[pklein9747]

Hubby and I will be moving down at the end of the month and need to do a full grocery shopping...you know...all the staples, plus regular foods, paper goods, etc. Where will I find the best value for my money..Publix, SweetBay, or WalMart? Which has the best produce, meats?

[kb8tpw]

We have found Publix to be very satisfactory and while we like Sweetbay, it seems to be a bit more expensive, nothing scientific, just seems to be. We are about to do some cost comparisons with Publix and Walmart, but don't want to fix something that is not broke. There are 3-4 in the villages.

[Dynasty]

Skip the grocery, sell all your stove and turn your kitchen into a den. Eat out, save money and loose weight.

[barb1191]

Hubby does the food shopping and cooking....Yup, I got kicked out of the kitchen because he loves to cook. Fine with me!

Bill first shopped only at Publix and then decided to try Walmart. Some of the items were considerably less at Walmart than Publix. So now he shops at both places, but finds his better deals at Walmart. Walmart also has the convenience of the garden shop, hardware, electronics and housewares, hairdressers, eyeglasses, etc. which is convenient for one-stop shopping and open 24 hours.

[RichieLion]

I find Publix has more variety, but Sweetbay to be superior in the fresh foods dept. with better produce and better meats. The dairy also is cheaper than Publix where I buy half-n-half for my coffee at $3.89 a gallon instead of $4.39 at Publix.

Wal-Mart is cheaper than both, but doesn't have the all varieties you might want, but you can't beat them for the price of fresh foods, breads, dairy and soft drinks.

[Carla B]

Wal*Mart or Sam's Club would be the place to start for the staples and household supplies. When you finish shopping there, you can go to Publix, Sweetbay, or Fresh Market for the rest. Publix has awesome baked goods, by the way.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by Carla B

Wal*Mart or Sam's Club would be the place to start for the staples and household supplies. When you finish shopping there, you can go to Publix, Sweetbay, or Fresh Market for the rest. Publix has awesome baked goods, by the way.

I agree with Carla. Walmart for staples, cleaning supplies, pharmacy. Then Fresh Market for the yummy stuff (plus a pleasant shopping ambiance).

[redwitch]

Wal-Mart for the staples; Sam's for the cleaning supplies and some staples (depending on how much storage room you have); Publix for bread products; SweetBay for most produce (hate Publix's packaging the produce rather than letting us pick through and get our own); Fresh Market for the special stuff; check ads for deals between Publix, SweetBay, Winn-Dixie. Also, Albi's is a great place to save money, but you never know if they're going to have what you want. Still well worth checking out.

[Avista]

Aldi's: Best Prices. Poor selection
Wal-Mart: Good Prices Good Selection
Publix: Love to shop here. Prices not as good as first 2

[Ohiogirl]

ok, I know I've got a lot of competition, but I consider myself the queen of grocery shopping. Here's what I do (but bear in mind I LIKE to grocery shop and I also like to cook):

Aldi's and Sam's Club every couple of weeks or so - for what Aldi's has, their prices are super (and maybe I shouldn't share this info, but check out the frozen crab cakes and frozen salmon and shrimp ).

Sam's has great meats (we like their frozen Angus burgers, strip steaks, Rotisserie chicken, boneless chicken breasts) and cheeses at great prices, and I also like to get their Artisan lettuces (used to get the Spring Mix, like the Artisan better - and it lasts a good 2 weeks kept in the crisper). Also love their whole grain crackers and the Roaster's Choice Donut Blend coffee (almost half the cost of Dunkin Donuts - both 2.5 lbs. at Sam's). Also get most of our sundries - shampoo, deod, sunscreen, etc. there.

I make a list every week from the grocery ads on Wed. and stock up on their loss leaders (sale items) and the odds and ends to fill in. Usually Publix and Sweetbay, sometimes Winn Dixie, but that's not as convenient for me.

Now that I'm retired and have the time, I clip some coupons, but they don't double them here like in Ohio and I find most coupons are for processed stuff, but helps a little bit.

I would agree that Walmart overall prices are lower, but they don't seem to have big sale items. I will pick up a couple of things if I'm going to the garden center, but in general I just don't enjoy shopping there for some reason. Checkout seems to always take awhile, for one thing.

For some odd reason I haven't figured out yet, produce seems a lot higher in Florida than in Ohio grocery stores, but farmers' markets are cheaper, whereas in Ohio they are quite a bit more expensive than grocery stores. I don't like the crowds at Marion Market, and the Webster market is too far, so I am planning on trying the market in Lady Lake, but keep forgetting which day it is. Have been to Wildwood once, which is on Sat., but not a lot of selection the time we tried it (before Christmas).

After all this, I note you're just coming for a month. So throw all I said out the door and just go to Walmart and Publix and Sweetbay - spend more time golfing and at the pool!

[jerseyvillager]

Wal-Mart for price - by far.
Publix for Bake Goods.
Publix and Sweet Bay for specials.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

As all the previous posters have said, you're probably going to find a combination of items at different stores that will work the best for your needs. But you're also liable to find that you'll be having so much fun in TV that you won't want to be diddling around with doing your own cooking!!

Bill

[Pa & Giggi]

We will be arriving about May 1st moving down from MA and we are used to buying our meats from a local butcher rather than the supermarket. My husband loves to cook and it is just one of our little luxuries that we indulge in by shopping at a butcher and we buy our pastas fresh from a local Italian restaurant. Will we be giving that up? Can't wait to move down!

Norm and Gisele

[Francie]

When I move to TV, I will be very sad to leave my favorite grocery store....Wegmans. They started out in upstate NY and now have stores in MD, PA, NJ, VA. Any Wegmans fans out there?

[Freeda]

I think that Sweetbay and Freshmarket have the best produce; although the other places mentioned are also fine for produce. You asked about where to get the best meats, and if you like grass-fed beef, the only place that I have found where you can get that locally is at Publix (although the availability of various cuts varies somewhat from day to day, so it helps to order ahead if you want something in particular), or you can get grass-fed bison at Freshmarket. If you like spoiling yourself try a grass-fed t-bone steak from Publix; heavenly taste, not to mention how much healthier, and so worth the little additional cost; same for burgers from the grass-fed ground beef (two brands are carried) available at Publix.