Where do u grocery shop and why?

beaches61
beaches61 Posts: 154 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Where do you grocery shop and what do you like/dislike about where you shop?

If you shop at more than one place, why?

I do the bulk of my grocery shopping (staples) at Walmart because it's close to my house and its a pretty inexpensive place to stock up on staples, and since I have 2 teenagers, I like to SAVE MONEY on groceries. It's a new store, so it's pretty nice, but not as nice as some of the other grocery stores, so it's not like a premiere grocery shopping experience. I sacrifice that experience to save money, I guess.

We don't buy meat and some other things at Walmart, though.

Sometimes I also shop at Aldi, which is even cheaper but is not really a pleasant shopping experience, either, but it's further from my house and a fairly small store.

We buy custom cut and ground meat at a local business that sells mainly to restaurants in bulk, but you can put in an order and they will cut and grind your meat to order. It's cheaper AND fresher than what you can get at a grocery store, so it's a no-brainer. They don't advertise, and not everyone knows about it, though - a nice local secret.

We buy fresh seafood at nicer grocery stores, either Harris Teeter or Publix, whoever has the best selection. We also buy some specialty items there and sometime we buy certain types of produce there.

In the growing season, we buy produce from produce farms or from a farmer's market.
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  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Kroger. I do occasionally shop other places for convenience but Kroger has the best produce department and carries more meat raised without antibiotics, steroids or hormones than other stores in my area. And they have those shopper cards so they can track what you buy, then periodically they send coupons for stuff you buy. Even coupons for fresh produce or cash off entire purchase.

    But I am working my way toward raising or hunting most of our food.
  • angf0679
    angf0679 Posts: 1,121 Member
    Sobeys - simply because it the nearest grocery store to me. Although Superstore is only an additional couple minute walk further (in the opposite direction)

    edit - I do want to get the local fresh veggies at the farmers market as they start coming in. Prices seem to be about the same from the grocery store.
  • Celestestarbaby
    Celestestarbaby Posts: 12
    Safeway mostly because its down the block and they have a big enough selection of organic or specialty items to satisfy me. Its really too expensive though- I pay for the convenience I guess. When I'm up to I'll also go to sprouts for their bulk nuts and their 10-bean soup mix (its amazing).
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,268 Member
    Too many purveyors to list but the bulk of our meat is either from our neighbors who supply us with Berkshire pork, lamb, chickens, duck and friends that supply us with venison, moose, wild duck or from an Aussie that's opened a great butcher shop and pick up things like buffalo, emu, kangaroo and bear on occasion.

    Seafood is from Sobey's a local supermarket who bring in just about anything I want and is where I buy staple's like milk, yogurt, butter, ice cream, crumpets, peanut butter, canned tomatoesetc. Veg is all local from 3 different sources and we're seasonal eaters as well. We also grow some veg and do canning throughout the season like asparagus, strawberries, string beans, corn salsas, chutneys etc. Breads are from a friend that supplies mostly commercially from his wood oven. I use these same people for my catering business.
  • Platform_Heels
    Platform_Heels Posts: 388 Member
    Big Y.

    They have a wide selection of items and there are certain things that I can only find there, like this one particular brand of bacon
  • MamaFunky
    MamaFunky Posts: 735 Member
    I could have practically written your post, Beaches! We do just about the same thing.

    Walmart is the closest grocery store to us and we are in there far more than we need to be. Its almost like everyone knows our name kindof thing. :laugh: But, we do find that their prices on things like sour cream, yogurt, milk, butter, eggs...etc are less expensive than Food Lion, Harris Teeter etc.

    We also love to go to Sam's. We have things there that we know that even though we are buying in bulk, it saves us some money in the long run. I really like their meat section too. You can get a big pork tenderloin for a great price. We like their beef tenderloin too. I also get our spinach, Romaine and Spring Mix there. For some reason I feel like it last longer.

    If we want seafood we go to Harris Teeter or Whole Foods. They both have a great selection.

    I love grocery shopping, especially when I can go and its not busy. I am such a label reader so it helps when its not so crowded!
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    Kroger! I used to grocery shop at Walmart. Then by chance I had to get my food from Kroger - then I actually realized I actually liked the taste of fruit and some veg! I'll still go to Walmart due to their low prices which ain't always so low from time to time. But honestly I'd rather grocery shop in a town that's an hour away because I'm there a few times a week than food shop in the Walmart a few miles from home. The nearby Kroger is also not *exactly* on my way home (yeah I'm lazy) and this shouldn't have anything to do with anything but I could do without the loud music often coming from people's cars just sitting in the parking lot :ohwell:
  • chezjuan
    chezjuan Posts: 747 Member
    Wegmans mostly. Mainly because it's next to my health club so I can shop after I work out. I also like their selection. I also shop at Giant or Safeway - sometimes because the local Wegmans doesn't have what I need, and other times because it is more convenient to go to one of the other stores, depending on where my other errands take me.

