Hot take , grocery store , but I do n’t think cut - up Mangifera indica should cost $ 10 …
We all need to eat, but in recent years, it has sometimes felt like our grocery stores and food brands areactively working against usto keep us nourished.
And it’s not just a feeling, but a fact — from 2019 to 2023,food prices rose by 25%,surpassing overall inflation of 19%during the same period. Inone survey, consumers cited food prices as their primary economic concern.
Anecdotally speaking, I have found it is sometimes cheaper for me to order pre-made meal delivery rather than buying all the ingredients myself (it’s also more convenient, but that’s another story). Sometimes, I even find DoorDash is cheaper, which is willldddd.
Curious about how groceries cost across the country, I fell into a rabbit hole onr/whatsinyourcart, a subreddit where people share their groceries, often alongside their bills and where they bought them.
I decided to round up all the best ~approximately~ $50 entries I could find from this year to see how far $50 can go depending on location, store, and what’s in the cart. It might make you feel a little better (or worse) about your own grocery bill. Let’s get into ‘em:
1.Here’s what $46.34 got this person from Ralph’s in Los Angeles:
2.To further prove my point that sometimes ingredients for one meal cost more than Doordash or meal delivery, this person’s ingredients for their dinner cost them $47.72 in NYC:
3.Here’s what $50.87 got this person at Whole Foods (location unspecified):
4.Another Whole Foods entry… $46 in Cincinnati:
5.Ok, but it’s not alllll terrible — here’s what $51.08 got this person at an Aldi in Wisconsin:
6.And here’s $50 at Albertsons in Southern California, of which $20 was in maple syrup:
7.Here’s what $51.69 looked like for this person at Star Market in Boston ($41.73 after rewards card):
8.But here’s $50 at a Walmart in Indiana… not bad (and they even have meat!):
9.Also very impressed by this person’s Aldi haul for $50.86 in Louisville, KY:
10.Here’s $51.90 at a Family Dollar in Chicago’s south side:
11.Here’s a pretty solid “just under $60” haul from Walmart in Saratoga Springs, NY:
12.Not sure how to feel about this $45 vegan snack haul from a Target in Massachusetts:
13.This is what $44 gets ya at Trader Joe’s in NYC:
14.A hop, skip, and a ferry away, here’s what $49.07 gets at an Aldi in New Jersey:
15.And here’s a burrito-cereal haul for $47 at a grocery store in Pennsylvania:
16.These people got a $51.10 produce-only haul from the “bargain bin” at a grocery store in the Bay area, California:
17.Lastly, here’s some bulk-buying for $48.52 at an H-E-B in Houston, TX:
