4 Grocery Stores, 5 Hours, 1 Spreadsheet, and a Headache

I spent about 5 hours last weekend comparing grocery prices for our food stamp challenge week, which begins Feb. 10. I didn’t think this task would take nearly so long, or I wouldn’t have started it.

Of course, in real life, few people on a limited income would have the time or inclination to do such a detailed comparison. Clearly they wouldn’t go to four grocery stores in one weekend, as I did.

I ruled out Metcalfe’s and Copps from the start, based on prior observations of prices for items I typically buy. Whole Foods (“Whole Paycheck,” as I’ve heard it called) would clearly be out of reach. I usually pick up a few items at Trader Joe’s every couple of months, but it’s less convenient geographically. So that left Aldi, Woodman’s, Target—and Willy West, where I typically do most of my shopping.

For the challenge, I decided to limit myself to two stores. (For someone on food stamps, even going to more than one store might be impossible due to time constraints or transportation costs.)

The Goals

Before going further, I should clarify what I mean by wanting to eat mostly real, unprocessed foods. Normally, we try* to eat the following:

1. whole grains
2.  no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives
3. organic meat, dairy, eggs, fruits, and vegetables (or items free of antibiotics and hormones and low in pesticides even if not certified organic)

*Note: We’re not fanatical about these rules. We even eat at McDonald’s once in a while.

On the food stamp challenge, the first two goals should be manageable, I hope. As for the third, chef Mario Batali quickly noted that organics didn’t fit his own food stamp challenge budget. With a quick estimate of weekly costs, I found the same thing.

So for the challenge, I won’t be buying organic for most items. I still want to attempt to buy meat and dairy products that are antibiotic and hormone free. I also want to avoid nonorganic produce on the Dirty Dozen list. That will probably mean not buying much of those items this week!

Warning: The rest of this post is extremely detailed and geeky. Feel free to skip to the conclusion if you want. 

Comparison Shopping

I started the comparison with Aldi. I had never shopped there but had heard of its low prices. I went in with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised. While the selection was limited, my note taking was easy: prices were clearly posted on large signs, and only one brand of each item was offered, generally the Aldi store brand. Unfortunately, many items on my list were not available.

Next I headed to Woodman’s, also known locally for its low prices (to keep costs down, no credit cards are accepted) and vast selection. The store itself is overwhelming. Eric shopped there once and vowed never to set foot in it again. I lasted a few more times before finally giving up on it last summer. But I knew this wouldn’t be a valid attempt at the challenge without including Woodman’s.

When I emerged 90 minutes later, I had a headache and was more confused than ever.   

The next day, I went to Target and then did my usual weekly shopping at Willy West, noting prices for the items on my challenge list. At Target, I was pleasantly surprised by the prices on many items, although some items I wanted were not sold there.

Back home, I organized and compared my notes.

The Spreadsheet

Before I did the analysis, I thought I would end up shopping at Target and Willy West. I was feeling optimistic that the staples in the Willy West bulk aisle would be cheap enough, with the 10% discount offered to people in financial need, to counteract the store’s generally higher prices. But the numbers showed otherwise.

In a spreadsheet (yes, I was that obsessive about it, and no, most people wouldn’t do this, of course), I listed the items and their prices, with a column for each store. I noted package sizes and adjusted the prices where needed—keeping in mind that I would have to buy one discrete package of something even if it contains 9 oz in one store and 8 oz in another.

Then I highlighted in yellow the best option for each item.

The color bars balanced pretty evenly between Aldi, Woodman’s, and Target. Willy West only got three “wins”: frozen organic green beans (on the Dirty Dozen list, but reasonably priced when frozen), thanks to a sale; organic eggs (thanks to the 10% discount, which pushed it slightly lower than Woodman’s); and canned tuna in a BPA-free can (compared to the Starkist tuna pouches elsewhere, since I wanted to avoid cans that might have BPA).

I was still confused, so I looked at the list another way. How could I get all my desired items by shopping at only two stores?

• At Aldi and Target, I would not be able to get dried chickpeas, rBGH-free yogurt, organic raisins (grapes are in the Dirty Dozen), and antibiotic- and hormone-free chicken.
• At Aldi and Woodman’s, or at Woodman’s and Target, I would be able to get all my items, except I would pay more for the eggs and milk I want than at Willy West.

Granted, some of the items from Willy West would be higher quality. For example, bananas, dried beans, and popcorn kernels are available only as organics. For a person committed to eating nearly all organic food, even on a limited income, Willy might be the best option. But otherwise, I would be paying more for things I had decided to accept as nonorganic.  

Conclusion

In any case, I think it’s settled: I’ll have to brave Woodman’s again.

As for the second store,  it’s a toss-up between Aldi and Target. I calculated that Aldi would be about $0.50 less than Target in total. (Although some items were much cheaper there, by going to Aldi instead of Target I would miss out on some other items that are cheaper at Target than Woodman’s.) Yet that advantage isn't clear-cut since $0.50 is within the margin of error of my estimates. 

Finally, I also estimated that I would spend $7 to $10 more to do all my shopping at Woodman’s, avoiding a trip to Aldi or Target. That difference would push me over the weekly budget. If I had limited time or transportation, as someone on food stamps might, I’d have to do all my shopping at one store. In that case, I would have to forgo some items on my list in order to afford the others.

And of course, most people—on food stamps or not—would not have the time or inclination to do this comparison at all. If you’ve even read this far, thank you! My next post will be less geeky, I promise.