    I get milk, eggs, some cheese, and bacon from a local dairy. I also occasionally get my meats from them, especially when I want something that blows away even the best organic free-range stuff from a regular grocery store. Unfortunately the meats they sell are a bit pricey, otherwise I would get all my meat from there.

    I use the Wegmans app to set up shopping lists no matter where I go, and whatever store I got to I refer to that list. It's also a great way to check prices... if I am at Safeway and am looking at an item, I can see if it is worth waiting until my next Wegmans trip.
  • becky10rp
    becky10rp Posts: 573 Member
    LOVE Wegmans - they have great produce.............but it's about a 15 minute schlep.

    There's a Giant across the street from my house - I go there because it's convenient - but I don't love it................
  • kandell
    kandell Posts: 473 Member
    HyVee, typically (midwest grocery chain). Unless I'm getting something special. I like to make a lot of Korean food, so I sometimes shop at the Asian markets in town. But more often than not, I find everything I need and I find great quality food for a good price at HyVee.
  • Pensworth
    Pensworth Posts: 31 Member
    Pricerite and Aldi's for most of my produce. There is also a couple local farms that I like to go to for produce sometimes, and the occasional baked good. For our chop meat it's the Meat Depot, another local place. Most everything else, it could be Big Y (they have nice pizza dough) or Wal Mart for dry goods. Pretty much, I will check any place out. Most places have one or two things that are a good deal there, and nowhere else.

    Oh yes. There's also the local bakery thrift store for our breads. And we do BJs for bulk things like toilet paper and some foods.
  • angel5561
    angel5561 Posts: 142 Member
    Where do you grocery shop and what do you like/dislike about where you shop?

    If you shop at more than one place, why?

    I do the bulk of my grocery shopping (staples) at Walmart because it's close to my house and its a pretty inexpensive place to stock up on staples, and since I have 2 teenagers, I like to SAVE MONEY on groceries. It's a new store, so it's pretty nice, but not as nice as some of the other grocery stores, so it's not like a premiere grocery shopping experience. I sacrifice that experience to save money, I guess.

    We don't buy meat and some other things at Walmart, though.

    Sometimes I also shop at Aldi, which is even cheaper but is not really a pleasant shopping experience, either, but it's further from my house and a fairly small store.

    We buy custom cut and ground meat at a local business that sells mainly to restaurants in bulk, but you can put in an order and they will cut and grind your meat to order. It's cheaper AND fresher than what you can get at a grocery store, so it's a no-brainer. They don't advertise, and not everyone knows about it, though - a nice local secret.

    We buy fresh seafood at nicer grocery stores, either Harris Teeter or Publix, whoever has the best selection. We also buy some specialty items there and sometime we buy certain types of produce there.

    In the growing season, we buy produce from produce farms or from a farmer's market.


    Basically this lol aldis has good produce deals sometimes I do winn Dixie for buy one get one meats . Walmart is just cheaper they also price match so you can get buy one get ones at walmart prices my sister does it all the time
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Wegmans and Shop Rite. Sometimes Acme, it's closer, but their selection kinda sucks.

    I really wish there was one store that had everything I like though. Wegmans' bakery is awesome and their store brand is great, but it's a bit farther, and they don't have the fresh squeezed lemon my husband uses a lot of, and Shop Rite has good sales (but I hate their lunch meat, their bakery isn't as good, and they never have distilled water, which I need). So I pretty much pick the store I go to depending on what I need, but I think most weeks I end up going to both. Wegmans is next to Target too, which is pretty handy when I need something there.
  • micheleb15
    micheleb15 Posts: 1,418 Member
    I shop at Whole Foods regularly. I find that the prices are pretty comparable to most everything around me, plus it's next to my building and I don't have a car so it super convenient. When I lived in FL, I shopped at Publix. Also a big fan of Trader Joes.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Bulk shopping done at Costco because I can feed a small army for not much $$$. Individual and/or specialty type items we shop at Sprouts (just around the corner from our house) and Trader Joe's (near my wife's office)...occasionally Albertson's but I hate that place (because they never have checkout staff and lines out the butt).
  • Aello11
    Aello11 Posts: 312 Member
    giant eagle - for most items (fuel perks are awesome and they have a bit of a monopoly in the the area). But they don't always have a wide selection so I am usually in Walmart to pick up a couple of odds and ends every weekend.
  • highervibes
    highervibes Posts: 2,219 Member
    Walmart for mostly everything, Costco for meat and cheese.
  • laurie04427
    laurie04427 Posts: 421 Member
    90% of our grocery's at Hannaford (grocery chain) and like 10% at a big health food store in the city. Basically we go to the health food store for our snack run and buy like $20 worth of trail mix and some chocolate covered nuts (YUM!).

