later so I can price compare. I also look at the weekly grocery deals at all stores. I am obsessive about grocery costs because it is one of the best ways to keep your monthly expenses down. I would estimate I save $100-200 a month on groceries this way. That's an extra $1200-2400 a year going into the 529 and Roth IRA instead of the grocery bill. Not a ton but it adds up over time. Worth it.
Whole Foods has good prices on high quality produce. It will cost more than at other stores but will cost the same or less than organic items at other stores and be better quality. It is worth it to buy produce at WF, in my opinion.
Meat is often about the same at Whole Foods and Harris Teeter, and the Whole Foods meat is generally of a better quality (hormone free, more likely to be from a regional farm, etc.). We don't eat a ton of meat but I almost always buy it at WF.
You can also get decent prices on the 356 brand at WF, especially on shelf stable items like canned goods and spices. Also a select number of brand name items, including dried pasta.
Prepared foods, most dairy, and commercial bakery items at WF are MUCH more expensive than at other stores. Prepared food at WFs is highway robbery.
Alcohol, bakery, certain snack items (nuts, chips, crackers) are very well priced at Trader Joes. These are the main things I buy there. Sometimes cheese. I find their frozen items low quality overall but there are a few things I'll buy there because the prices are very good and I check the ingredients list.
Harris Teeter is, overall, the best one-stop-shop if you are cost conscious. You have to watch their BOGO deals and pay attention to how they are applied -- many deals are applied even if you only buy one item (so you'd get it half price), though not all. Literally today I got butter for baking for half price (under $4 for 1lb, best price I've gotten in over a year). HT also tends to have the broadest range of eggs available, with some budget options (cage free are always cheaper than organic or the ones that can guarantee GMO-free, but you can't be too precious about chemicals in your food when you are on a budget in this day and age). Commercial bakery and dairy are also pretty much always cheapest at HT, even when you buy high quality. We splurge on a local farm for milk and can get it at HT in the returnable glass bottles for a full dollar cheaper than the equivalent option at WF. Yogurt options at HT are pretty much the same as WF and always cheaper.
Oh, and if you buy any of the following, the best prices are actually at Target (go to a full-size suburban Target, not a small city Target): soda, lunchbox items, Rao's sauce. I go to Target when I have to stock up on foods to send for snacks for school and activities, it's waaaaay cheaper than other options for that. And I recently discovered they run deals on Rao's all the time -- that's a favorite barely-cooking dinner for us on a weeknights, so I like to stock up on it. It actually winds up costing less than when I make my own sauce because I buy good quality canned tomatoes and those have gotten crazy expensive pretty much everywhere.
I maintain spreadsheets on grocery costs and can easily compare what I spent on the same items at different stores over time, and will also sometimes note prices on items I don't buy and take photos to record later so I can price compare. I also look at the weekly grocery deals at all stores. I am obsessive about grocery costs because it is one of the best ways to keep your monthly expenses down. I would estimate I save $100-200 a month on groceries this way. That's an extra $1200-2400 a year going into the 529 and Roth IRA instead of the grocery bill. Not a ton but it adds up over time. Worth it.
Anonymous
04/08/2023 21:35
Subject: Whole Foods versus Giant/local supermarket
Anonymous wrote:I tend to shop at MOM's, with Safeway being my big chain alternative when necessary, but what I find is that item-vs-item, MOM's is cheaper. Like, if I compare Cascadian Farms Purely O's or organic bananas or Natural Value organic black beans or whatever, MOM's is cheaper. What makes Safeway cheaper is that they also have the generic brand non-organic cheerios, and the sad produce, and the processed food of dubious origin. So, for me, switching to Safeway wouldn't save me money unless I also wanted to switch what I buy, which I don't.
I am spending an absurd amount of money on groceries lately, but I rationalize it with the fact that we don't eat meat or restaurants/takeout, or much processed food at all (I make our own bread, garden burgers, crackers, etc.). I would much rather make that trade than have to buy food I don't love as much from Safeway.
OP here. I too am spending a lot of money on groceries. It really does seem to be a much higher share of the budget than just a few years ago. Everything just adds up. But at the same time, we almost never ever eat out and rarely ever get takeaway.
Speaking of MOM's, we do have two near us and I have gone in them. Various friends say MOM's is cheaper than Whole Foods but when I look at my basket of goods, I can't claim to find it true. MOM's also doesn't have the quantity of Whole Foods, for example we devour blueberries on a large scale and WF sells large packets of blueberries that MOM's doesn't. But my friends LOVE MOM's so perhaps they're seeing things I don't see.
I wonder how WF compares to Wegmans?
Anonymous
04/08/2023 21:27
Subject: Whole Foods versus Giant/local supermarket
I tend to shop at MOM's, with Safeway being my big chain alternative when necessary, but what I find is that item-vs-item, MOM's is cheaper. Like, if I compare Cascadian Farms Purely O's or organic bananas or Natural Value organic black beans or whatever, MOM's is cheaper. What makes Safeway cheaper is that they also have the generic brand non-organic cheerios, and the sad produce, and the processed food of dubious origin. So, for me, switching to Safeway wouldn't save me money unless I also wanted to switch what I buy, which I don't.
I am spending an absurd amount of money on groceries lately, but I rationalize it with the fact that we don't eat meat or restaurants/takeout, or much processed food at all (I make our own bread, garden burgers, crackers, etc.). I would much rather make that trade than have to buy food I don't love as much from Safeway.
I am spending an absurd amount of money on groceries lately, but I rationalize it with the fact that we don't eat meat or restaurants/takeout, or much processed food at all (I make our own bread, garden burgers, crackers, etc.). I would much rather make that trade than have to buy food I don't love as much from Safeway.
Anonymous
04/08/2023 21:02
Subject: Whole Foods versus Giant/local supermarket
Of course I'm noticing food inflation and the rising cost of living and it's amazing how the money just disappears with little to show for it. I admittedly do most of my grocery shopping at Whole Foods and only periodically pop into the Giant for one or two items if I'm passing by the store. At first appearance they are apples and oranges. Whole Foods is lovely! Bright and clean and cheerful! Giant is not. But I can see they do have overlaps in food. However, when I look more closely at the pricing, while the Giant can be cheaper it's not necessarily that much cheaper, and not even always cheaper. Do people really save money doing most of their shop at the Giant? I get the impression if I switched to doing most of the shopping at the Giant I might, maybe, save 40-50 a week. Which isn't worth it to me, and the produce quality never looks as good or tasty either.
Have people done a smart comparison of Whole Foods versus generic supermarket stores to see if they really are that much cheaper?
Have people done a smart comparison of Whole Foods versus generic supermarket stores to see if they really are that much cheaper?