You’re hungry, you have little spare time, and you need to buy groceries but with so many different stores how do you decide where to shop? Albertsons, Food for Less, New Frontiers — they will all sell you food but the choice you make will affect how much you pay for that food. So why is it that some of us choose to pay more for our food than others? I will attempt to answer this question, which seems so simple but may in fact be a little deeper.
Supermarkets charge different prices because they have varying qualities of food. Quality is not a must, it is a want — it is something you choose to pay for because you have a preference for it. For example, some people shop at more expensive grocery stores such as New Frontiers or Whole Foods, while others shop at cheaper places like Food for Less and 99¢ Store. Those in between get a little taste of both by shopping at places like Albertsons and Ralphs.
For cream of the crop foods, the place to go in San Luis Obispo is New Frontiers. It is known for carrying “higher quality,” more exclusive products that may make you feel like you are one of the elite for shopping there. Shopping at a higher quality supermarket does come with a price. It is very expensive and you do not always get what you pay for. You often pay more money because food packaging looks nicer or because all produce are uniform in size.
Some advantages of shopping at a nicer market, however, are that they often carry harder-to-find products for those with special religious or dietary requirements, and the service is always good.
For the average consumer, Albertsons and Ralphs are two generic grocery stores that many of us find ourselves shopping at. The prices are somewhat reasonable, the meats and produce look tasty, and if you’re lucky, you just might find that rare ingredient needed to complete your dish. Most of us choose to shop at regular supermarkets because that’s what we were brought up on. We don’t consider leaving the generic supermarket world and venture into the discount world of food.
Moving on to our main attraction is Food For Less, a discounted grocery store, carrying similar foods to most generic stores. Shopping at a discount store offers you great deals that get you more for your money. The quality of the food may not be perfect but that doesn’t stop most of us from eating up the fantastic deals. Even though you may find a little bruise here or there on the produce or a box of cereal may have a faded logo it doesn’t mean the food is bad.
Some downsides of shopping at a place like Food For Less is the deli selection is not as good and you have to bag your own groceries.
Ask yourself this question, if a piece of cheese has mold on it, do you throw it away? You’re most likely going to cut that piece off and enjoy the rest of the cheese. Shouldn’t we do the same for an apple with a nick or a potato that doesn’t look perfect? Growing up shopping at places like Ralphs and Albertsons made me afraid to shop at discount grocery stores. Now, as an upperclassman, I have had to spend my money wisely and I am slowly getting into the groove of discounted markets.
The food tastes the same, you pay less for it and you save money in this economic recession. So be proud of where you shop and who cares what other people think. As we were all told as kids, don’t judge a book by its cover. The same goes for food — don’t judge an apple by its skin.
You forgot Trader Joe’s and Costco in your list. Sure, one requires a membership but surely it’s worth it for people to go in on one together. [ask for a membership for Christmas, it really is worth it.] You can split the costco membership with a friend by having them added on as your spouse. Then you each just pay 25 bucks a year to shop there, which is easily affordable and worth it.
Trader Joe’s also has a lot of really good snack type foods.
Also don’t forget the weekly Farmer’s Market downtown on Thursday evenings. It’s not a grocery store, but it’s an excellent place to get high-quality produce at decent prices. I do most of my grocery shopping at Food 4 Less, but I buy my produce from Farmer’s Market.
At a store like New Frontiers, the statement “you do not always get what you pay for” isn’t exactly correct. Purchasing food isn’t always about the cost per calorie. For some people, knowing whether their oats have been contaminated with wheat gluten is important. For some people, knowing when, where, and how their fish was caught is important. Next time you go to Albertsons, ask any clerk how their fish was caught. Next time you go to the Costco food stand, ask for an ingredient list of their fruit smoothie. You’re stuck with staff who run to their equally unknowledgable manager. Yes, I’ve done this, and yes, their managers don’t know anything.
Unfortunately, as a college student, I can’t afford to buy knowledge at the grocery store. Nevertheless, I’ll be making a couple trips to New Frontiers, because sometimes knowledge does matter.
I think you misspoke about Food for Less. Food for Less has a few awesome deals, a lot of reasonable prices, some overpriced stuff, and lots shopping choices for a town as small as SLO. A lot of their food is processed and cheap, but so is the food at Albertson’s. The quality and choice in fruits and veggies is MUCH better than that of Albertson’s and Trader Joe’s, and better priced, too! Bruised fruit? Faded boxes? What are you talking about? Have you ever been there?