# What do you pay for groceries? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 14, 2003, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-groceries/175186 "2003-05-14T13:15:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-groceries/175186/21 "2003-05-14T22:11:58Z")
For store-brand items: loaf of split-top wheat bread = $1.09 Gallon of milk = $2.44 (Actually, a “twin pack” (two gallons stuck together on a plastic handle) for $4.88–single gallons are Land o’Lakes brand and over $3 each!) Pound of butter: 1.99 (can often find coupons in the paper for .99 butter, which I then freeze. I’d never pay $4! I’d buy “spread” first!) _looks at rest of thread_ Whoohoo! Go Cub Foods! ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-groceries/175186/22 "2003-05-14T22:48:19Z")
I really have no idea how much I pay for those things. _Goes to kitchen to check price tag clasp thingy on bread_ $2.89 (no price tags on the milk and butter) ---
**Author:** ![fish\_in\_the\_sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7ba0ec/32.png) [@fish\_in\_the\_sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fish_in_the_sky)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-groceries/175186/23 "2003-05-14T23:55:19Z")
I’m in Duluth Minnesota. $2.39 for a loaf of hippie bread from a local bakery (Positively Third Street) because I refuse to eat squishy, fake, cheap bread. $1.65 for a half gallon of hormone-free 1% milk. Plus a 50 cent deposit on the returnable glass bottle. I’m not sure what I pay for a pound of butter, but I’m pretty sure it’s about $1.99. The eggs I buy are local free-range, and are between $1.50 and $2.00 a dozen, depending on size. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-groceries/175186/24 "2003-05-15T00:20:35Z")
Jacksonville FL - Milk - $2.89/gallon Break - .89/loaf of white store brand Butter - dunno - I think I get it on sale for $2.50, but I only buy it for baking. If I make the trek to the super WalMart, I can get the milk for 2.74 and the bread for .75 - it’s not worth the gas to just go for that. ---
**Author:** ![BadBaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71c47a/32.png) [@BadBaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BadBaby)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-groceries/175186/25 "2003-05-15T00:41:17Z")
Lessee, extreme Southern California area here. Milk is 2.08 a quart, butter was .86 (could have been a sale price), and I make my own bread. Goodness knows whether making my own bread comes out cheaper or not, when you factor everything in. The taste of homemade sammich bread or truly fresh bagels on the weekend makes just about any price seem reasonable though. Oh, and count me in the group of people who wouldn’t know the price of these things, usually. I just happened to have my receipt from yesterday on hand. My mom would be ashamed of me. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-groceries/175186/26 "2003-05-15T00:47:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JuanitaTech \* > \*\*I pay about $3.00 or so for a loaf of bread. Now that the farmers’ market is back in season, I purchase bread from there so it tends to run a bit higher than a loaf of bread at the market. > > I think I pay about $3.00 for four sticks of butter (is that a pound?). When Land O’ Lakes or Cabots goes on sale (anywhere from $2 - 2.50 for four sticks), though, I stock up. > > Milk, now that’s another story. We’re lactose intolerant so I pay about $3.50 for a **half** gallon of milk! \*\* Good Lord, **Juanita,** where do you shop for bread? I never pay more than $1.50 or so for bread. The cheap stuff is about 79¢ a loaf, but I don’t buy that stuff. I usually get the Italian-style bread or wheat bread. Milk is about $2.49 a gallon. The store where I shop often has milk on sale “2 gallons for $4.00” and we drink a lot of milk so that’s a real bargain for me. Real butter is about $2.50 a pound, margarine much cheaper of course, about $1.39 for the 1-pound tub. I buy both. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-groceries/175186/27 "2003-05-15T02:05:58Z")
It has been a while since I bought bread or butter, but I can get a gallon of milk (2% or skim) for $1.49 every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at the grocery store, or for $1.99 at Wal-Mart. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-groceries/175186/28 "2003-05-15T02:08:24Z")
I shop at the military commissary and pay: $1.64 for Nature’s Own 100% Whole Wheat (for me and my husband) $1.30 for nature’s Own ButterBread (for the kids) 1.64 for a gallon of skim milk .49 for a pound of margarine (I don’t usually buy butter, but I checked the price and it would run $1.79 for a pound of Land o’Lakes) ---
**Author:** ![Laurasia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@Laurasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laurasia)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-groceries/175186/29 "2003-05-15T02:10:33Z")
I have no idea how much the stuff is in the regular store, but my mom likes to make me come with her to the bakery outlet where you can basically get any kind of bread (even the really good stuff) for 99 cents. If you buy 5 dollars worth or bread, you get a free loaf. If you buy 8 dollars, you get a free loaf and a cake. They also have those little Boboli personal sized pizza crusts in a package of 8 (each with a little pack of sauce) for $3! They practically give this stuff away and you just toss it in the freezer until you need it! ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-groceries/175186/30 "2003-05-15T16:24:47Z")
