Out of 11 Columbia area grocery stores, this one is the cheapest in March so far for SC shoppers
Let’s face it, shopping for groceries has been a bigger hit to the pocketbook for many of us as of late.
Skyrocketing inflation last year pushed food prices through the roof. And while inflation has waned, food costs have still managed to creep up recently.
According to the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index in February, food bought for the home rose 0.4% between December and January — up 1.2% over the last 12 months ending in January. To break it down a bit further, the cost of cereals and bakery products jumped 1.5% over that 12-month period, while the cost of fruits and vegetables rose 1.1% during that time frame.
With many South Carolina families on a budget, cost comparison for food is key to make ends meet each month.
To give residents a better idea of local food price differences, we visited 11 Columbia-area grocery stores, which included:
- Publix on Gervais St.
- Food Lion on Harden St.
- Lowes Food of Forest Acres
- Whole Foods on Cross Hill Rd.
- The Fresh Market on Forest Dr.
- Kroger on Forest Dr.
- Piggly Wiggly on Devine St.
- ALDI on Garners Ferry Rd.
- Trader Joe’s on Forest Dr.
- Walmart on Forest Dr.
- Target on Garners Ferry Rd.
At each store, we price-checked a list of 12 basic products which included:
- 1 gallon of milk
- Dozen white large eggs
- 2 pounds of enriched rice
- 1 pound of ground beef
- 1 pound of bananas
- 5 pounds of all-purpose flour
- Spaghetti
- Loaf of white bread
- Canned cut green beans
- 4 pounds granulated sugar
- Large frozen pizza
- Pack of boneless chicken breasts
On Tuesday, we recorded the prices of the cheapest available items on the list at each store, regardless of if they were name brands or staff brand options. Sales prices or prices based on loyalty cards were not included.
Which Columbia grocery stores are cheapest?
The total bills for the 12 items ranged from $32.40 to $63.41. Of the 11 stores checked, while not every item it had was the cheapest, Kroger on Forest Dr. had the lowest total bill at $32.40. The next two cheapest were Target on Garners Ferry Road at $35.75 and Piggly Wiggly on Devine St. at $36.47.
The Fresh Market on Forest Dr. was the most expensive with $63.41 for the total bill.
There are a few caveats to the data. For instance, Trader Joe’s had no canned cut green beans for sale on Tuesday, so that price was not included in its final bill. ALDI did not have 4 pounds of granulated sugar for sale on Tuesday, but did have 6 pounds-worth of Moreno cane sugar available for $5.65, so that was substituted in the total bill.
Full price list
Below is the full list of Columbia grocery stores and and the cheapest prices for the 12 items at each one.
Part 2 of chart
This story was originally published March 6, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