    Forgot to include why. We shop at Hannaford because it's on the way home from work. Otherwise I'd probably shop at Wal-Mart for groceries but it's out of the way.
  • KatiesNewGoals
    KatiesNewGoals Posts: 29 Member
    H-E-B! It has great everything, pretty much. A good selection of fresh produce and organic items. About on par with Walmart in terms of price. A lot times their house brand of things is just as good as name brand. We have a few Whole Foods and Trader Joes, but they are always so so packed, it really doesn't make for an enjoyable experience. For time, money, and overall experience, I'll take H-E-B!
  • redheaddee
    redheaddee Posts: 2,005 Member
    I get my produce from the farmer's market & my garden, I grow my own meat, and the rest comes from Bi-Lo because it is on the way home from work. Oh and Trader Joe's for coffee and other yumminess.
  • kbmnurse
    kbmnurse Posts: 2,484 Member
    Shop Rite, CoOp in town, Hannaford. Never Walmart's, I don't care how much I save.
  • thanson563
    thanson563 Posts: 75 Member
    90% of our grocery's at Hannaford (grocery chain) and like 10% at a big health food store in the city. Basically we go to the health food store for our snack run and buy like $20 worth of trail mix and some chocolate covered nuts (YUM!).

    Forgot to include why. We shop at Hannaford because it's on the way home from work. Otherwise I'd probably shop at Wal-Mart for groceries but it's out of the way.

    I was starting to think I was the only Hannaford shopper here! I go there because it's convenient and I know where everything is.
  • Azexas
    Azexas Posts: 4,334 Member
    Adam's Fairacre farms... usually has a lot of local produce and their prices are fair. Or Stop and Shop which is right on my way home from work. The gas rewards are pretty nice.
  • EreborsPrincess
    EreborsPrincess Posts: 139
    Publix - they're about 3 miles from my house and you can't beat the customer service. Sam's for paper goods and a few odds and ends.
    The Fresh Market and Trader Joe's for a few specialty items, which means a three-hour round trip to Tallahassee.

    We also go to the farmer's market during the summer for local fruits and veggies.
  • glin23
    glin23 Posts: 460 Member
    Everywhere. Safeway, Costco, Lucky, Sprouts, Whole Foods, a couple farmer's markets, Marina Food, Ranch 99, etc....
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    I shop where it's inexpensive- stress free- safe and close/convenient.

    which means MOSTLY shop rite.

    I used to drive 5 miles past the local Shop Rite- to go to the super walmart- I do 90% of my shopping at 1030 or 11 PM_ any place that feels unsavory to me I do not frequent.

    I hate wegmans- too stressful- but I will go if it's on my way or near me and I'm in the area.

    I'd love to bulk shop- or go to a local butcher- but I am very busy and doing that is an extra step- not sure it's worth my time.
  • bcf7683
    bcf7683 Posts: 1,653 Member
    I get everything I can at Aldi (produce, condiments, snacks, frozen veggies/fruit, toiletries) and go to Walmart for the rest.

    Where I live, our choices are Walmart, Aldi and Giant Eagle....and Giant Eagle is a rip off. Nearest Whole Foods is about an hour away. The joys of living in crapstown, PA.
  • redversustheblue
    redversustheblue Posts: 1,216 Member
    Mostly Walmart, Target, and Safeway. I find better fruits and veggies at Safeway, and sometimes Target is just easier to go to than Walmart. When I have to buy a lot of stuff, I do Walmart though since it's just cheaper. I live in a smaller city so there's not a ton of options unfortunately.
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
    I'm in the Air Force, so I do most of my shopping at the base commissary because they sell stuff at cost. They aren't known for their produce freshness/selection, nor do they get new products quickly, so I get most of that stuff at Meijer, Dorothy Lane Market, and Trader Joe's. And Target for Mello Yello Zero because they are the only place in my area that sells it.

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