I’ve heard that the price of milk somehow depends upon how far you live from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Is that true, and how does that work? ---
**Author:** ![Ashkicker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@Ashkicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashkicker)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-groceries/175186/31 "2003-05-15T20:14:02Z")
Gas $1.30 per gallon. Milk $2.75 per gallon. Bread $1.30 a loaf. I don’t buy the later 2 I just know what they cost. I went home to Illinois last August and was shocked to see milk on sale for a $1.50 a gallon. I thought wow what a bargain. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-groceries/175186/32 "2003-05-15T20:55:58Z")
Milk: 2 gallons for $3.79 at Stater Bros. Bread: .79 at IGA for cheap stuff, $1.99 or more at Stater Bros for high-fiber loafs. Butter: we don’t. Margarine is usually .69 at Stater Bros., or .50 for 20 oz at Grocery Outlet. Grocery Outlet is a godsend. It’s a reseller-from-wholesale-distributors store – overstocks, package changes, little-known brands. It’s a bit catch-as-catch-can – you can’t always find what you want. But when it’s there, it’s usually dirt cheap. I can walk out of there with a full (and I mean **full** ) grocery cart for under $80. For a single-income family of four, this is pretty nice. Meat, ground beef & chicken mostly, we get from IGA on Fridays, when they have sales. Ground beef for .88 a pound is good, even if it’s not fat free. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-groceries/175186/33 "2003-05-15T21:09:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JuanitaTech \* > \*\*Milk, now that’s another story. We’re lactose intolerant so I pay about $3.50 for a **half** gallon of milk! \*\* Ah, Lactaid, right? We buy that, too. Have you noticed that it kind of smells like chicken if you don’t shake it up?!? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-groceries/175186/34 "2003-05-15T21:43:07Z")
SF Bay Area: Milk: I think it’s 2 gallons for $3.19 (that’s the fat free) or $2.79/gal Bread: I get mine at the Dollar Tree. It’s like day-olds or something from the regular grocery store so you get the fancy $3.50 a loaf breads (Orowheat, Nature’s Own, Sara Lee, assorted local bakeries) for only a dollar. All kinds from sourdough, white, multi-grain, whole wheat, etc.! Great resource if you have one. Butter: Don’t buy it. Spread either. Most recipes and mixes that call for like a tablespoon of butter you can just leave out. (Rice mixes, etc. It’s just for flavor and there’s so much in there already you don’t really need it.) If you’re using it for greasing pans, etc you might consider either switching to something cheaper, like the giant can of generic shortning, or the old depression standby of draining your meat drippings into a mug next to the stove and reusing it later. (Old canister sets: Flour, Sugar, Tea, etc. used to actually have one that said “GREASE” because it was so common.) ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-groceries/175186/35 "2003-05-15T23:36:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BiblioCat \* > \*\*Good Lord, **Juanita,** where do you shop for bread? > I never pay more than $1.50 or so for bread. \*\* We usually shop at Whole Foods (formerly Fresh Fields) for bread. The bread guy at the farmers’ market has really great breads. They normally run $3.25/loaf and higher, though. Winston, I’ve never smelled the milk prior to shaking it and, thanks to your post, I never will. BiblioCat, are you ever downtown during the day? If you plan to be, please email me so we can do lunch. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-groceries/175186/36 "2003-05-17T02:35:18Z")
I went grocery shopping _today_ and I paid: $1.39 for a gallon of 2% milk $0.99 for a 16 oz loaf of wheat bread $1.79 for a pound of butter $2.49 for Hellman’s Mayonnaise $1.33 for Kraft cheese $0.79 for a 2 liter bottle of Pepsi _looks at receipt_ Hmm…I paid $2.50 for a QKR 22OZJMBCPTCN. I wonder what that was… (Yes, I’ve already forgotten what I bought.) ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-groceries/175186/37 "2003-05-17T10:46:49Z")
Aye, ruadh, we buy all our fruit and veggies from Moore Street. 8 bananas- 1.50 a melon- 1.50 seedless grapes- 1.50 2 large aubergines (eggplant) - 1.50. And everything else is either Tescos value stuff or Dunnes stores own brand. Except for bread which is either Brennans family pan or Johnson, Mooney and O’Brien white pan, and pasta sauce, which is either Sacla or Lloyd Grossman. The only other things we’re picky about are our rice, coffee, tea and chocolate, which we get from OXFAM. Fair trade rules! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-groceries/175186.md?page=1)