Where To Buy Cheap Groceries
For the last year, Stumptown Savings’ Bryan M. Vance has been tracking where to find the cheap groceries in Portland. His one-person media operation, founded last April, is designed to help us all save some money at the grocery store and understand our local food systems (outside of restaurants). He shared a few of his tips on the podcast earlier this week. [City Cast Portland 🎧]
Overall: WinCo is cheapest. They can offer low prices, because they don’t advertise or take credit cards. (But you can find Bryan M. Vance on social media for a way around that latter one.) No, Costco isn’t the most budget-friendly. “ Where Costco's gonna save you money is not really in groceries unless you're someone who's like, I want 60 eggs a week, or I'm raising a family of baby cows who just guzzle milk,” says Vance.
The Grocery Outlet secret: If you go in with a shopping list of staples, this isn’t your best bet. But you can find the random deal (say, Irish butter) that’s cheaper than anywhere else. And the stores are owned by independent operators, so there’s variety at different locations. For example, the Hollywood neighborhood location carries Kalama Sourdough Bakery pizza dough.
Fred Meyer vs. QFC: Here’s some simple facts: "You are going to pay more for the exact same products if you shop at QFC over Fred Meyer. It's just the way it is. They're the same company, same store products. You're gonna pay significantly more,” says Vance.
Other grocery stores to consider:
- In Portland: "Market of Choice is actually not as expensive as you may think it is. It’s in the name: They pride themselves on offering you choice," he says.
- In Vancouver, Wash: “Check out Chuck's Fresh Markets,” says Vance. “This is like a premium grocery store that is not that much more expensive than like Safeway or Fred Meyer, but you're getting substantially better produce and substantially better meat and dairy. It is kind of a hidden gem, and I actually wish we had one in Portland proper.”
Further reading: Stumptown Savings newsletter has a weekly tracking of grocery prices as well as other tips. (You can subscribe here. You can support Vance’s work and become a Savings Club member here.)
